We are delighted to share that the University of York Library has joined the Open Journals Collective. The OJC is dedicated to transforming the way that academic research is supported and disseminated. York’s support for our Multidisciplinary Collections 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 University of York Library already supports a diverse range of independent, not-for-profit and institution-led presses committed to making scholarly works openly available. We are delighted that they have chosen to invest in OJC’s diamond open access journals as part of their future strategic approach. This builds on York’s well-established sector leadership in open access, particularly through working in partnership with the universities of Leeds and Sheffield to establish White Rose University Press and the White Rose Repositories. They are also co-signatories to the N8 Statement on Sustainable Scholarly Publishing.
Sarah Thompson, Associate Director (Content and Open Research) at the University of York Library, said “OJC is an exciting, ground-breaking initiative and one we are very proud to support. At York we are concerned about the financial sustainability, equity, and transparency of the current publishing system and we recognise the need for fundamental reform. We are actively looking to drive change and invest in alternative models which align with our mission and values.”
Tom Shaw, the Open Journals Collective’s Library Engagement Lead, said: “York colleagues have actively supported the OJC since its inception, particularly through Sarah Thompson’s role as co-chair of our Library Board, and it's a pleasure to welcome them as members. I admire the bold and ambitious approach they are taking to challenge the dysfunctional status quo and their commitment to effect genuine change in academic publishing, and I look forward to working with them as we build the OJC community”.
Sally Bell, the Open Journals Collective’s Operations Manager, said: “It is wonderful to have University of York Library joining the OJC, a move which aligns with many of the Library’s other activities supporting and championing open research practices such as the development of an open research skills framework. I anticipate many more productive and thought provoking interactions with colleagues from York throughout their membership duration.”