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Ubiquity Successfully Transitions to ISO 27001:2022 — Strengthening Our Commitment to SecurityAt Ubiquity, we believe that safeguarding our customers’ information is not just a responsibility — it’s a necessity. That’s why we’re proud to announce that we have successfully transitioned from ISO 27001:2013 to ISO 27001:2022, maintaining our long-standing certification under the world’s leading information security standard.For the past four years, we have held ISO 27001 certification, ensuring our systems, internal processes, and policies meet the highest security and risk management standards. By upgrading to the latest 2022 version of the standard, we demonstrate our ongoing commitment to staying ahead of evolving cybersecurity threats, adapting to new challenges, and continuously improving our approach to information security.Why ISO 27001?ISO 27001 is widely considered the gold standard for information security, providing a structured framework to identify risks, implement robust security controls, and ensure ongoing protection of sensitive data. It fosters a culture of continuous improvement, helping us stay resilient against emerging cyber threats while maintaining compliance with globally-recognised best practices. By adhering to this rigorous standard, Ubiquity ensures that our customers’ data is managed with the highest level of security, integrity, and accountability.Security as a Responsibility, Not an AfterthoughtWe recognise that when our customers share their data with us, they are placing their trust in our ability to protect it. Unfortunately, not all companies in our industry take this responsibility seriously — many rely on poorly secured platforms and neglect to implement structured organisational security procedures. This is critical as several high profile institutions in our industry have been the victims of cyber attacks in recent years, with significant damage to their operations and reputations. At Ubiquity, we choose a different path. We proactively invest in the latest security standards because we believe our customers deserve the highest level of protection.Our ISO 27001:2022 certification reflects our ongoing commitment to security, trust, and excellence. We will continue to raise the bar — not just for ourselves, but for our customers and the industry as a whole.Want to learn more about our security practices? Get in touch with us today: natalia.ferencova@ubiquitypress.comUbiquity Successfully Transitions to ISO 27001:2022 — Strengthening Our Commitment to Security was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Text meets Tech: harnessing AI for efficient journal selectionThe challenge of journal selection:For researchers, the process of selecting the most appropriate journal for their article can be time consuming and frustrating. Subject matter, article processing charges, languages supported, and journal impact factor play an important role in selection. Ubiquity have taken steps to address this challenge by developing the Journal Matcher, an AI-powered tool.How it works:The Journal Matcher uses a popular approach called Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG). RAG is a technique that combines the strengths of large language models (LLMs) with external knowledge sources. In the case of the Journal Matcher, the LLM processes the article’s title and abstract through an open source transformer to identify the academic concepts. These are used to query a Pinecone vector database, into which has been extracted the academic concepts from the Ubiquity Partner Network (UPN) journals (from the title, keywords, and aims and scope), and a ranked list of matching journals is returned, along with metadata on the article processing charge (APC) if any, languages supported, and Impact Factor — for the author to filter and decide which is the most appropriate journal to submit their article to.Ubiquity’s approach to AI:The Journal Matcher is intended to save researchers’ time and effort in journal selection, to introduce them to new relevant journals in the UPN, and to save editors’ time and improve the quality of their journal by increasing the relevance of articles submitted to their journals. Ubiquity is committed to using AI responsibly (for example the Journal Matcher does not transmit titles and abstracts to any third party), and the Journal Matcher assists, rather than replaces, human judgement.With the nature of academic publishing being predominantly text-based and current AI LLMs being predominantly trained on text, there are many areas that AI can already assist the participants in the publishing workflow, to improve integrity, efficiency, and quality — and Ubiquity will be exploring these with further developments in 2025. If you have suggestions of ways that AI can improve publishing workflows, we would love to hear from you at info@ubiquitypress.com.Ubiquity’s new AI tool to help find the right journal was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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A few months ago, Ubiquity asked to interview Brigitte Maier, Christine Rohde and Mamta Dwivedi, about KIT Scientific Publishing and its new Diamond Thinking Project at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), which aims to develop business models and best practices for Diamond Open Access in collaboration with the University of Stuttgart.Brigitte Maier (BM) was the head of the KIT Scientific Publishing at University Library of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology until her retirement in September 2024.Christine Rohde (CR) is the current head of KIT Scientific PublishingMamta Dwivedi (MD) is the project manager of “Diamond Thinking” at KIT Scientific Publishing.Firstly, can you briefly introduce KIT Scientific Publishing — how long has KIT been publishing, when did KIT Scientific Publishing as we now know it begin, and what is the central mission of the press?BM: At Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KIT Scientific Publishing (KSP) plays the role of the university press. Situated at the university library, KSP is a part of the department of Publication and Media Services. It operates closely with KITopen, which offers data repository and re-publication services to the members of KIT. This year, KSP celebrates its 20-year anniversary (see more) and therefore 20 years of experience with publishing scientific literature. KSP is strengthened by 10 team members, who facilitate publication of books, scientific reports, and conference volumes. And since September 2023, we have also added journal publishing to our services.The press was started with the vision of having the university’s very own publishing house, which would not only be in the proximity of the university in geographical sense, but also be approachable by the scholars. Since the founding, the central mission of KSP has been to provide high-quality publishing service of international standards to the scientific community of the university at affordable prices.CR: At KSP, we believe in learning and expanding through cooperation with partners, both within KIT and with external partners, such as other institutional publishers. For example, we are a part of “Arbeitsgemeinschaft (AG) Universitätsverlage”, a joint focus group of 32 university presses of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy (South Tyrol). The members of this group are committed to Open Access publishing with quality assurance, while maintaining and supporting the publishing rights of the scholars. In addition, our team members are part of various smaller but more specialised inter-university focus groups that come together to share know-hows related to workflow as well as technical hindrances in publishing. Our cooperation with other institutional publishers and libraries helps us to stay up-to-date with internationally recognized benchmarks for excellence and develop best practices, infrastructural and service expertise, and workflow with other universities.In addition, we regularly collaborate with scientific departments within KIT to better understand scientists’ research-publication requirements and to ensure a high-quality standard for each publication.MD: As the newest addition to the KSP team, I have found the team is very open to new ideas and suggestions. There are creative groups in the team, always open to brainstorming and pathfinding sessions.Can you give us a brief background to the Diamond Thinking Project — how did the project come to be, and how did it get started?BM: The project at the KIT is primarily the brainchild of the former head of the Publication and Media Services, Regine Tobias, who is now the Director of the University Library at Tübingen since January 2024. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for the period between September 2023 and August 2025, the project is a step in the direction of making scientific publications easy to publish and access.This project was conceptualised as a response to inquiries from a couple of faculty members at the university. They were unsatisfied with the responses of some commercial publishers and therefore wished to explore a more scholar-friendly publishing option for their journal.Such experiences of dissatisfaction toward publishers is not uncommon. These experiences within the scientific communities only emphasise the problems with the unfair practices in the field of scientific publication, which are the results of the ever-growing oligopolistic tendencies of the commercial publishers. Profit-oriented publication practices are even more pronounced in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines, to the extent that the rising costs threatens the long-term sustainability of scientific publication. These challenges and detriments have recently been also acknowledged by the Scientific Commission of German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat) and German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). In their published papers, the Wissenschaftsrat (2022) and DFG (2022) issued recommendations, urging research institutions and their partner stakeholders to actively participate in reshaping the system themselves. International scientific associations like cOAlition S (2023), an association of research funders with prominent support from the EU, have also issued calls firmly in favour of transferring publication practices into the hands of researcher-friendly and scholar-led modes of scientific publications, such as the Diamond Open Access model. Diamond Open Access refers to a scholarly publication model in which journals and platforms do not charge fees to either authors or readers.CR: It was with this background and motivation of our faculty members that we decided to expand KSP’s publishing profile. Adding journal publishing as a new pillar to the already existing publishing services was also a natural expansion.The operational beginnings of the current project can be traced back to our previous project “Open Access Books at TU9,” where we decided to work with a co-publishing partner with experience in publishing books for university presses, and we decided to go with Ubiquity Press as our co-publication partner. Our partnership with Ubiquity Press also extended to publishing journals.What is the central mission of the project? What is the project’s ultimate goal? How is the project working to meet those goals? What does the project offer?BM: This service expansion at KSP aligns with the promotion and strengthening of scholar-led and university-supported practices of scientific publishing. The concrete aims of the project are to assist scientists at KIT with the foundation of high-quality scientific journals for various disciplines at KIT as well as to support the “flipping” of existing commercially published journals to scholar-led platforms.In doing so, the aim is, of course, to meet and implement the FAIR Principles standards of publication. Apart from the publications being findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable, we are also working to make publication costs reasonable. On one hand, Diamond OA publication should not lead to author-facing article production costs; on the other, we also have to ensure that the costs of publishing that get transferred to the editors and funders are not unreasonably high.CR: Our approach to publishing services is two-pronged. The first is meeting the technical requirements in terms of infrastructural support, interface availability, and adequate promotion of services. The second aspect to achieving our goal is providing extensive multi-stage consultation to the scholars at KIT, who are interested in starting or flipping a journal or will be interested in the future. This includes providing information about the process of setting up of journals, taking steps to make the journal financially sustainable, and encouraging the acceptance of a Diamond Open Access journal model. When we provide transparent details of our services, we equip the scholars with informed choices, so they can decide what is the best way for their journal or even for their personal academic growth.MD: In addition, because we want to be proactive players in the evolution of the required changes in journal publishing systems, we strategise for replicable and reusable ways of serving the scientific communities better. For some steps of our services, we adapt existing workflows, and for certain services we have developed our own processes. An example of the former is working with a co-publishing partner, who has a long-term publishing experience. In addition, a lot of our services also need improvisation and customisation depending on the need of a