We provide a journal publishing platform and hosting for any IU Bloomington affiliate interested in starting a journal or “flipping” a journal to open access. This service is free as long as the journal is affiliated with Indiana University. Most commonly, an editorial board member or journal leadership is affiliated with IU. The IU affiliate can be a faculty member, student, or staff member.
Publish Your Journal with Us
If you are interested in publishing with us, please complete this application form to express your interest.
We review applications for our publishing program on a case by case basis in consultation with library leadership. Currently, we are focusing on sustainability, in prioritizing journals that are “flipping” to an OA model, and in expanding our support for work by BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and scholars from the Global South. We are happy to talk to editorial teams in more detail.
Start Here
Starting or Flipping an Open Access Journal
A 6-step guide walks you through establishing a new open access journal, including estimated time frames, potential costs, and technical requirements. While this guide is an excellent starting point, remember that we can assist with many of these steps including minting DOIs, acquiring an ISSN, and setting up a platform for your journal’s website. If you are looking for a model for an open access journal, IU Publishing's International Journal of Designs for Learning is indexed by DOAJ and serves as an excellent example.
Traditional journals can also become open access. Several of the journals we currently host were once subscription-based before converting to being fully open access. This process often requires a more thorough assessment of copyright and technical needs, so contact us for help making your journal fully accessible.
Once we confirm that your publication is appropriate, we will ask you to complete the New Journal Toolkit. This form will ask for information about your potential publication, including questions about your editorial workflow, copyright policy, and ideal publication timeline. The more information you provide here, the more effectively and efficiently we will be able to set up your journal’s website. Finally, we will send your group a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which provides additional information about expectations for both parties.
Why Publish Open Access?
Not sure whether open access is right for your journal? There are several ways in which publishing open access is beneficial for your publication:
- Increase Visibility/Readership
By allowing your content to become freely accessible online, you expand your audience and democratize the research you worked hard to produce. Open access journals have also proven to net higher rates of citation for articles as well as increased overall readership. - Innovative Publishing
By publishing open with IU Libraries, you are able to access a variety of innovative digital publishing formats. Our platform provides support for various forms of multimedia, including 3D imaging, as well online full text publication. - Open Access and Quality
Just like their subscription based counterparts, open access journals can vary in quality and standards. The condition of a journal depends on the quality of its editorial board, the rigor of its peer review process, and its ability to generate useful scholarship and citations, not the business model or level of openness. Applying for recognition with organizations such as the Directory of Open Access Journals can help your readers know that the you have high standards and a rigorous review process, as well as aid your indexing in academic databases.
Terms We Use
Open Journal Systems (OJS) is a widely used journal management and publishing system that has been developed by the Public Knowledge Project through its federally funded efforts to expand and improve access to research. OJS is open source software made freely available to journals worldwide for the purpose of making open access publishing a viable option for more journals. All of our journals are published through OJS.
The Directory of Open Access Journals, commonly referred to as DOAJ, is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals. Journals wishing to be indexed in DOAJ must satisfy a detailed list of guidelines and best practices. Editorial teams should make every effort to satisfy as many of these guidelines as possible. This represents the minimum level engagement expect from the journals we support, and we are happy to support you in your DOAJ efforts.