DOAJ volunteers: Paola, Carlos and Uju

DOAJ volunteers come from various backgrounds worldwide and speak many languages. We have over 100 volunteers who contribute their time and skills to reviewing applications. We are grateful for the work they do as editors and associate editors, supporting Open Access principles at home, in their day-to-day work, and abroad. 

This is the third post in our series highlighting our volunteers’ amazing work. This time, we’re checking in with Paola Galimberti, Carlos Alegre and Princess Uju E. Nwafor-Orizu to learn more about them and their motivation for volunteering.

Hello, Paola! Tell us about your background and your experience volunteering with DOAJ.

I have been working as a DOAJ editor for Open Access journals from Italy and Germany for many years—possibly around 10 years. My involvement with DOAJ has significantly deepened my understanding of publishing standards and best practices. DOAJ is a vital resource for us in Milan, as we rely on it daily. My institution, the University of Milan, has established a central fund for APCs, and one of the key criteria for funding is that the journal must be indexed in DOAJ. Additionally, we operate an OJS platform at my university, and once our journals reach maturity, we promptly register them with DOAJ.

Beyond my editorial work, I am actively involved in Open Science initiatives within our European alliances (4eu+ and LERU). In LERU, I am a member of the Info Group. In 4 eu+ I am involved in the group devoted to open science. I am one of the organizers and trainers of the seminars open for all! I also contribute to the LIBER ORE librarians advisory group. I am also task leader of the university press in the project 1Core.

I am on the scientific advisory committee (SAC) of OPERAS, an independent body composed of 14 experts, providing advice and recommendations to the Executive Assembly on the ethical, scientific, and technical areas for current and future projects, as well as other OPERAS activities. For instance, the OPERAS SAC contributes to defining the criteria for our discovery platform. It is invited to give advice on resource harvesting and content providers and to shape the path of the infrastructure’s future. The Open Research Europe librarian advisory group (LIBER), of which I am a membe,r works to promote the use of open research, gathering any doubts and concerns by facilitating meetings at the national and institutional levels.

Hello, Carlos! Tell us about your background and your experience volunteering with DOAJ.

As I was preparing for retirement, I decided to study Library Science. I hold a law degree from Universidad Católica Argentina, an MBA from the University of Puerto Rico, and a library science degree from Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Argentina. I’ve always seen librarians as eager to help others and who contribute to academic success. I’ve been a member of my city’s public library since I was a kid. I completed my internship at the Law School, which I already knew well, and then I was offered a part-time job at the university where I work, helping graduate students on Fridays and Saturdays.

There, I really learned how to do specialized searches, especially in my field of Law. The university has access to many commercial databases, and I discovered that a lot of what I was looking for was in Open Access, specifically in DOAJ. Right when new legislation on the subject came out in Argentina, I took the opportunity to publish an article in a journal I’m familiar with. While searching, I found out that DOAJ was looking for Associate Editors. I applied, and a few months later, I was selected. Honestly, I learned so much, it’s amazing! Even though I had already studied and worked with open-access journals, I found myself in a whole new world. I realized I needed more editorial knowledge. Luckily, the best university in the country offered a course on editing academic journals, so I signed up.

After evaluating almost 60 journals, I can say I’ve learned a lot. DOAJ allows me to keep learning; there’s always new news and things to do. When a journal follows the basic rules, the work is much easier. I came across some that seemed suspicious, trying to rush through the application process and others that were very well done but lacked something in the peer review process. The editors are good to work with, but I’ve come across a few who weren’t very professional. Sometimes, I feel bad for not accepting some journals because I can see they put in a lot of work, but they’re missing something essential to be in DOAJ. Even so, I encourage them to keep improving.

Hello, Uju! Tell us about your background and your experience volunteering with DOAJ.

I started working with DOAJ in June 2020.  I review journals in English, mainly from Africa and sometimes from other nations like Iran. Whatever my managing editor, Kamel, assigns, I gladly work on. I review journals on all subjects, and I enjoy it all, though my area of specialisation and delight is Health & Biosciences.

I use the DOAJ heavily in my daily academic work as a librarian handling, assessing, recommending, and acquiring soft and hard copies of journals. DOAJ experience equipped me with expertise and confidence in handling my office materials. On the open access initiative, I currently encourage publishers and editors-in-chief in my country to queue into OpenAccess practices. I love DOAJ.

As a Librarian, my work with DOAJ has empowered me with the core techniques of evaluating publications for library use. It gives me confidence in advising other article reviewers and publishers.

As the HIFA  country representative for Nigeria, health information dissemination is my daily business and hobby. Health information literacy is very low in my country. I use all media for this purpose, including vernacular for local audiences. I have developed and published relevant Information, Education, and Communication materials as needed. Millions of copies of these materials have been published and distributed. I engage in advocacy to relevant authorities for partnership on health information for all and also health literacy. I have also done over 300 projects with religious and educational institutions for thousands of their members to create awareness of prevalent diseases. I have done projects on HIV/AIDs awareness, basic tips on healthy living, and now climate change issues. I do these with a team of health experts. I have also conducted extensive studies on cervical cancer, health literacy, health information resources and dissemination in Nigeria.

How can one volunteer for DOAJ?

DOAJ will post a call for volunteers on our social media platforms. Please subscribe to and follow this blog to keep updated with any new calls for volunteers that fit your geographical or linguistic background.