journal or the interests of the editors who have started/flipped a journal or will do so in the future. We believe that the key to keeping the publishing costs balanced and ensuring long-term financial sustenance of a journal is customised services to the editors.How does KIT Scientific Publishing fit into the project? How does the press support the project?BM: The project is structurally and functionally a part of the KIT Scientific Publishing. Up until now, we have published Open Access books, dissertations, and conference volumes, and with this project we are expanding the service profile of the university press. With this project we will also be publishing journals.CR: In fact, this project involves a lot of sub-departments within the Publishing and Media Services of the library. The graphics team, billing department, as well as our web advertising team is also involved with the tasks related to this project. Many specialists within the library also contribute to supporting the journal.A big focus of the project is being ‘scholar-friendly’ — why is this so important to you, and what do you believe is the value in having OA publishing options that are scholar-focused and led?BM: KIT prides itself as a leading research university, and the library is dedicated toward serving the researchers and scholars of the university. Having services tailored to the needs of the researchers is a part of our service policy.CR: We should also acknowledge that the current state of the publishing industry affects scholars the most, but often incorporates their views the least. Very high Article Processing Charges (APC) and an unhealthy competitive environment are well known issues. Monopolistic practices in the publishing landscape particularly impact emerging scholars. Scholars and researchers are at the heart of academic publishing, acting as producers of research work, facilitators, as well as consumers of published research. The publication of their hard work is distributed through highly commercialised channels, yet they receive minimum financial benefit from all that work. There exists an imbalance of power where scholars contribute significantly more than they receive. Additionally, scholars are the least-informed stakeholders in the publishing industry. We aim to change this equation by developing KSP as a capacity centre that not only informs scholars of more equitable publishing choices but also invites their opinion and suggestions on the scientific-publication channels they require and practices they can afford.MD: I will add that our aim is to listen to the scholars better, and to achieve this we are developing various communication strategies. By facilitating a scholar-centric model of consultation we emphasise scholar-led publishing practices. This means that the editors are from the academic community, have complete control over their journal policies, and have no interference from their publisher, which is us, in the structure of the editorial team or functioning of the journals.As we encourage proactive participation from the scientific community in the transformation of the publishing landscape to a scholar-led system, we have adopted the motto “Take science in (y)our hands!”. We encourage the scientific community at KIT to lead the change, and we will be around to support them.To find out more about what the Diamond Thinking Project does, visit https://www.bibliothek.kit.edu/english/diamond-thinking.php.Another interesting Interview with Regine Tobias and Brigitte Maier, the two founding members KIT Scientific Publishing, can be found here in German : https://www.b-i-t-online.de/heft/2024-01-interview-tobias.pdf.An interview with those behind the Diamond Thinking Project was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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At Ubiquity Press, we’re delighted to announce that our hosted repositories service is moving to a new open-source platform: InvenioRDM, a future-forward refresh of the original Invenio framework, designed to leverage numerous open APIs for optimal extension and cross-system interoperability. This new, cutting-edge solution currently powers CERN laboratories’ Zenodo open data repository, and Ubiquity has already joined the vibrant development community organized around expanding features and functionality (InvenioRDM Github).We’ve been following the Invenio framework refactoring effort (now known as InvenioRDM) with great interest since it began and have been consistently impressed by the efficiency with which the community and platform have rapidly evolved. InvenioRDM version 12, released this Summer, is a robust modern repository, including an extremely rich feature set and designed for maximum extensibility.Ubiquity is dedicating significant development resources to the effort as part of our commitment to providing an elegant, fully-hosted, turn-key repository solution for institutions of all sizes. Senior repositories developer, Esteban Gabancho, has more than 10 years of direct experience developing the Invenio platform in its various incarnations, and he continues to serve as part of the RDM core maintainers group. Numerous other members of the Ubiquity development team are working alongside Esteban to tailor the ]u[ Ubiquity Repositories flavor of RDM to the needs of Archives, Libraries, and Cultural Heritage Institutions, with an attractive, reputation-enhancing, and highly-responsive frontend interface.In keeping with the Ubiquity mission and charter, we will be frequent code contributors and active community partners, including bug fixing, roadmap sharing, accessibility testing and remediation, collaborative feature speccing and development, all with an emphasis on scalability and future adaptability for as-yet-unanticipated use cases. At Ubiquity, we believe that genuine, collaborative participation in open source development has practical and ethical benefits. A strong community fosters an environment of goodwill, and development that serves the goals of others while serving our own pays for itself reciprocally.Currently, we are on track to launch the new service in Q1 2024, at which point we will also begin migrating existing customers from our legacy platform.Please direct any questions to ]u[ Ubiquity Repositories Product Director, Aaron McCollough at aaron.mccollough@ubiquitypress.com.]u[ Ubiquity Repositories Adopts InvenioRDM was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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It’s no secret that research output from low and middle income countries (LMIC) is too often overlooked by the dominant research communities in the global north, something that is particularly true for researchers at the beginning of their research career (see INASP’s 2023 report, Voices of Early Career Researchers’ survey). Because of the lack of global visibility of research output, the lack of opportunities become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Research that is seen as ‘local’ over ‘global’ is perceived by the academic community as less important and globally irrelevant, meaning that there is less opportunity for collaboration, and less incentive to make funding more accessible — and because there is less opportunity available, particularly less opportunity to invest in publishing research widely, research from LMIC continues to be seen as ‘local’ over ‘global’. It’s a vicious cycle which is difficult to break without finding a new way to approach and support research in LMIC.At ]u[ Ubiquity, we’ve been working to break this cycle since 2018 through our active support of the Journals Online (JOL) project, providing journals based in LMIC with the infrastructure to publish peer-reviewed research open access. Open access can be a hugely valuable tool in allowing research communities in LMIC to increase the visibility of their research, and to make it globally accessible; this is to the benefit not only of these communities, but to the global research community as a whole. ‘Local’ output is globally valuable.The Journals Online Project (JOL): Background & HistoryThe Journals Online project (JOL) was started by INASP, alongside the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), back in 1998, with the creation of the first JOL, African Journals Online (AJOL). The aim of this initial project was to provide increased visibility, accessibility, and quality of peer-reviewed journals published in Africa, by publishing them online open access on a single, central website.When AJOL was transferred to local management in 2005, the project began to expand outward to include journals based in other countries and regions, with JOLs being set up in Nepal (NepJOL), Bangladesh (BanglaJOL), Vietnam (VJOL), the Philippines (PhilJOL), Sri Lanka (SLJOL), Mongolia (MongoliaJOL) and Central America (CAMJOL). INASP’s funding for the JOLs ran out in 2018, but with ]u[ Ubiquity’s support they have continued to grow since then. Today, five of the JOLs are hosted by ]u[ Ubiquity:SLJOLBanglaJOLCAMJOLMongoliaJOLNepJOLThe sites are locally managed by organisations in the countries and regions the journals are based in. These five JOLs constitute over 900 hundred individual journals, across a huge range of disciplines, from STEM to the humanities.]u[ Ubiquity and the JOLs]u[ Ubiquity’s CEO Brian Hole first came across the JOLs project in 2017, whilst giving a presentation at an INASP conference. The values and priorities of the project seemed to align with ]u[ Ubiquity’s own, and Brian was inspired to create a new service, ]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals, which would provide an infrastructure to host journals without the additional expense of editorial and production services.When INASP’s funding for the JOLs ran out in 2018, the project was taken on by ]u[ Ubiquity, who further tailored the Ubiquity Hosted Journals service to ensure the JOLs project could remain sustainable and scalable. ]u[ Ubiquity also tailored the price of this service, to make sure it was a viable long-term option for all the journals involved. This means that no financial profit is made from hosting the JOLs; rather, it is a cost investment in the expansion of the open access movement, and in the enrichment of the global research ecosystem. The vast majority (c.99%) of the journals do not charge any form of article processing charge (APCs), helping to ensure that they are an accessible option to all authors.]u[ Ubiquity continues to provide day-to-day technical support for the JOLs, as well as a dedicated account manager to support their publishing operations. As with all of ]u[ Ubiquity’s publishing infrastructure solutions, this frees the journal teams from having to take care of any IT requirements, which is often a significant additional financial burden.Growth and developmentSince their migration to ]u[ Ubiquity, the JOLs have continued to go from strength to strength. Being hosted by Ubiquity allows the contents of the JOLs to be indexed through Open Archives Initiative search engines, meaning these journals are now visible to a global audience. As a result, readership figures of the JOLs continue to increase, as do reuse and citation figures. Many of the more well-known journals now receive international submissions, showing that LMIC journals can command an international audience.Moreover, being readily available and supported in open access has allowed the journals involved on JOLs to flourish and develop, and has led to an increased research output from these communities. When the project started, the JOLs largely consisted of journals from capitals and cities — over the years, it has expanded to incorporate journals and research from all over each country, and from institutions of all different sizes.Global benefitThis is not merely an opportunity for institutions to publish for the sake of it; having more research available is of benefit to the entire global academic community. Readers and researchers all around the world now have access to research done in areas and on topics that they previously did not, which undoubtedly enriches the entire research ecosystem.ConclusionIn many ways, the JOLs project embodies one of the greatest strengths of open access, and what we should continue to remind ourselves is at the heart of its mission. Open access offers an opportunity to create an equitable landscape for academic publishing, and a research ecosystem that is rich and truly ‘global’ in scope. Supporting initiatives such as the JOLs, and using open infrastructures to ensure they are sustainable, is of benefit to the academic community in its entirety.“When I started working with the project, people commented that there was ‘no culture for reading or writing’ in these countries or regions. Looking at how many articles are submitted now, including many by post-graduates, it’s clear that this isn’t the case. The JOLs project has given people the opportunity to write and to develop their academic careers, without the difficulties and expense of trying to submit to an international journal.”