Open Journal Systems

Open Journal Systems
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Name	Open Journal Systems
Developer	Public Knowledge Project
Released	2001
Programming language	PHP
Operating system	Cross-platform
Genre	Journal management software
License	GNU GPL

Open Journal Systems is an open-source journal management and publishing system developed to assist scholars, editors, librarians, and institutions in managing peer-reviewed academic journals. It provides workflows for submission, peer review, editorial decision-making, publication, indexing, and archiving, supporting a range of scholarly communication practices across disciplines and regions. The software has been adopted by universities, societies, libraries, and consortia worldwide and has been discussed in contexts involving digital preservation, open access, and scholarly infrastructure.

History

The project was launched by the Public Knowledge Project in the early 2000s with funding and collaboration involving partners such as the University of British Columbia, the Stanford University Library, and the Simon Fraser University Library. Early development and demonstrations were presented at venues including the Association for Computing Machinery conferences and meetings of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Adoption accelerated after pilot deployments at institutions like the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Toronto, and the University of São Paulo, while preservation and indexing efforts engaged organizations such as LOCKSS, Portico, and CrossRef. Subsequent releases addressed internationalization and multilingual support informed by collaboration with the World Health Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and regional consortia like the Latin American Council of Social Sciences. Major contributors and advocates have included librarians and technologists affiliated with the OCLC Research, the JISC programmes in the United Kingdom, and the Canadian Research Knowledge Network.

Features and Architecture

The system implements editorial workflows similar to those used by journals hosted by publishers such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, and Wiley-Blackwell, while enabling functionality comparable to platforms like ScholarOne and Editorial Manager. Core components include submission tracking, reviewer management, copyediting, layout editing, and production tools, integrating standards and services from DOAJ, ORCID, CrossRef, and PubMed Central. The software is built on a technology stack using PHP, MySQL, and web servers like Apache HTTP Server and Nginx, with support for XML workflows compliant with standards promoted by the National Information Standards Organization. The architecture supports plugin APIs, theming, and templating that allow customization akin to content management systems such as Drupal, WordPress, and Joomla. Accessibility and metadata exports align with initiatives from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative and the Open Archives Initiative, facilitating indexing by services like Scopus, Web of Science, and search engines such as Google Scholar.

Licensing and Development

Released under the GNU General Public License, development follows an open-source model with contributions from academic institutions, libraries, and independent developers. Governance and project stewardship have involved the Public Knowledge Project and collaborations with funding bodies like the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and philanthropic organizations such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Code hosting and version control practices have employed platforms used by projects like GitHub and GitLab, while issue tracking and community support reference patterns from projects including Apache Software Foundation initiatives. Development roadmaps and feature proposals have been informed by stakeholder consultations with editors from journals indexed in databases such as ERIC, SSRN, and regional indexes like SciELO.

Adoption and Use

The platform has seen deployment in national, university, and society contexts, used by entities including the British Library, the Biblioteca Nacional de España, the National Library of Australia, and university presses at institutions such as the University of Oxford, the Harvard University Press ecosystem, and the University of Cape Town. It supports journals across disciplines appearing in catalogues maintained by organizations like the Council of Science Editors and repositories such as arXiv. Consortial adoptions have involved networks like the Canadian Association of Research Libraries and initiatives connected to the European Research Council. Libraries and scholarly societies implementing the software have integrated it with institutional repositories like DSpace and discovery services provided by vendors such as EBSCO and ProQuest.

Criticism and Controversies

Critiques have focused on challenges similar to those encountered by digital infrastructure projects including sustainability concerns voiced in forums tied to the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition and debates over stewardship comparable to controversies involving large publishers such as Taylor & Francis and Elsevier. Technical criticisms have included upgrade complexity and migration issues echoed in case studies from the Association of Research Libraries, while policy discussions have engaged stakeholders from the European University Association and advocacy groups like SPARC regarding long-term funding, governance, and interoperability. Security incidents and vulnerabilities reported in security advisories have prompted responses referencing best practices promoted by entities such as the Open Web Application Security Project and national cybersecurity centers including the US-CERT.

Integration and Extensions

A rich ecosystem of plugins, themes, and integrations connects the system to services like CrossRef DOI registration, ORCID authentication, and preservation through LOCKSS and Portico, and has inspired interoperability projects with platforms such as DSpace, EPrints, and Zenodo. Third-party developments and commercial service providers offer hosting, training, and customization comparable to service models used by HighWire Press and Merritt digital preservation, while research projects from institutions like the MIT Libraries and the University of Michigan have prototyped analytics and discovery extensions. Community events, workshops, and code sprints have been organized alongside conferences such as the Open Repositories and meetings of the International Council for Science to coordinate feature development and regionalization efforts.

Category:Academic publishing software