ENG NL

The Openjournals highlights 2023

As the new year begins, let’s look back at 2023 and summarise the key developments at Openjournals. We are doing well. The number of journals on the platform is growing and there is a clear path for the future.

Our journals

The Openjournals platform is growing and eleven new journals were added in 2023, bringing the total to 31 journals. The new journals are:

  • Pedagogische Studiën
  • Tijdschrift voor Gerontologie en Geriatrie
  • International Journal about Parents in Education
  • European Insolvency and Restructuring Journal
  • Journal of Political Sociology
  • Into the Magic Circle
  • Tijdschrift voor Hoger Onderwijs
  • Studies over de sociaaleconomische geschiedenis van Limburg
  • Technophany
  • JGZ: Tijdschrift voor Jeugdgezondheidszorg
  • Passion

Together, all journals on the platform published 719 articles in 2023. By comparison, 369 articles were published on Openjournals in 2022.

Keep an eye on the website! We expect to add a few more journals to Openjournals in the coming months. Of course, we will keep you posted via our social media channels and our newsletter.

Follow-up grant Openjournals 2023-2028

Let’s start with the most important news of 2023. Openjournals has received a follow-up grant, from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’s innovation funds. This grant will support further development of the platform in 2023-2028. More journals will be hosted and more functionalities will be added to the platform. Furthermore, we intend to promote collaboration between journals and will strengthen collaboration with other European diamond open-access journal platforms. Finally, we will work on the future organisation and further integration of the platform into the Dutch academic infrastructure. More on that later.

Openjournals User Day

On Thursday 8 June, journal editors and university publishers were guests at our first Openjournals User Day. The morning was dedicated to tips and tricks for working with OJS, a Q&A and sharing best practices. In the afternoon, we discussed all kinds of issues involved in publishing a journal, such as increasing the visibility of a journal, typesetting of articles or attracting funds to support journals. Finally, we discussed possible additional services to be provided by Openjournals and possible cooperation between journals.

Publicity and networking

Although we are doing well, it is still important to promote Openjournals. Therefore, on 31 August, we attended the annual Open Science Festival, this year at the Erasmus University and provided information. In addition, we gave presentations about Openjournals, both offline and online. At Utrecht University, Erasmus University, and several times at webinars on national open science infrastructures.

Our platform uses Open Journals Software (OJS), developed by Public Knowledge Project (PKP). PKP regularly organises so-called sprints, and OJS users come together to work on improving the software and share experiences. This year, the sprint was organised in Copenhagen. It was very instructive to interact with other major national diamond open-access platforms from, for example from Finland, Sweden, and Denmark.

In the Netherlands, several universities have their own publishing houses. These so-called New University Presses (NUPs) aim to publish all publications diamond open access. These NUPs are in Groningen, Delft, Nijmegen and Tilburg. Maastricht is starting a NUP soon. There are joint meetings , in which Openjournals also participates. These meetings aim to strengthen collaboration and develop joint initiatives, such as setting up a joint catalog.

DOAJ and indexing services

Journals appearing on Openjournals must meet or work towards the quality criteria of the Directory of Open Access Journals. Seventeen journals on Openjournals have now been accepted by DOAJ. We help the other journals to also meet the requirements and we handle the application with DOAJ. Furthermore, we assist journals to apply for indexation with Scopus or Web-of-Science. Recently the journal Historical Life Course Studies was accepted for indexation by Scopus, thanks to an application by Openjournals. Editors who would like help with this process can contact us.

Governance

In 2023, we launched a series of meetings with the main national science organisations to discuss the development and organisation of Openjournals. The KNAW, NWO, UNL, UKB and KB will jointly support Openjournals and its position within the academic field. Openjournals was initiated as a project but in the coming years it will develop to become a permanent part of the Dutch academic infrastructure. We regularly consult with these organisations to ensure that Openjournals aligns with their ambitions and plans concerning Open Science.

Open Science NL

The plans for Open Science in the Netherlands are ambitious and these are directed by the Regieorgaan Open Science NL. In the next ten years, the Regieorgaan will make grants available to develop a national open scholarly communications infrastructure. These plans specifically mention Openjournals as a successful example of such a national infrastructure. We expect to further develop Openjournals with the help of the Open Science NL program, in collaboration with university publishers and other scholarly organisations.

What to expect in 2024?

The number of journals on the Openjournals platform is expected to grow to more than 40. In 2024, all journal websites will be thoroughly reviewed and we will offer editors suggestions for improving their websites. The Openjournals website itself will also be revamped. Furthermore, we will organise webinars and meetings with editors more frequently.

An upgrade of the OJS software will take place in early 2024, to the higher 3.4 version. The main improvements are a revamped user interface, more peer review functionality, greater security and stability, and more possibilities in terms of user statistics. We will let editors know in time when the upgrade will be implemented and consequences for editors.

Finally, we expect the Open Science NL program will offer many opportunities for further expansion of Openjournals and new opportunities for cooperation with other organisations committed to Open Science in the Netherlands.