New features, new technologies, new partners, new advances

2014 has had a promising start. After relaunching the new DOAJ site in December 2013, IS4OA has signed a further 2 development agreements with its new technology partner, Cottage Labs. While our first priority is to reinstate many of the features that were used daily by DOAJ publishers and users alike, we have also had the chance to layout development priorities for DOAJ to make sure it remains useful and at the heart of quality of open access publishing. For example, the clear need for better quality markers in open access publishing led IS4OA, with the help of DOAJ’s advisory board, to implement a hugely extended Application form and seek out a network of voluntary editors to help process applications.

IS4OA is now well positioned, through its partnership with Cottage Labs, to develop DOAJ features that the community is asking for: an API, OpenURL, the ability to collect metadata from PubMed. Further development contracts with Cottage Labs will be procured.

We will be posting more details as the year progresses.

IS4OA to maintain and develop the Directory of Open Access Journals

The concept of Open Access to research publications and data has gained tremendous momentum. Its importance continues to grow and so does the need to establish a sustainable future for services that underpin Open Access.

One important service for Open Access is the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – www.doaj.org.

DOAJ has grown in every aspect since then and so have the demands and expectations of the community. After thorough discussion, Lund University Libraries and IS4OA have entered into an agreement that the DOAJ will be transferred to IS4OA to maintain and develop. We have chosen to implement this under the auspices of a not-for-profit, community-based business, and the transfer and development of this will gradually be implemented during next year. Read all the posts on DOAJ.

We have a simple focus for the immediate period. We aim to facilitate the development of the DOAJ into an ever more crucial service for users, libraries, authors, publishers and aggregators. We are philosophically committed to a community approach to keeping DOAJ fit for purpose in the future and so we welcome and look forward to working with other organisations, institutions, companies and others who share our agenda – to make openness the default for scholarly communication.