— Sioux Cumming, Editorial Account Manager, ]u[ UbiquitySupporting low and middle income country publishing was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Welcome to the final ]u[ Ubiquity newsletter of 2024!We have several updates to share, including a major milestone for UPLOpen.com, some exciting job openings at some of our journals, and expansion of our partner presses’ canon. Read on to find out more…In this newsletter…Several positions open at Ubiquity journalsUPL Open reaches a new milestoneNew partner press booksNew Journal: The Journal of Peer Learning94.5% of active journals on the Ubiquity platform have no form of author feesWhere to find us — ]u[ Ubiquity’s upcoming conference scheduleUpcoming books and books published this quarterThe Journal of Peer Learning is now live and accepting submissions!The Journal of Peer learning has recently transitioned to a new platform as part of Virginia Tech Publishing, and we are very pleased to announce that they are now accepting new article submissions! You can find more information and details on how to submit on our website: Journal of Peer Learning.The next volume of the journal is currently being prepared — we look forward to sharing new insights into the field of peer learning.Of around 1000 active journals on the Ubiquity platform, 94.5% have no form of author feesDid you know that whilst the Ubiquity platform offers the option of the APC model, the majority of journals on the platform have zero author-facing article charges? This is because most journals on the Ubiquity platform operate under the diamond model, many of which are published from regional hubs in the developing world such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Central America.The Ubiquity platform hosts more than 1000 active journals, with 94.5% of them having no form of author fees. Ubiquity is proud to be supporting a diverse and flexible publishing ecosystem.UPLOpen.com surpasses 6,000 booksUPLOpen.com, the community-driven hosting initiative founded by the De Gruyter eBound foundation and hosted by ]u[ Ubiquity early this year, now has more than 6,000 books hosted, with more on the way!At launch, UPLOpen.com hosted more than 350 books from over thirty high profile university presses. Not only has this increased more than tenfold, but the page views for the site have also been increasing by over 50% month on month. This means UPLOpen’s mission to enhance the findability of the open access books it hosts is being realised. Find out more.Vacancies at Ubiquity JournalsWe are excited to announce some vacancies at three of our journals! These are exciting opportunities to join the open scholarship community.The Journal of Open Research Software is calling for both a new Editor-in-Chief and Assistant Editors.The Open Quaternary Journal is also calling for a new Social Media Editor.The Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies is looking for new Section Editors and Copyeditors.Praise for Ubiquity JournalsAre you thinking about submitting work to one of Ubiquity’s Journals? Ubiquity consistently receives excellent feedback from authors:“The entire process was efficient, supportive and professional.”“Although the publication process is extremely fast, the journal policy maintains the high editorial standards.”Upcoming booksUbiquity has now launched its Coming Soon page, which details our upcoming titles, such as ‘The Ultimate Case Guide’, set to be released in November, and ‘Innovation language teaching practices in higher education in a post-Covid era’, set to be released in December.Find out moreWhere to find us — ]u[ Ubiquity’s upcoming conference scheduleSo far this quarter, we have attended conferences like The Frankfurt Book Fair, with our partners at Paradigm Publishing Solutions, where Brian, our CEO and Natalia, our Head of Sales were available to chat about open access solutions for academic presses. Our Product Director Tim attended the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) Sprint earlier this month, a great gathering of some of the open source community in Turin. You can click here to read his account of the event.Late in October, Bin, our Open Access Advisor, is attending AUNILO (Libraries of ASEAN University Network), held in Thailand.If you missed these, Bin will be in attendance at the Charleston Conference in the US and the Medical Institutional Repositories in Libraries (MIRL) Symposium, a virtual event held in at the end of November, so look out for him there!If you want to get in touch with us to find out if we are attending a specific conference, or to set up a meeting with us at one, you can always get in touch via info@ubiquitypress.com.Ubiquity’s Community PortalHave you signed up to Ubiquity’s Community Portal? It’s the go-to meeting place for connecting with like-minded leaders in the open access community. It’s easy to sign up — just click here to create an account. There you can connect with journal editors and keep up to date with what’s going on in the open access world.Ubiquity’s contributions to Open Journal Systems (OJS)Over the last quarter, Ubiquity has worked on upgrading some OJS plugins to the latest version of OJS, 3.4. Our contributions to the open source plugins are always public — see below for specifics and where you can find them:“Form honeypot” now compatible with OJS 3.4“Quicksubmit” plugin is now compatible with OJS 3.4 thanks to a fix to the OrcID plugin“SWORD plugin” fixes for OJS 3.4 compatibility“Funding” plugin fixes for OJS 3.4 compatibilityUbiquity has also contributed to the core OJS code with the following improvements/fixes:Display submission authors list on add-reviewers modalhttps://github.com/pkp/ojs/pull/4004https://github.com/pkp/pkp-lib/pull/9090https://github.com/pkp/ui-library/pull/275fixed a bug with the DOI table when upgrading from 3.3 to 3.4We have created and released the following open source OJS plugins:Site Usage pluginDownload Reviews pluginWe are pleased to further the Open source mission by continually contributing to community code.We will be back in touch in the new year with the next ]u[ Ubiquity newsletter. In the meantime, you can always keep up to date with us in the real time on X, Mastodon and LinkedIn.See you next year!- The ]u[ Ubiquity TeamThe ]u[ Ubiquity Q4 Newsletter 2024 was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Welcome to the second ]u[ Ubiquity newsletter of 2024!There have been plenty of big developments unfolding at ]u[ Ubiquity this quarter with some major projects coming to fruition, including the launch of UPLOpen.com, a new ]u[ Ubiquity Repository, and an Institutional Publishing Agreement from our publishing imprint ]u[ Ubiquity Press. Read on to find out more…In this newsletter…]u[ Ubiquity Press launches brand new UK Institutional Publishing Agreement with JiscUPLOpen.com launchOklahoma City University School of Law Scholarship Collections launches ]u[ Ubiquity Repository]u[ Ubiquity supports the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research InformationCardiff University Press journal Martial Arts Studies added to DOAJ and EBSCO]u[ Ubiquity Press open for book proposalsEditorial training on the ]u[ Ubiquity journal system on OJS3Where to find us — ]u[ Ubiquity’s upcoming conference schedule]u[ Ubiquity Press launches brand new UK Institutional Publishing Agreement with JiscWe are pleased to announce that we have launched an Institutional Publishing Agreement with Jisc through our publishing imprint ]u[ Ubiquity Press.By signing up to the ]u[ Ubiquity Press Institutional Publishing Agreement, research institutions agree to pay article processing charges (APCs) for publications authored by their affiliates, and in return receive a 10% discount on the APC. Submitting authors will then be able to claim affiliation to a participating institution with confidence that both the financial and administrative burden of the APC is already covered.This also provides authors and institutions with an important alternative to the ‘transformative agreements’ offered by the large legacy publishers. Now those who prefer to publish with a fully open access and fairly priced journal have more choice.We believe that offering this agreement is an important step towards making open access simple, sustainable, and ultimately the default way to publish research. You can find out more about the agreement via the Jisc website.Find out more.UPLOpen.com launchWe are delighted to announce the launch of UPLOpen.com, a community-driven publishing initiative founded by the De Gruyter eBound foundation and hosted by ]u[ Ubiquity.At launch, UPLOpen.com hosts more than 350 books from over thirty high- profile university presses, in full open access, on ]u[ Ubiquity’s new partner press platform. Unique in its integration of the SDGs into the core of academic publishing, it is also designed to catalyse a shift to open access book publishing among traditional university presses by providing both a high-quality online platform for hosting and a range of professional publishing services.We are proud to be a part of this pioneering project, and look forward to seeing how UPLOpen continues to grow and contribute to the Open Access movement, with a significant amount of new content expected in the second half of the year.Find out more.Oklahoma City University School of Law Scholarship Collections launches ]u[ Ubiquity RepositoryWe are pleased to announce the launch of a new ]u[ Ubiquity Repository, the Oklahoma City University School of Law Scholarship Collections.The scholarly publications of Oklahoma City University School of Law Faculty make vital contributions to the broader academic community and are of significant interest to policymakers, courts, legislators and various stakeholders. The repository makes faculty scholarship, The Sovereignty Symposium materials and posters and other collections curated by the OCU library freely available in open access, providing a safe house to both preserve and disseminate the institution’s intellectual output.We believe open access institutional repositories can bring value to institutions of any size. To find out more about ]u[ Ubiquity Repositories and what our open source repository offers, you can visit our website.Learn more about ]u[ Ubiquity Repositories.]u[ Ubiquity supports the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research InformationWe are proud to be supporters of the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information, launched in April 2024.In order to ensure responsible research assessment and unbiased, high-quality decision making in science, research information needs to be openly available, not locked inside a closed infrastructure. The Barcelona Declaration is a commitment to transforming the information landscape, in order to make open research information the norm.Find out more about the Barcelona Declaration.Cardiff University Press journal Martial Arts Studies added to DOAJ and EBSCO.Martial Arts Studies, a journal published by ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Press Cardiff University Press, has been added to the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and EBSCO. This comes following the journal’s acceptance into Scopus in September 2023.Martial Arts Studies is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary open access journal that publishes high-quality research on all aspects of martial arts studies.Read the journal.]u[ Ubiquity Press open for book proposalsOur publishing imprint ]u[ Ubiquity Press is welcoming book proposal submissions for 2024.]u[ Ubiquity Press books are full-text peer reviewed and published fully open access, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) or Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) licence. We have a growing list across many topics and disciplines, including Archaeology, Anthropology, Engineering, Economics and Law, and are open to proposals from disciplines outside our existing list. You can view our existing list via the ]u[ Ubiquity Press website.Find out more.Editorial training on the ]u[ Ubiquity journal system on OJS3Our editorial team is continuing to run training sessions on using the ]u[ Ubiquity journal system on OJS3. We offer two types of sessions, an Editor Training session and a Journal Manager session.The latest dates for upcoming training sessions, along with information about how to join, can be found on our central information page. If you cannot attend a session, we also have a collection of written guides and video tutorials, which can be accessed through our UPN shared folder Guidelines and Tutorials or via our Resources Doc.Where to find us — ]u[ Ubiquity’s upcoming conference scheduleThe last month has been a busy one for conferences, and we are just getting started!In late April, we sponsored the Southern Mississippi Institutional Repository Conference (SMIRC) for the second year in a row, as well as heading to Zadar, Croatia for the first annual OPERAS conference, where we presented a poster on the OPERAS metrics service.So far in May, we have been to University Press Redux in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the Library Publishing Forum in Minneapolis, Minnesota, of which we were proud to be a Forum Sponsor. If you didn’t manage to catch Bin and Shannon, our Open Access Advisors at LPF, never fear — they will be attending the Society of Scholarly Publishing Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts next week! Make sure you keep an eye out for them on booth #205.Next month, we’ve got even more on the calendar, including Open Repositories 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden and the Association of Christian Libraries Annual Conference in St Paul, Minnesota. If you ever want to get in touch with us to find out if we are attending a specific conference, or to set up a meeting with us at one, you can always get in touch via info@ubiquitypress.com.New Partner Press BooksCheck out this selection of recently published, open access books from some of our partner presses, including the University of Westminster Press, Stockholm University Press, and Radboud University Press.That’s all from us for now. We will be back in touch later in the year with the next ]u[ Ubiquity newsletter. In the meantime, you can always keep up to date with us in the real time on X, Mastodon and LinkedIn.Until then!