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Presentation
After the migration: What editors like (and miss) after moving from bepress to OJS
Western Libraries Presentations
  • Kristin Hoffmann, The University of Western Ontario
  • Emily Carlisle-Johnston, The University of Western Ontario
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
5-11-2021
Abstract

Between 2017 and 2020, librarians at the University of Western Ontario migrated 26 journals from the bepress Digital Commons (DC) platform to PKP’s Open Journals System (OJS) platform. We moved journals to OJS largely because we, and some editors, were concerned about potential implications of Elsevier’s acquisition of bepress in August 2017, but we also expected that OJS would give editors more flexibility and autonomy.

Have editors experienced the benefits we anticipated with OJS? How has their work changed as a result of the move? What new challenges do they face? Our session will draw on a post-migration survey of editors to answer these questions. Because some editorial teams now have several years’ experience working with OJS, while others have only a few months (due to turnover or when they migrated), we will address the learning curve that editors may experience over time as they adjust to a new platform.

We will draw on our experiences working with editors to share what our publishing support looked like with DC and how it has changed since moving to OJS. For example, with DC, bepress staff provided most of the technical and operational support for editorial teams. With OJS, library staff provide more direct support. We will discuss the implications this has had for our work as a library publisher, and how it informs the development of our publishing services.

Sessions at previous LPFs have discussed platform migrations, including migrations from bepress to OJS. Those sessions have focused on the processes involved in migrations. While we will briefly do the same, our presentation will largely emphasize the experiences of journal editors and librarians with the two platforms. This will also inform library publishers who are determining which platform is best for their publishing program, based on their resources and objectives.

Notes

This presentation was delivered at Library Publishing Forum 2021.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0
Citation Information
Kristin Hoffmann and Emily Carlisle-Johnston. "After the migration: What editors like (and miss) after moving from bepress to OJS" (2021)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kristinhoffmann/28/