We are delighted to announce that University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums has joined the Open Journals Collective. The OJC is dedicated to transforming the way that academic research is supported and disseminated, and the support of St. Andrews University Library will help 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.
St. Andrews is a committed supporter of open access to research publications. They are advocates for making research more readily available to read and share, which increases the potential for community engagement, citation, reuse and impact. We are delighted that they have chosen to partner with OJC as part of their approach to delivering open access.
Helen Faulds, Assistant Director of Library Collections & Digital Services at University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums said: “We at St Andrews are delighted to support the Open Journals Collective, which supports sustainable access to many journal titles across a wide range of disciplines while providing valued alternative publishing venues for our researchers. At a time when many libraries are facing significant financial pressures, engagement in initiatives like this has never been more important. We are committed to divesting funds from traditional publishing routes, and this initiative aligns closely with our Libraries & Museums’ Collections and Publishing Services Principles. We look forward to continuing our support for the OJC team”.
Tom Shaw, the Open Journals Collective’s Library Engagement Lead, said: “It is a pleasure to welcome St Andrews to the OJC as library members. We can only effect genuine change in the scholarly publishing ecosystem by working together and collaborating towards a common goal of nonprofit journals that are free to read and publish in. I am delighted that St Andrews have chosen to join us as part of their commitment to divesting funds from traditional publishing routes and building a more equitable system of scholarly publishing”.
Joanna Ball, Managing Director of the Directory of Open Access Journals and OJC Director said: “St Andrews’ support for the Open Journals Collective reflects the growing desire among libraries to invest in more sustainable and equitable models of open access. OJC provides a practical way for libraries to redirect funding away from costly, inequitable read-and-publish agreements towards community-led publishing models with no author- or reader-facing charges. We are delighted to welcome St Andrews as part of this collective effort to build a fairer scholarly communication ecosystem.”