The momentum towards Open Access publishing is stronger than ever. We are witnessing a remarkable increase in the number of journals flipping to open access and seeing a growth in community-led publishing worldwide (as evidenced by research carried out by PKP on the number of journals using OJS software). Research funders and organisations accelerate the shift by incorporating open access policies into their publication strategies. Amidst these positive developments, there is also a rise in unethical practices and questionable publishers preying on unsuspecting authors.
At the forefront of fostering trustworthy Open Access research, DOAJ has consistently adapted to the evolving landscape of OA journals. As the number of journals applying for DOAJ indexing increases and the responsibility to ensure the integrity of the index grows, we require more resources to maintain our trusted service. Furthermore, global knowledge equity is vital for the future of open access, and so we need more funding to focus on advocacy and support for journals in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
More than just an index
Clearly, the significance of DOAJ’s role extends beyond its indexing service. More organisations, funding agencies, governments and OA policies are relying on DOAJ-indexing for compliance, which has a direct impact on the number of journal applications we receive.
We are constantly improving our processes and systems but can no longer absorb the rising costs of providing our service with our current supporter models.
We are constantly improving our processes and systems but can no longer absorb the rising costs of providing our service with our current supporter models. We need to increase our income so we can continue to grow, handle the growing number of applications from journals, and support our questionable publishing investigations that are becoming increasingly resource-intensive.
Transparency and sustainability
Following our adoption of POSI and a pilot of the FOREST framework last year, we also want to simplify our complex funding models for libraries and publishers, enabling us to be more transparent to the community about who is funding us and with how much.
To address this problem, we have recently worked with Research Consulting on a sustainability review that involved conversations with the wider scholarly community to understand our value as well as recommending changes to our revenue models. We shared some reflections on this process and funding challenges for DOAJ and open scholarly infrastructures in general in a recent LSE impact blog. Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing and explaining these changes to the community and are beginning here with the changes we have made to our library supporter model for 2024.
Changes to our library supporter model
From our discussions with the community, we know libraries are serious about investing in open access infrastructure and understand the importance of DOAJ’s sustainability. We have simplified our Library support model so that there is only one level, in line with the rates recommended by SCOSS for sustaining support for open infrastructure. We are very grateful for the support of libraries who have supported us at the current basic rate, and we will work with them to help them transition to the new model.
Up until now, our supporter model has been applicable worldwide meaning that many libraries that value our services are unable to support us. We are therefore introducing a special rate to enable support from libraries and institutions from low and middle-income countries.
We are introducing a special rate to enable support from libraries and institutions from low and middle-income countries.
Earlier this year, we hired a Community Manager whose purpose is to actively engage with the library community and nurture these valuable relationships. We have already seen the benefits of using webinars to this end, and we hope to develop this service further over the next year to develop technical, metadata and community support.
What will an increase in revenue help us to achieve?
As a non-profit, community-led infrastructure, DOAJ is committed to investing every penny in our services and sustainability. Additional funding will enable us to maintain our application turnaround times despite the rise in applications and ensure that we have adequate resources dedicated to keeping questionable publishing practices out of our index. We will also be able to enhance the diversity of the index, providing greater levels of support for journal editors in the global south and boosting visibility for institutional and Diamond journals.
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