-The ]u[ Ubiquity TeamThe latest news from ]u[ Ubiquity (Q2 2024) was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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]u[ Ubiquity Press is happy to announce that the Article Processing Charge (APC) breakdown displayed on our website has been updated to reflect updated journal publishing costs. This applies to 60% of our journals, which publish under the ‘gold’ open access model, while another 40% are ‘diamond’ open access with no APC (that number increases to over 80% diamond if the whole ]u[ Ubiquity platform is taken into account).]u[ Ubiquity has long championed price transparency, with the APC breakdown being publicly available since the company launched in 2012. Our original vision in making the price breakdown public was two-fold. Firstly, to build trust in the academic community by being open about the costs associated with publishing, and the value that publishers bring. Secondly, to lead a change in the publishing industry where costs become transparently reported.Having led the way in price transparency, we now see a landscape where price transparency is a little more common, with large-scale funding initiatives such as Plan S mandating a higher level of price breakdowns to academic libraries. However, many publishers are still unable to publicly demonstrate what the money paid for publishing a journal article goes toward.Whilst ]u[ Ubiquity Press has submitted journal-level breakdowns for the past few years to the Journal Comparison Service, this data is largely hidden to those outside of libraries, and our averaged ]u[ Ubiquity Press breakdown was getting outdated. As such, a large-scale reassessment of our costs has been undertaken so that the average APC for ‘gold’ ]u[ Ubiquity Press journals is now publicly available. Each ]u[ Ubiquity Press journal with author-facing APCs has their own journal-level breakdown published on the journal website, helping to provide a more fine-grained level of detail when assessing a specific journal.*Percentages have been updated slightly since this blog post was originally published due to a minor recalculationWhilst some costs are directly attributable to the production of the article in question (e.g. typesetting, copyediting etc in the ‘Publication’ cost category), others are fixed platform/company costs and are affected by economies of scale (e.g. the ‘General’ costs do not directly increase based on the number of articles a journal publishes), so this breakdown is likely to change over time and we expect to update it on a periodic basis. Notable insights that the breakdown shows include:The journals are not receiving any income from 15% of publicationsSocieties are able to generate income for the journals that they run, to help subsidise their running costs and societal outreach programmesThe operational cost of running a journal is not insignificant. ]u[ Ubiquity Press journals are supported by dedicated Editorial Account Managers to help manage the journal operations and in-house developers that contribute code back to the open source OJS platform. Many of these costs do, however, scale as the platform grows.By using the Fair Open Access Alliance (FOAA) guidelines, as created for Plan S, ]u[ Ubiquity continues to lead on price transparency in a manner that enables a higher level of comparison between publishers, and ensures that we continue to follow our core company values of openness and trust. With the whole journal ecosystem needing to be accounted for, along with indirect business costs, the task of creating the APC breakdown is not insignificant and requires a large amount of data and resources. Justification for investing this time and effort is, however, simple, as we want to promote academic publishers as a crucial partner to research institutions, authors, and the publishing lifecycle in general.By openly sharing what the money from an APC goes towards and following a community-driven standard, we hope to build confidence in the system and show that value is being added by publishers. Although each publisher will have significant operational and organisational differences, the investment required to produce the breakdown is far outweighed by the benefits that it brings, including the fulfilment of our responsibility to academic institutions and research funders that are funding the publications. We encourage other publishers to invest in this task.You can read our new APC breakdown via the ]u[ Ubiquity Press website.New ]u[ Ubiquity Press APC Breakdown was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Welcome to the April edition of the ]u[ Ubiquity Press newsletter!Spring is definitely in the air for our journals, with plenty of new calls for papers being released, alongside opportunities to join the editorial team at two international journals. This month has also seen the publication of two exciting new ]u[ Ubiquity Press books, plus an important new special collection from Perspectives on Medical Education. We’re also excited to announce a new Institutional Open Access Agreement with Jisc in the UK.Read on to find out more…Hot off the press — two new ]u[ Ubiquity Press booksBuildings and Cities and the Journal of Open Humanities Data join Web of SciencePerspectives on Medical Education publishes new special collectionBulletin of the History of Archaeology seeks new Co-EditorGlobal Heart seeks new Editor-in-ChiefCalls for papersA new UK Institutional Open Access Agreement with JiscEditorial Training on the ]u[ Ubiquity journal system on OJS3Hot off the press — two new ]u[ Ubiquity Press booksApril has been a busy month for our book team, with two new ]u[ Ubiquity Press books being published.https://www.ubiquitypress.com/site/books/m/10.5334/bcx/The Polar Star: James, First Duke of Hamilton by Dr John Scally offers a fresh perspective on the politics and culture of the Stuart Court before, during and after the descent into the wars of the three kingdoms. Scally examines the life of James Hamilton, 1st duke of Hamilton (1606–1649) and King Charles I’s chief Scottish minister during the Civil Wars, using as his main source the Hamilton Papers, only brought into the public domain in the last few decades. The book casts new light on a well known and researched historical period.https://www.ubiquitypress.com/site/books/m/10.5334/bcy/Accountability, Discourse, and Service Provision: Civil Society’s Roles in Security Sector Governance and Reform (SSG/R) and Sustainable Development Goal-16 (SDG-16) by Aries Arguay and Justin Baquisal is the latest in the SSR Paper series published in collaboration with DCAF — Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance. The paper considers the ways in which civil society actions contribute to Security Sector Governance and Reform (SSG/R) and Sustainable Development Goal-16 (SDG-16), with a particular focus on the Global South. Both books, along with the rest of our backlist, are freely available in open access via the ]u[ Ubiquity Press site.Explore our books.Buildings and Cities and the Journal of Open Humanities Data join Web of ScienceWe are pleased to announce that two ]u[ Ubiquity Press journals, Buildings and Cities (B&C) and the Journal of Open Humanities Data (JOHD), have been accepted by the Web of Science Index.This is a major milestone for both journals; their inclusion in Web of Science acknowledges both journals’ commitment to publishing high-quality, stringently evaluated research of an international relevance.B&C publishes research and analysis on the interplay between the different scales of the built environment, such as buildings, blocks, neighbourhoods, cities, national building stocks and infrastructures. The journal aims to make research accessible and relevant to academics, policymakers, practitioners, clients and occupants.Read B&C now.Perspectives on Medical Education publishes new special collectionPerspectives on Medical Education (PME) has published a new special collection, entitled ‘Competence by Design’, focusing on competency-based medical education.Competency-based medical education (CBME) is a worldwide movement that involves the redesign of all aspects of health professions training to be more focused on learner development and educational outcomes. The collection responds to a call for more literature exploring design considerations and the lessons learned in the rollout of CBME, and features nine papers related to a national CBME transformation of Canadian PGME, called Competence by Design.Read the special collection now.Bulletin of the History of Archaeology seeks new Co-EditorThe Bulletin of the History of Archaeology (BHA) is looking for a new Co-Editor to join its growing editorial team.This role would be ideal for someone who is active in the field of the history of archaeology, and who has some prior experience in an editorial role. The new Co-Editor would be working alongside two existing Co-Editors to maintain the journal and its publication workflow, as well as coordinating regular special collections and author communications. Interested parties should submit a short statement of interest with a CV to the Journal Manager.Read the full role description.Global Heart seeks new Editor-in-ChiefWorld Heart Federation (WHF) is looking for an Editor-in-Chief for its official journal Global Heart.Global Heart is the main scientific publication of WHF. The journal features peer-reviewed, scientific articles relevant to international cardiovascular health issues as well as practical, informative articles aimed at clinicians, non-physician extenders, epidemiologists, policy makers and social scientists. It is also the main vehicle for WHF official publications, roadmaps and statements.Find out more to apply.Calls for papers:International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions (IJELT) IJELT has released a call for papers for both its open issue and a selection of special collections.The journal publishes research focusing on educational and life transitions across the world, and is interdisciplinary in approach. As well as submissions on any relevant topic to the open issue, IJELT is accepting submissions into a number of special collections, including ‘LGBTQ+ Educational and Life Transitions’, and ‘Ageing Through a Transitions Lens’. Interested authors can get in touch with the Editor-in-Chief to discuss a potential submission.Find out more.Bulletin of the History of Archaeology (BHA)Bulletin of the History of Archaeology (BHA) is accepting papers for publication in 2024.BHA publishes research not only on the histories of archaeology, but also on the subject as it intersects with related histories like those of colonialism, heritage and museums, and is particularly focused on building interdisciplinary collaborations. Potential authors who are unsure whether their research fits the scope of the journal are encouraged to contact the editors for more information.Find out more.Journal of Open Archaeology Data (JOAD)JOAD is welcoming submissions for publication in 2024.The journal specialises in data papers, seeking to provide a platform for researchers, archaeologists and data enthusiasts to publish and access high-quality archaeological data sets and analysis methods. Authors submitting to JOAD must agree to make their datasets freely available in a public repository, to ensure that the data is freely available worldwide.Find out more.A new UK Institutional Open Access Agreement with JiscUK institutions will be able to sign up to a new Jisc agreement from early May, under the terms of which all institutional authors will have their APCs for gold OA journals covered by the institution. The agreement is currently being finalised, and institutions will be notified by both Jisc and ]u[ Ubiquity once it is available to sign on to. We will keep journals informed of uptake.Editorial Training on the ]u[ Ubiquity journal system on OJS3Our editorial team are continuing to run training sessions on using the ]u[ Ubiquity journal system on OJS3. We offer two types of sessions, an Editor Training session and a Journal Manager session.The latest dates for upcoming training sessions, along with information about how to join, can be found on our central information page. If you cannot attend a session, we also have a collection of written guides and video tutorials, which can be accessed through our UPN shared folder Guidelines and Tutorials or via our Resources Doc.Find out more.That is all from us for this month. We will be back in touch via our next newsletter in June; in the meantime, you can keep up to date with what’s going on at the press in real time over on X.The ]u[ Ubiquity Press teamPublish with Ubiquity ProceedingsUbiquity Proceedings is accepting applications to publish conference proceedings from all disciplines. Ubiquity Proceedings is a low-cost, 100% open access proceedings journal, providing a professional and fully-indexed platform for conference organisers to easily disseminate conference output.Interested in finding out more? Contact the Journal Manager, Patrick Higgins.]u[ Ubiquity Press April Newsletter was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Find ]u[ Ubiquity, WRUP, HUP, and LARC at the London Book Fair 2024From 12th-14th March, we will be returning to the London Book Fair for the second year in a row.The London Book Fair is one of the largest publishing fairs globally, attracting around 30,000 attendees each year. Having a presence at LBF 2024 alongside so many major players in the publishing industry is a great opportunity for us to promote the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network (UPN), and to generate some conversation around open access, university press publishing, and the open movement in general.We are especially thrilled to be sharing our stand this year