We are delighted to announce that the Francis Crick Institute has joined the Open Journals Collective. The Francis Crick Institute is supporting our STEM collection of journals, and as a biomedical research centre, they are our first specialised research institute member. The OJC is dedicated to transforming the way that academic research is supported and disseminated, and the support of the Francis Crick Institute will be instrumental in helping us achieve our objectives of making journals free to read and publish in, offering a viable alternative to commercial transformative agreements, and empowering journals to flip to diamond open access.
The Francis Crick Institute is a committed advocate of open access as good for science, essential for the Crick to achieve its aims, good for researchers and good for the wider world outside of academia. We are delighted that they are supporting us as part of achieving their vision for open science.
Dr Beth Montague-Hellen, Head of Library & Information Services at the Francis Crick Institute, said “At the Crick we strongly support open research and want to make sure that excellent research is available to everyone. Open Journal Collective are creating a space where scholarly content can be shared freely and openly so I was really pleased to be able to support it”.
Tom Shaw, the Open Journals Collective’s Library Engagement Lead, said: “I am delighted to welcome the Francis Crick Institute as members of the OJC! Their commitment to open access to scientific research is impressive and is an inspiration to the scientific community at large. And their membership sends a powerful message that the OJC is relevant to research organisations of all kinds and not just large, multidisciplinary universities”.
Sally Bell, the Open Journals Collective’s Operations Manager, said: “Having a biomedical research organisation of such renown as the Francis Crick Institute joining OJC is wonderful news. We look forward to working with them via our Library Board and seeing other specialist bodies following their lead in joining our Open Access movement.”