27 April 2023 – Two new agreements between DOAJ, the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) and the Council of Atlantic Academic Libraries – Conseil des bibliothèques postsecondaires de l’Atlantique (CAAL-CBPA), have been announced today. These agreements will provide a vital boost to the sustainability of key open access infrastructure, essential to the future of science and research in Canada and around the world.
CRKN has long been a strong supporter of DOAJ and encompasses seventy-nine academic libraries and five research institutions in Canada. CAAL-CBPA includes top tier research and teaching libraries in Atlantic Canada.
“Supporting community-driven initiatives such as DOAJ is a priority for CRKN as part of our open access strategy,” said Clare Appavoo, CRKN Executive Director. “We are, as always, pleased to contribute to the important work that DOAJ is doing to increase the usage and visibility of open access journals.”
“Through support of DOAJ as a key gateway to open access journals, CAAL-CBPA and its members are excited by this opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the advancement of open access as a means for enabling free and equitable access for all to research and scholarly materials”, said Cynthia Holt, Executive Director, CAAL-CBPA.
The agreements announced today allows for libraries connected with either consortium to support DOAJ. Canada is among the top 12 countries which support DOAJ.
“I am delighted that libraries at Canadian universities and colleges, research and teaching institutions now have the opportunity to strengthen DOAJ as an essential part of the open access eco system,” said Joanna Ball, Managing Director, DOAJ. “Support from the members of CRKN and CAAL-CBPA demonstrates the importance of DOAJ as an important open, global and trusted resource for open access publishing in Canada and around the globe.”
About DOAJ
DOAJ is a community curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer reviewed journals. DOAJ deploys more than one hundred carefully selected volunteers from among the community of library and other academic disciplines to assist in the curation of open access journals. This independent database contains over 19,000 peer-reviewed open access journals covering all areas of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts and humanities. DOAJ is financially supported worldwide by libraries, publishers, and other like-minded organizations. DOAJ services (including the evaluation of journals) are free for all, and all data provided by DOAJ are harvestable via OAI/PMH and the API. See https://doaj.org/ for more information.
About Canadian Research Knowledge Network
The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) empowers its member organizations and the diverse communities they serve with greater access to the world’s research and Canada’s preserved documentary heritage, now and for future generations. CRKN represents its membership in large-scale licensing and content acquisition activities, collaborates to expand and enrich the digital knowledge ecosystem in Canada and the world, advocates for fair and sustainable access to public research and content, supports the digital infrastructure required to preserve and access critical Canadian content, and mobilizes its membership to transform scholarly communications in Canada.
About – Council of Atlantic Academic Libraries – Conseil des bibliothèques postsecondaires de l’Atlantique
CAAL-CBPA is a vibrant regional network of Atlantic Canada’s public university and college libraries leveraging community and collaboration to advance scholarship, innovation, diversity, and accessibility in teaching, learning, research, and student experiences.