with three members of the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network — White Rose University Press (WRUP), Helsinki University Press (HUP), and Latin America Research Commons (LARC). All three presses are pioneering open access publishing, and producing first-rate publications that explore cutting-edge scholarship across a wide range of disciplines. As fully open access presses, all of their content is freely available online — however, each press also offers high-quality print copies of their books, a selection of which will be available to explore on our stand. You can find out more about each press below:White Rose University Press (WRUP) is a non-profit, open access publisher of peer-reviewed academic journals and books, publishing across a wide range of academic disciplines. The press was founded in 2016, and is run jointly by three of the UK’s leading universities; the University of Leeds, the University of Sheffield, and the University of York.All three universities have a strong research presence both within the UK and globally and came together to establish WRUP, due to their shared values and commitment to making research open access.WRUP strives to provide ‘service-led’ publishing that serves the academic community by providing high-quality publishing services as well as expertise and support for scholars publishing in open access for the first time or looking to experiment with different forms of publishing. Over the last few years, WRUP has focused in particular on its book and monograph publications, producing many impactful and incredibly high-quality books across a wide range of disciplines.Helsinki University Press (HUP) is a fully open access university press, which launched in 2020. It was established with the aim to further the transition to open research, and publish research literature with as global a reach as possible. The press is particularly conscious of being accessible to researchers and readers in the Majority World, where paywalls are a major challenge, as well as to audiences outside of academia.HUP aspires not only to provide accessible publications with as wide a reach as possible, but to produce publications of the highest quality. The press publishes high-quality books and journals across a wide range of academic fields and disciplines, with a particular focus on the humanities and social sciences.Latin America Research Commons (LARC) is the first open access publishing press dedicated to the publication of monographs in Spanish and Portuguese.It is a project that originated in the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) and its main goal is to ensure the widest possible dissemination of original monographs and journals in all disciplines related to Latin American studies. It is oriented to ensure that scholars from around the world can find and access the research they need without economic or geographic barriers.We will also be representing the University Press Library Open (UPLO), a new open access initiative from Paradigm Publishing Services, which will host content from fifty-plus traditional print University Press Library partners, making them fully available as open access. The platform will have a central focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and is funded by De Gruyter’s not-for-profit foundation, eBound.You will be able to find us on Stand 7A34, from 12th-14th March at Olympia London. Make sure you stop by to look at just a small selection of some of the innovative titles published by WRUP, HUP, and LARC, plus our own publishing imprint ]u[ Ubiquity Press. We will also be on hand to talk about the UPLO, our Partner Press service, or any other aspect of open publishing. We look forward to seeing you there!Would you like to set up a meeting in advance of the London Book Fair? Get in touch.Find ]u[ Ubiquity,WRUP, HUP, and LARC at the London Book Fair 2024 was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Welcome to the first ]u[ Ubiquity Press newsletter of 2024!Spring is nearly here and we are looking ahead to another fruitful year, as are our journals; we have plenty of calls for papers going, plus an exciting opportunity to shape the future of the Journal of Open Research Software.Since our last newsletter, we have seen the publication of two hotly anticipated ]u[ Ubiquity Press books, and our journals have been busy producing some innovative special collections. Read on to find out more…]u[ Ubiquity Press attends London Book FairHot off the press — ]u[ Ubiquity Press publishes two new booksBuildings and Cities publishes three new special collectionsJournal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME) publishes new special collectionJournal of Open Humanities Data (JOHD) team win award for ‘Deep Impact: A Study on the Impact of Data Papers and Datasets in the Humanities and Social Sciences’Spotlight on: Ubiquity ProceedingsCalls for papersJobs and opportunities]u[ Ubiquity Press attends the London Book Fair, alongside White Rose University Press (WRUP), Helsinki University Press (HUP), Latin America Research Commons (LARC), and University Press Library Open (UPLO)]u[ Ubiquity Press is heading to London Book Fair 2024! We are excited to announce that we will be exhibiting on a stand alongside three presses from the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network; White Rose University Press (WRUP), Helsinki University Press (HUP), and Latin America Research Commons (LARC).We will also be representing the University Press Library Open (UPLO), a new open access initiative hosted by ]u[ Ubiquity, which will host content from fifty-plus traditional print University Press Library partners, making them fully available as Open Access. The platform will have a central focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and is funded by De Gruyter’s not-for-profit foundation, eBound.You will be able to find us on Stand 7A34, from 12th-14th March at Olympia London. Make sure you stop by to look at just a small selection of some of the innovative titles published by ]u[ Ubiquity Press, WRUP, HUP and LARC, and to find out more about the UPLO.Arrange to meet with us at LBF 2024.Hot off the press — ]u[ Ubiquity Press publishes two new booksOur book publishing team had a busy end to 2023, with two new ]u[ Ubiquity Press titles coming out late last year. To find out more about either book, simply click the link below the cover image, or the title below.Leaving No One Behind, Leaving No One UnaccountableLeaving No One Behind, Leaving No One Unaccountable, by Luka GlušacLeaving No One Behind is the 22nd paper in the SSR paper series, a series that explores and analyses the challenges of security sector governance and reform, and is produced in collaboration with The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF).Based on state-of-the-field, interdisciplinary research with a global perspective, Leaving No One Behind offers the first comprehensive account of the role of ombuds institutions in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16. It offers a granular analysis of all SDG 16 targets, demonstrating how ombuds institutions could contribute to achieving each of them.About the author: Luka Glušac, PhD, is Assistant Director and Research Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, where he focuses on human rights, good governance, and security. His main area of expertise is the institutional design of independent oversight bodies, especially ombuds institutions and anti-corruption agencies. He is particularly interested in their role in security sector governance.Read the book now.Can’t Touch This: Digital Approaches to Materiality in Culture HeritageCan’t Touch This: Digital Approaches to Materiality in Culture Heritage, by Dr Chiara Palladino and Dr Gabriel BodardCan’t Touch This is a broadly interdisciplinary volume exploring the tension between the materiality of cultural heritage artefacts and the intangible aspects of digital methods.Palladino and Bodard argue that the ever-increasing digitisation of cultural heritage and immaterial knowledge is affecting the ways in which people relate to their culture and history. They address many of the most pressing issues in the field of Digital Humanities, asking provocative questions such as ‘who “owns” a digital artefact?’.About the authors: Chiara Palladino is Assistant Professor of Classics at Furman University. She works on the application of digital technologies to the study of ancient texts. Her current main interests are in the use of semantic annotation and modelling for the analysis of ancient spatial narratives, and in the implementation of NLP methods for reading and investigating historical languages.Gabriel Bodard teaches Classics, Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage at the University of London. His research includes standards for digital encoding of inscribed texts, especially from Northern Africa, applying linked open data to place and person records, 3D approaches to built heritage, and ancient religion and magic.Read the book now.Buildings and Cities publishes three new special collectionsThe journal Buildings and Cities had a productive end to 2023, publishing three special collections in late November. Each collection features a wealth of innovative research surrounding the journal’s subject area. You can find out more about each special collection, and read the collection in full, by clicking on the titles below:‘Social value of the built environment’ explores current and potential approaches to defining, delivering, monitoring, and evaluating social value in the built environment, its benefits and consequences, and its relation to other existing policy mechanisms.‘Data politics in the built environment’ aims to improve our collective understanding of the practices, politics, and power implications of data-driven buildings and cities.‘Understanding demolition’ explores why demolition occurs and its environmental, socio-economic, and cultural drivers, potentials and consequences, as well as policy and practices pertaining to avoiding demolition at different scales.Read the journal now.Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME) publishes new special collectionThe Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME) has released a new special collection entitled ‘Interdisciplinarity Open Technology-Enhanced Learning’.The collection brings together work by researchers both inside and outside the Open Technology Enhanced Learning (OpenTEL) group, addressing major barriers to learning — lack of resources, unequal access to resources, limited access for people with disabilities, growing recognition of the scale of mental health issues — and identifying ways of reducing these barriers in TEL contexts.Read the collection now.Journal of Open Humanities Data (JOHD) team win award for ‘Deep Impact: A Study on the Impact of Data Papers and Datasets in the Humanities and Social Sciences’We were delighted to hear that members of the Journal of Open Humanities Data (JOHD) editorial team won the Publications 2022 Best Paper Award for 10th Anniversary, run by MDPI.‘Deep Impact: A Study on the Impact of Data Papers and Datasets in the Humanities and Social Sciences’ was authored by JOHD editorial team members Barbara McGillivray, Paola Marongiu, Marton Ribary, Mandy Wigdorowitz and Eleonora Zordan, along with Nilo Pedrazzini. The paper demonstrates that data papers for humanities data improve the visibility of data sets, support research articles, and contribute to open research. Congratulations to the authors!Read the journal.Spotlight on: Ubiquity ProceedingsThis month’s journal spotlight falls on Ubiquity Proceedings, ]u[ Ubiquity Press’ own conference proceedings journal.Ubiquity Proceedings was established to provide conference organisers with a platform to easily publish and disseminate conference output in a cost-effective and professional manner. The journal is not subject-specific, and is open to publishing conference output from across all disciplines.To date, Ubiquity Proceedings has published the output of three conferences, including the 5th International Small Sample Test Techniques Conference, taking place at Swansea University in 2018, and the 2022 conference Pandemic Perspectives: Reflections on a Post-Covid World, organised by the Pandemic Perspectives group.Most recently, Ubiquity Proceedings published the output from the 2023 EDEN Dublin Annual Conference, the conference of Eden Digital Learning Europe, an international educational association and not-for-profit organisation. The conference explored the theme, ‘“Yes we can!” — Digital Education for Better Futures’, challenging participants to think critically about what a better future might look like, and how digital education can contribute to this future.If you are interested in publishing your conference proceedings in Ubiquity Proceedings, you can get in touch with the journal manager to find out more.Find out more.Calls for papers:Tilburg Law ReviewThe Tilburg Law Review is seeking papers for its 2025 special issue entitled ‘Technology as a Connector of Organizations in a Socially Sustainable World’. This issue will explore the pivotal role of technology in fostering socially sustainable connections among organisations within the complex framework of interconnected activities and globalised relations.The deadline for manuscript submissions is 1st November 2024.Download the full call for papers.Transactions of the International Society for Music Information RetrievalThe journal Transactions of the International Society for Music Information Retrieval (TSMIR) is now accepting submissions for contributions for a special collection entitled ‘Multi-Modal Music Information Retrieval’, which will feature papers on multi-modal systems in all their diversity. The journal particularly encourages under-explored repertoire, new connections between fields, and novel research areas.The deadline for submissions is 1st August 2024. The journal recommends that you get in touch with the editorial team in advance if you plan to submit.Download the full call for papers.Insights: the UKSG journalUKSG’s journal Insights is seeking submissions for its new issue ‘Innovation in academic libraries and academic publishing’. The focus of this call is on innovation, and stories about the projects and initiatives that are identifying new ways to support education and research. It is an opportunity for information professionals to share their wisdom and experiences.Find out more.Jobs and opportunities:The Journal of Open Research Software (JORS) is seeking applications for the positions of Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor, to start in Spring 2024 at the latest.JORS is an international, peer-reviewed journal, publishing Software Metapapers describing research software with high reuse potential, as well as full-length research papers covering different aspects of creating, maintaining, and evaluating open source research software.The team is looking for qualified candidates who can commit to investing time in working to develop and grow the journal. The deadline for applications is 26th March 2024; interested candidates can get in touch with the journal’s Editorial Account Manager.Find out more.That’s all from us for now — we will be back with the latest ]u[ Ubiquity Press news in two months time.In the meantime, you can always keep up to date with what’s going on at the press via X, and also via our community portal, ]u[ Community. Not a member, but believe you should be? Get in touch to request access.Until next time!