What Are the Characteristics of Canadian Independent, Scholarly Journals? Results from a Website Analysis

The dominance of commercial publishers (Larivière, Haustein, and Mongeon 2015) has led to a discussion in Canada focusing on alternative models for supporting independent, non-commercial, scholarly journals. Although small in number, these journals represent an important contribution to Canadian and global scholarship. They also act as a counterbalance to the increasingly for-profit nature of scholarly publishing. Despite their importance, there exists no definitive list of journals of this nature in Canada, making analysis and understanding of their characteristics difficult.In order to address this gap, the researchers undertook an analysis of the websites of 485 Canadian, independent, scholarly journals. Independent was defined as journals which are not affiliated with a commercial publisher. The researchers gathered data for each journal on their access type (e.g., closed, open access), subject area, size and composition of the editorial team, and any affiliation(s). This data was then analyzed to create a portrait of these journals with these themes. The researchers found that most of these journals were affiliated with at least one organization, with over half being associated with two or more. They also discovered that affiliations varied depending on the discipline and that the size of the editorial team was correlated to the access type. Journals were predominantly in the humanities and social sciences, and the majority were open access (OA) without article processing charges (APCs).While the focus of this study is on Canadian journals, this article provides a framework for other researchers to examine non-commercial, independent publishing in their own countries. Its results also provide preliminary data which may inspire future avenues of research, particularly into models for non-APC, open access journals as well as the editorial board structure and size for independent journals.

Work it: Looking At Labour And Compensation In Independent, Scholarly, Canadian Journals

The goal of this paper is to document how labour is divided and compensated (both monetarily and non-monetarily) in independent, Canadian scholarly journals in order to inform future research on sustainability in academic publishing. We define independent as journals that are not affiliated with a commercial publisher, and Canadian as journals that have more than one third of their editorial boards at a Canadian institution. Earlier papers suggest that most independent, scholarly journals run primarily on volunteer labour, with little compensation (Edgar and Willinsky, 2010) or as Pooley (2019) suggests “[platinum OA journals] limp along, with estimable doggedness, but are often one devoted editor away from the digital graveyard”. As labour is the essential for the continued success of independent journals, understanding the depth (i.e. how many positions; how many hours per position), scope (i.e. which tasks are undertaken and who is responsible for them), and cost (monetary or non-monetary) of labour will be critical in understanding and ensuring these journals’ success, longevity, and sustainability. To investigate current practices, the authors distributed a survey to 488 Canadian journals meeting the inclusion criteria. The survey was composed of two sections: how labour is divided at a journal (i.e. how many positions are there, what are the responsibilities of these positions, and how many hours/week are dedicated to these positions) and compensation (i.e. does the journal provide monetary or non-monetary compensation to members of its editorial team, which positions receive compensation, and what is the source of these funds). The authors received 119 responses, for a 25% response rate.

INDIAN DRUGS: TRANSFORMING FOR THE FUTURE

Dear Reader, I have followed the progress of Indian Drugs for more than three decades, and have the privilege of being on its editorial board for the last many years. Currently, the journal is in its 55th year, since its inception in 1963. There are many stalwarts, many of them still living, who have nurtured this journal in different roles, through its journey of more than five decades. They did their best, and that is the reason the journal has survived all through these years, without even being handled by a commercial publisher. The Editors, Advisory, and Editorial Board members of the journal and staff of IDMA deserve congratulations for their all-out effortsand making sure that the journal is timely published month after month, year after year. The journal has even been modernizing over the period, and now for several years (since 2012) it is available on-line, apart from being circulated in the print form. It is also abstracted widely presently.

Electronic Information Resource Optimisation in Academic Libraries: A Comparative Study on Licensing Provision of Commercial Publisher

<p>Electronic information resources are increasingly become an important component of the collection-building activities of libraries. This paper attempts to understand how far the licenses of commercial publishers support resource optimisation in general and what other important issues that are usually ignored by publishers, knowingly or unknowingly, but are essential for better resource optimisation. Five international publishers namely Elsevier, EBSCO, Sage, Springer, and Taylor &amp; Francis were identified and analysed their agreements that are available in public domain with some model agreements like Liblicense model and model license developed by John Cox Associate. Study indicates that core part of the negotiations still remain price, IP access, display, ILL/document supply, etc. while important issues like perpetual access, archiving, self-archiving, copy of individual articles and share the same for non-commercial use by authorised users were minor issues of the contract. Furthermore, most of the obligations of the publishers that are identified as core issues in Liblicense model are also absent in commercial publishers’ license. A greater awareness of this to library managers is essential. They must be acquainted with the clause of the license agreement of commercial publishers and must negotiate to that extent so that the access should be uninterrupted.</p>

Designing Resources for IWBs

The following chapter will be of interest to all those involved in creating resources for the Interactive Whiteboard with a view to commercial publication, either via an established publishing house or via the web as an open resource. It will also inform those who are already involved in digital publishing or who are considering implementing a digital publishing strategy. It is not aimed at providing solutions, but at stimulating publishers and authors to ask the right questions and to consider the management of change that may be required within their company. The chapter will look at the challenge from organizational, creative, production and commercial standpoints. It will conclude with an examination of the emerging role of the teacher as an IWB materials writer, and how new paradigms are emerging which may increasingly mesh the parts played by the practicing user and the commercial publisher of IWB resources.

How the rich get richer

HHMI will bestow monetary rewards on a commercial publisher in return for the type of public access already provided by many nonprofit publishers.

How the rich get richer

HHMI will bestow monetary rewards on a commercial publisher in return for the type of public access already provided by many nonprofit publishers.