- The ]u[ Ubiquity Press Team]u[ Ubiquity Press February Newsletter was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Cardiff University Press was established in 2014, and is an open access, Diamond model publisher of journals and books. The press launched its Monograph Publishing Programme in 2019 during Open Access Week, with the initial aim of publishing 2–3 books per year. The programme has been highly successful, and last year the press published its tenth monograph, entitled The Material Culture of English Rural Households c.1250–1600. Authored by Ben Jervis (formerly Cardiff University, now University of Leicester), Chris Briggs (University of Cambridge), Alice Forward (University of Leicester), Tomasz Gromelski (University of Oxford), and Matthew Tompkins (University of Leicester), the book draws on the results of the Leverhulme funded project of the same name. It constitutes the first national-scale interdisciplinary analysis of non-elite consumption in the later Middle Ages.Research concerning the lives and habits of the people of the past has long been limited to the elite, ignoring the majority of the population. When it comes to the study of material culture in the later Middle Ages and Early Modern period in England, there has been considerable research on the possessions of elite households and people living in larger towns. This is often attributed to the lack of extant sources for non-elite households and those living in smaller, rural towns and communities. The Material Culture of English Rural Households c.1250–1600 addresses this gap in the field, using an interdisciplinary approach to bring together archaeological evidence and archival documentation.The Material Culture of English Rural Households c.1250–1600 sheds new light on the rise in living standards in England following the Black Death, the commercialisation of the English economy, and the birth of modern conceptions of consumerism. The study combines three sources of data to address two key questions: what goods did medieval households own, and what influenced their consumption habits? The first source is archaeological evidence, comprising over 14,000 objects recovered from archaeological excavations. The book brings together this data, much of which is unpublished and therefore inaccessible to researchers. The second dataset comes from lists of the seized goods of felons, outlaws, and suicides collated by the Escheator, a royal official, in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Escheator’s work is poorly understood, but these lists, relating to some of the poorest people in medieval society (for whom traditional sources such as wills and probate inventories simply don’t exist), provide new insights into the living standards of rural households. The final dataset comes from equivalent lists compiled by the Coroner for the 16th century.The publication of The Material Culture of English Rural Households c.1250–1600 in open access is a great achievement for the field of material culture studies, and for the advancement of open scholarship in the humanities more broadly. Titles such as this one demonstrate the value of university press publishing in producing groundbreaking, important research that addresses big gaps in research fields.You can read or download The Material Culture of English Rural Households c.1250–1600 in full now, from Cardiff University Press.]u[ Ubiquity is proud to support a major resurgence of university press publishing, to be able to help new presses become established, and to provide them with the capability to grow and flourish. Is your society or institution interested in developing its OA initiatives, and becoming a publisher? The ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network is always growing; find out more about setting up an open access press with ]u[ Ubiquity.Exploring The Material Culture of English Rural Households: CardiffUP’s Tenth OA Book was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Welcome to the first ]u[ Ubiquity newsletter of 2024!We hope you had a restful festive period and a good start to the new year. 2024 has already gotten off to a flying start, with members of the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network launching some exciting new open access projects, plenty of interesting new book publications, and the launch of a brand new ]u[ Ubiquity Repository. Read on to find out more…Science belongs in the hands of scientists: KIT announces the ‘Diamond Thinking’ ProjectLSE Press to publish the Royal Geographical Society RSG-IBG book seriesNiagara University’s Digital Repository launches on ]u[ Ubiquity RepositoriesUniversity of Westminster Press celebrates 8th anniversaryIndian Institute of Technology — Knowledge Sharing in Publishing (IIT KSHIP)Open Access News: Key updates from the wider OA worldNew books from our Partner PressesScience belongs in the hands of scientists: KIT announces the ‘Diamond Thinking’ Project]u[ Ubiquity’s long-standing partner KIT is expanding its publishing activities with the ‘Diamond Thinking’ Project, backed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and developed with Stuttgart University, in pioneering scholar-led open-access publishing. Running from September 2023 to August 2025, the project aims to establish top-tier scientific journals across major disciplines at KIT or to facilitate the transition of existing commercial journals to open access.The project has already made a significant impact by transitioning the conference proceedings of the International Association for Hydrogen Safety (HySafe) from Elsevier to KIT Scientific Publishing (KSP). The project seeks to go beyond simply ‘flipping’ journals and inspire the scientific community to take back control of their publishing output.]u[ Ubiquity is thrilled to be supporting this trailblazing project through our work with KIT Scientific Publishing (KSP).Find out more.LSE Press to publish Royal Geographical Society RSG-IBG book seriesLSE Press and the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) have entered into a new publishing partnership, which will see LSE Press publish the highly respected RGS-IBG book series from mid-2024, comprising up to four open access titles each year.The RGS-IBG book series publishes work of the highest international standing with an emphasis on distinctive new developments in human and physical geography. By publishing all titles in open access, the series will be able to reach a broader audience and achieve greater impact for research.This is great news for LSE Press, who are continuing to grow and develop as an open access university press, and for the open access book landscape in general.Find out more.Niagara University’s Digital Repository launches on ]u[ Ubiquity Repositories]u[ Ubiquity is delighted to announce the launch of a brand new ]u[ Repository, Niagara University’s Digital Repository. A service of the Niagara University Library, the repository will provide open access to the scholarly and creative work of faculty, staff, and students, as well as items of historical interest from the University Archives.The repository has been set up under ]u[ Ubiquity’s agreement with the Empire State Library Network (ESLN), which enables ESLN members to build a new institutional repository from scratch, or transfer an existing one to ]u[ Ubiquity’s next-generation repository platform. There is also the opportunity for ESLN repositories to be included in ESLN Academic Institutional Repository, the multi-tenancy instance ]u[ Ubiquity created for the content from participating ESLN repositories to be cross-searchable on one platform.Find out more about ]u[ Ubiquity Repositories.University of Westminster Press celebrates its 8th anniversaryOn Monday 4th December 2023, members of the University of Westminster community came together to celebrate the 8th anniversary of the founding of the University of Westminster Press (UWP), and the publication of the press’ 55th book, SMELL.UWP was founded in 2015, acquiring its first journal in September of that year and publishing its first book Critical Theory of Communication the following year. The press is a digital-first, open access publisher of peer reviewed academic books, policy briefs and journals, and exists to provide global public access to academic work.UWP was one of the very first presses to join the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network; we are delighted to see how much the team has achieved so far, and look forward to watching the press continue to grow.Check out UWP’s booklet.Indian Institute of Technology — Knowledge Sharing in Publishing (IIT KSHIP) publishes its first bookIIT KSHIP has published its first book, Indian Electronic Literature Anthology, a pioneering collection that marks an important development in Indian literary publishing.Indian Electronic Literature Anthology brings together 17 digital works that demonstrate new and evolving computational and literary aesthetics across multiple genres and media, and English and Indian languages. It showcases the vast opportunities and experimental freedoms provided by digital platforms and paves the way for further innovation and cultural inclusivity in electronic publishing.Read it now.Open Access News: Key updates from the wider OA worldThe European University Association (EUA) seeks participants for focus group on “Co-designing Diamond OA recommendations and guidelines for institutional leaders”The EUA is seeking participants for a focus group on “Co-designing Diamond OA recommendations and guidelines for institutional leaders”, organised in the context of the EU-funded DIAMAS project.The focus group will bring together institutional practitioners from universities, research performing organisations, and learned societies to discuss their needs and challenges in the transition to Diamond Open Access at institutional level. Their input will directly feed into the development of the “Diamond OA policy recommendations and guidelines for institutional leaders”, which the DIAMAS project is set to publish in February 2025.We strongly recommend that representatives from our university-based partner presses apply to take part. The deadline for participation has been extended until February 9th, with the focus group due to take place online Wednesday 13th March.Find out more and take part.Introduction To Publication Ethics: Online workshop from COPEThe Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) will be hosting a workshop on publication ethics on Monday 26th February. Registration is open to anyone, is free to join, and will provide a solid introduction to the principles of publication ethics within academic publishing, and how to use the guidance and tools available to embed publication ethics in a journal’s daily practice.Register here.New books from our Partner PressesCheck out this selection of recently published, open access books from some of our partner presses, including Stockholm University Press, Kriterium, and the Latin America Research Commons. To find out more about any title, simply click on the book title in the caption below each row of images.Ukraine//Nordic and Baltic Perspective in Canadian Studies//Ground TruthsWater: A Dutch Cultural History//Diamela Eltit: Essays on Chilean Literature, Politics and Culture//Auslegung von Verstärkungen ermüdungsgeschädigter Stahlbauteile mit aufgeklebten FaserverbundwerkstoffenBeing Pagan, Being Christian in Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages //Genetic Criticism in Motion//”Slava Ukraini!”That is all from us for now. You can keep up to date with us over on X, Mastodon and Linkedin, and you can also keep up with news from our publishing imprint ]u[ Ubiquity Press on X.]u[ Community members can also keep in touch with ]u[ Ubiquity team members and other users of ]u[ Ubiquity services on our Community Portal. Not a member but think you should be? Get in touch with us to request membership.If you have any news or announcements you would like to be featured in a future newsletter, or shared via our socials, you can always get in touch with us.Until next time!— The ]u[ Ubiquity TeamBusy year ahead! The latest from ]u[ Ubiquity (Q1, 2024) was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Welcome to the first ]u[ Ubiquity newsletter of 2024!We hope you had a restful festive period and a good start to the new year. 2024 has already gotten off to a flying start, with members of the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network launching some exciting new open access projects, plenty of interesting new book publications, and the launch of a brand new ]u[ Ubiquity Repository. Read on to find out more…Science belongs in the hands of scientists: KIT announces the ‘Diamond Thinking’ ProjectLSE Press to publish the Royal Geographical Society RSG-IBG book seriesNiagara University’s Digital Repository launches on ]u[ Ubiquity RepositoriesUniversity of Westminster Press celebrates 8th anniversaryIndian Institute of Technology — Knowledge Sharing in Publishing (IIT KSHIP)Open Access News: Key updates from the wider OA worldNew books from our Partner PressesScience belongs in the hands of scientists: KIT announces the ‘Diamond Thinking’ Project]u[ Ubiquity’s long-standing partner KIT is expanding its publishing activities with the ‘Diamond Thinking’ Project, backed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and developed with Stuttgart University, in pioneering scholar-led open-access publishing. Running from September 2023 to August 2025, the project aims to establish top-tier scientific journals across major disciplines at KIT or to facilitate the transition of existing commercial journals to open access.The project has already made a significant impact by transitioning the conference proceedings of the International Association for Hydrogen Safety (HySafe) from Elsevier to KIT Scientific Publishing (KSP). The project seeks to go beyond simply ‘flipping’ journals and inspire the scientific community to take back control of their publishing output.]u[ Ubiquity is thrilled to be supporting this trailblazing project through our work with KIT Scientific Publishing (KSP).Find out more.LSE Press to publish Royal Geographical Society RSG-IBG book seriesLSE Press and the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) have entered into a new publishing partnership, which will see LSE Press publish the highly respected RGS-IBG book series from mid-2024, comprising up to four open access titles each year.The RGS-IBG book series publishes work of the highest international standing with an emphasis on distinctive new developments in human and physical geography. By publishing all titles in open access, the series will be able to reach a broader audience and achieve greater impact for research.This is great news for LSE Press, who are continuing to grow and develop as an open access university press, and for the open access book landscape in general.Find out more.Niagara University’s Digital Repository launches on ]u[ Ubiquity Repositories]u[ Ubiquity is delighted to announce the launch of a brand new ]u[ Repository, Niagara University’s Digital Repository. A service of the Niagara University Library, the repository will provide open access to the scholarly and creative work of faculty, staff, and students, as well as items of historical interest from the University Archives.The repository has been set up under ]u[ Ubiquity’s agreement with the Empire State Library Network (ESLN), which enables ESLN members to build a new institutional repository from scratch, or transfer an existing one to ]u[ Ubiquity’s next-generation repository platform. There is also the opportunity for ESLN repositories to be included in ESLN Academic Institutional Repository, the multi-tenancy instance ]u[ Ubiquity created for the content from participating ESLN repositories to be cross-searchable on one platform.Find out more about ]u[ Ubiquity Repositories.University of Westminster Press celebrates its 8th anniversaryOn Monday 4th December 2023, members of the University of Westminster community came together to celebrate the 8th anniversary of the founding of the University of Westminster Press (UWP), and the publication of the press’ 55th book, SMELL.UWP was founded in 2015, acquiring its first journal in September of that year and publishing its first book Critical Theory of Communication the following year. The press is a digital-first, open access publisher of peer reviewed academic books, policy briefs and journals, and exists to provide global public access to academic work.UWP was one of the very first presses to join the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network; we are delighted to see how much the team has achieved so far, and look forward to watching the press continue to grow.Check out UWP’s booklet.Indian Institute of Technology — Knowledge Sharing in Publishing (IIT KSHIP) publishes its first bookIIT KSHIP has published its first book, Indian Electronic Literature Anthology, a pioneering collection that marks an important development in Indian literary publishing.Indian Electronic Literature Anthology brings together 17 digital works that demonstrate new and evolving computational and literary aesthetics across multiple genres and media, and English and Indian languages. It showcases the vast opportunities and experimental freedoms provided by digital platforms and paves the way for further innovation and cultural inclusivity in electronic publishing.Read it now.Open Access News: Key updates from the wider OA worldThe European University Association (EUA) seeks participants for focus group on “Co-designing Diamond OA recommendations and guidelines for institutional leaders”The EUA is seeking participants for a focus group on “Co-designing Diamond OA recommendations and guidelines for institutional leaders”, organised in the context of the EU-funded DIAMAS project.The focus group will bring together institutional practitioners from universities, research performing organisations, and learned societies to discuss their needs and challenges in the transition to Diamond Open Access at institutional level. Their input will directly feed into the development of the “Diamond OA policy recommendations and guidelines for institutional leaders”, which the DIAMAS project is set to publish in February 2025.We strongly recommend that representatives from our university-based partner presses apply to take part. The deadline for participation has been extended until February 9th, with the focus group due to take place online Wednesday 13th March.Find out more and take part.Introduction To Publication Ethics: Online workshop from COPEThe Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) will be hosting a workshop on publication ethics on Monday 26th February. Registration is open to anyone, is free to join, and will provide a solid introduction to the principles of publication ethics within academic publishing, and how to use the guidance and tools available to embed publication ethics in a journal’s daily practice.Register here.New books from our Partner PressesCheck out this selection of recently published, open access books from some of our partner presses, including Stockholm University Press, Kriterium, and the Latin America Research Commons. To find out more about any title, simply click on the book title in the caption below each row of images.Ukraine//Nordic and Baltic Perspective in Canadian Studies//Ground TruthsWater: A Dutch Cultural History//Diamela Eltit: Essays on Chilean Literature, Politics and Culture//Auslegung von Verstärkungen ermüdungsgeschädigter Stahlbauteile mit aufgeklebten FaserverbundwerkstoffenBeing Pagan, Being Christian in Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages //Genetic Criticism in Motion//”Slava Ukraini!”That is all from us for now. You can keep up to date with us over on X, Mastodon and Linkedin, and you can also keep up with news from our publishing imprint ]u[ Ubiquity Press on X.]u[ Community members can also keep in touch with ]u[ Ubiquity team members and other users of ]u[ Ubiquity services on our Community Portal. Not a member but think you should be? Get in touch with us to request membership.If you have any news or announcements you would like to be featured in a future newsletter, or shared via our socials, you can always get in touch with us.Until next time!— The ]u[ Ubiquity TeamBusy year ahead! The latest news from ]u[ Ubiquity was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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The latest from ]u[ UbiquityWelcome to the final quarterly ]u[ Ubiquity newsletter of 2023. We may be approaching the end of year, but things at ]u[ Ubiquity are showing no sign of winding down for the holidays just yet!In the past three months, we’ve welcomed a migrated journal to ]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals, made some crucial improvements to elevate our journal platforms, and celebrated both International Open Access Week and University Press Week. We’ve also got plenty of new publications to announce from our ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network and some exciting opportunities and calls for papers from our own publishing imprint ]u[ Ubiquity Press, not to mention some key updates from the wider open access world. Read on to find out more…In this newsletter…]u[ Ubiquity Takes Action with Fully OA Publishers Group]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals Welcomes Two New Journals]u[ Ubiquity Celebrates University Press Week]u[ Ubiquity Team Releases Integral Journal Platform UpgradesOpen Access News: Key Updates from the Wider OA WorldLSE Press Publishes First Issue of Philosophy of PhysicsHelsinki University Press Publishes Special Issue of Estetika: The European Journal of AestheticsNew Partner Press BooksSilk Roads Archaeology and Heritage Publishes First IssueJournal of Open Psychology Data Launches Mentorship ProgrammeCall for Papers]u[ Ubiquity Takes Action with Fully OA Publishers GroupFor the first time ever, members of the Fully OA Publishers Group came together in person to represent the group on a shared booth at the 2023 Charleston Conference Vendor Showcase. ]u[ Ubiquity was pleased to attend alongside fellow members Frontiers, MDPI, and JMIR Publications, and to be able to represent the group’s mission to conference attendees.The Fully OA Publishers Group is a collective of publishers who are all dedicated solely to open access publications. The group meets regularly to exchange ideas, and to identify opportunities, like Charleston, to collaborate and work together. Recently, members of the group published an open letter in support of the Lofgren CJS Amendment; this amendment would strike Sec 552 of the Subcommittee’s FY24 spending bill, a bill which the group has previously spoken out against on the grounds that it would ‘be a block on the advancement of US research and its influence within the international scientific community’.We are proud to be members of the Fully OA Publishers Group and look forward to many more opportunities to collaborate in the future.Find out more about the Fully OA Group.]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals Welcomes Two New JournalsWe are pleased to announce the migration of two journals to ]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals; the Interprofessional Journal of Healthcare and Research, and the Journal of Historical Network Research.The Interprofessional Journal of Healthcare and Research has migrated to ]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals from Digital Commons. The journal is published by the College of Health Studies and Professions at the University of North Georgia, and exists to promote collaboration between healthcare professionals across multiple fields of practice.The Journal of Historical Network Research is maintained by members of the Historical Network Research Community and sponsored by the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH) — University of Luxembourg. The journal publishes research applying the theories and methodologies of network analysis to historical research.We are excited to be a part of the next chapter for both of these journals, and to support them in publishing in open access.Find out more about ]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals]u[ Ubiquity Celebrates University Press WeekIn November, celebrated University Press Week (UP Week). Organised annually by the Association of University Presses (AUP), UP Week is a chance to celebrate the invaluable role that university presses play in scholarly communications all over the world.Over half of the presses in our ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network (UPN) are university presses; we are proud to support such a diverse group of university presses, and to watch them all grow and flourish. This year’s theme #SpeakUP encouraged the celebration of the creative, diverse and groundbreaking research that university press publishing facilitates. We spoke to two of our partner presses, White Rose University Press and Helsinki University Press, about some of their recent book publications, and how they exemplify the kind of high-quality, innovative research each press seeks to publish.We also spoke to ]u[ Ubiquity founder and CEO Brian Hole about the benefits of an institution starting their own university press, and addressed some of the common misconceptions surrounding university press publishing. For all of this, and more, you can visit the ]u[ Ubiquity blog.]u[ Ubiquity Team Releases Integral Journal Platform UpgradesThe ]u[ Ubiquity Journal platform team has been hard at work over the past few months, releasing a number of new platform updates. This has included enhanced multilingual support, improved security measures, and journal website updates to ensure better accessibility. Details about all new improvements can always be found on our community portal. Not a member, but believe you should be? You can always get in touch to request membership.The team is also in the process of upgrading all ]u[ Ubiquity journals to OJS 3.4, which was released by PKP over the summer. Work is being undertaken to document the required upgrade process, as well as updating individual plugins, to ensure compatibility with the new version of the system. All involved parties and journal teams will be kept informed as the process develops.Open Access News: Key Updates from the Wider OA WorldApplications Open for UKRI Open Access Book FundingFrom 1 January 2024, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s new open access policy will apply to monographs, book chapters and edited collections as well as journals. This requires any research funded by UKRI or one of its research councils to be compliant with a number of requirements. Read the full policy.UKRI is providing a £3.5 million dedicated fund to support open access costs for long-form publications within the scope of the policy. Stage one of applications for the new fund opened on 28th November, 2023. Research organisations will be able to register publications for funding and receive confirmation from UKRI that the publications are eligible. Find out more.]u[ Ubiquity’s publishing imprint, ]u[ Ubiquity Press, offers fully open access book publishing services, ensuring compliance with UKRI’s open access book policy. Research articles published in ]u[ Ubiquity Press journals, or in ]u[ Ubiquity hosted journals, will also remain compliant with the policy; we guarantee to remain dedicated to fully open access.Find out more about publishing with ]u[ Ubiquity.cOAlition S Release New Draft Proposal ‘Towards Responsible Publishing’cOAlition S, the group of funders who launched Plan S five years ago, has released a draft proposal that lays out a move towards a scholar-led, more ‘responsible’ publishing landscape.Read the full proposal.Open Access Week 2023 — Community Over CommercialisationThe last week of October saw open access advocates from all over the world come together to celebrate International Open Access Week. This year’s theme, ‘Community over Commercialisation’ prompted many interesting conversations surrounding different approaches to open scholarship, and how best to prioritise the needs of the research community and the wider public.Over on the ]u[ Ubiquity blog, we published a series of posts centred around this year’s theme:Community-Centric Publishing: The ]u[ Ubiquity Partner NetworkWhat Does ‘Community’ Mean to the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network? Conversations with Three ]u[ Ubiquity Partner PressesLocal Impact, Global Reach: How the Journals Online Project Fosters Community-Centric ResearchCode, Collaboration, and Commitment: An Insight into ]u[ Ubiquity’s Role in the Open Source CommunityFinding Community in the Commercial: The Fully OA Group to Collaborate at the Charleston Conference 2023Visit the ]u[ Ubiquity blog.LSE Press Publishes First Issue of Philosophy of Physics]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network member LSE Press has published the first issue of a new journal, Philosophy of Physics. The journal aims to be a flagship journal for the field and to span the various axes of the philosophy of physics, such as metaphysical, historical, and mathematical. We are delighted to see the first issue published and look forward to many more to come.Read the first issue.Helsinki University Press Publishes Special Issue of Estetika: The European Journal of AestheticsHelsinki University Press (HUP) published a new special issue of Estetika: The European Journal of Aesthetics earlier this Autumn.The issue explores the theme ‘Failures in Aesthetic Judgement’, and is guest-edited by María José Alcaraz León. Estetika is a generalist journal in the field of philosophical aesthetics, publishing research articles that engage with the diverse traditions of aesthetics in Europe and beyond. It is published twice a year by HUP in cooperation with the Faculty of Arts, Charles University.Read the special collection.New Partner Press BooksCheck out this selection of recently published, open access books from some of our partner presses, including the Finnish Literary Society, LSE Press, and Cardiff University Press. To find out more about any title, simply click on the link in the caption below.Military Revolution and the Thirty Years War 1618–1648//Children’s Culture and Citizenship in Argentina//Maverick MoviesBaker & Singh’s Interactive Guide to the Human Brain//How Did Britain Come to This?//Human and Planetary HealthMiten tutkia kohteliaisuutta?//Afterlives//Living Communities and Their Archaeologies in the Middle EastRed Pope//Materialitet//The Material Culuture of English Rural Households C.1250–1600Hot Off the Press…The latest news from our publishing imprint, ]u[ Ubiquity Press.Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage Publishes First Issue]u[ Ubiquity Press journal Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage has published its first articles. The journal aims to be a forum for the dissemination of current research on the archaeology and heritage of the Silk Roads, and publishes high-quality research work from across a range of disciplines including History, Anthropology, Architecture, and Ethnography.Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage is a Diamond Open Access Journal, and welcomes submissions on a rolling basis. Find out more about submitting an article.Read the journal.The Journal of Open Psychology Data Launches Mentorship ProgrammeThe Journal of Open Psychology Data (JOPD) is now offering researchers wishing to gain editorial experience the opportunity to take part in a trial of a brand-new mentorship programme. The programme will support up to 2 individuals pursuing a career in academia, and the JOPD team are particularly keen to offer this to individuals who identify with marginalised or historically excluded communities.Find out more.Call for Papers:Swiss Psychology OpenThe journal Swiss Psychology Open (SPO) is seeking papers for a new special collection entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence and Research in Psychology’. The collection will focus on the applications and impact of AI on psychological research, and the deadline for submission is 29th February, 2024. The journal recommends that interested authors first send an abstract to Fernand Gobet to check the suitability of their paper. Download the full call for papers.Buildings and CitiesBuildings and Cities is seeking papers for a special collection entitled ‘Energy Sufficiency in Buildings and Cities’. Authors interested in contributing should send a 500 word (maximum) abstract to editor Richard Lorch by 15 January 2024. Download the full call for papers.That’s all from us this time. We will be back in the new year; until then, take care and have a wonderful festive season.The ]u[ Ubiquity TeamThe Latest News from ]u[ Ubiquity was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Close-up photograph of the corner of a computer screen, showing Gmail inboxWelcome to the October edition of the ]u[ Ubiquity Press newsletter.As we head towards the end of the year, things show no sign of slowing down at the press. On top of plenty of conference attendances, and celebrations for International Open Access Week, we have several interesting new publications to announce, plus an exciting opportunity for an open access book enthusiast to join our team! Read on to find out more…]u[ Ubiquity Press Represent Fully OA Group at the 2023 Charleston ConferenceJournal of Open Humanities Data Host London Get-TogetherAnnals of Global Health Publishes ‘Universal Health Coverage Through Integrated Care’Perspectives on Medical Education Publishes ‘The Writer’s Craft Collection’“Yes we can!” Ubiquity Proceedings Publishes EDEN Dublin AC 2023 Conference OutputNew ]u[ Ubiquity Press Book Out NowSpotlight on: International Journal of Educational and Life TransitionsBook Reviews Wanted: Journal of Interactive Media in EducationCall for PapersJobs and Opportunities: Join the ]u[ Ubiquity Press Team!Charleston Hub Conference logo, ]u[ Ubiquity Press logo, and Fully OA logo on top of a faded picture of Charleston, South Carolina street]u[ Ubiquity Press Represent Fully OA Group at the 2023 Charleston ConferenceThe Fully OA Group is headed to Charleston! We are proud to be representing ]u[ Ubiquity Press as a part of the Fully OA Publishers Group at the Charleston 2023 vendor showcase. We will be joined by fellow Fully OA members Frontiers, MDPI, and JMIR Publications.The Fully OA Group is a collective of publishers who are all dedicated solely to open access publications. In light of last week’s International Open Access Week’s theme, ‘Community over Commercialisation’, we want to demonstrate that even as commercial entities, with a range of differing approaches and business models, we believe there is space for community and collaboration in the face of a common goal: a transition to fully open scholarly communication.We are looking forward to representing the group’s mission and generating conversation about open access at the conference, as well as being able to get together in person with our fellow open access publishers. You will be able to find the Fully OA Group booth at the Charleston vendor showcase on 7th November, booth number 97.Find out more.Journal of Open Humanities Data Host London Get-TogetherPhotograph of editors from Journal of Open Humanities Data, smiling and standing in front of a blue sofaJust this week, we had the pleasure of welcoming the Journal of Open Humanities Data (JOHD)’s editorial team to our London office, for a day of meetings and team-building.Many of our journals are made up of team members from all over the world, something that undeniably contributes to their value and diversity. However, it means that opportunities to get together in person are often few and far between, so we are always glad to be able to facilitate events like this and to have the chance to meet editors face-to-face.Annals of Global Health Publishes ‘Universal Health Coverage Through Integrated Care’Logo for the journal Annals of Global Health in blueThe journal Annals of Global Health has published a new special collection entitled ‘Universal Health Coverage through Integrated Care’ in collaboration with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM). The collection originates from the HSDM’s Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine.Achieving universal health care and coverage will require major systemic transformations globally. This special collection identifies barriers and opportunities for the integration of dental and behavioural health services, at community and national levels, as well as recent innovations and successes in the field.Read the collection.Perspectives on Medical Education Publishes ‘The Writer’s Craft Collection’Cover image for journal Perspectives on Medical EducationPerspectives on Medical Education (PME) has put together a new special collection entitled ‘The Writer’s Craft Collection: Resources to enhance your academic writing’, featuring the entire back catalogue of ‘Writer’s Craft’ articles since 2015.The collection features articles designed to support scholars in honing their academic writing skills, with recent articles such as ‘Metacommentary: Identifying and Mastering ‘Dear Reader’ Moments’, ‘The Art of Revising’, and the timely ‘Writing with ChatGPT: An illustration of its capacity, limitations & implications for academic writers’.Read the collection.“Yes we can!” ]u[ Ubiquity Proceedings Publishes EDEN Dublin AC 2023 Conference OutputText in orange reading Ubiquity ProceedingsWe are pleased to have partnered with the EDEN Dublin Annual Conference to publish the output of the 2023 conference, which explored the theme ‘“Yes we can!” — Digital Education for Better Futures’, in our proceedings journal Ubiquity Proceedings.Ubiquity Proceedings is a low-cost, open access proceedings journal. The journal provides a platform for conference organisers to easily and professionally publish and disseminate the content of their conferences. If you are interested in having your conference output published, get in touch with our editorial team.Read the proceedings.New ]u[ Ubiquity Press Book Out NowBook cover for Text- und Data-Mining in den digitalen GeisteswissenschaftenLast month saw the publication of Text- und Data-Mining in den digitalen Geisteswissenschaften, by Felicitas Lea Kleinkopf. The title is the first in the Stuttgart University Reports Series and contains a legal assessment of the copyright relevance of real use cases of research with text and data mining, from the field of digital humanities, as well as the analysis of the permission of the individual work steps.Read it now in open access.Spotlight on: International Journal of Educational and Life TransitionsCover image of International Journal of Educational and Life TransitionsThis month, our journal spotlight falls on the International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions (IJELT), which has published its second volume. After launching in 2022, the 2023 volume has built on the strong foundations that Editor-in-Chief, Professor Divya Jindal-Snape, and her team established in the first volume, with a total of 27 publications and over 11,000 page views to date.IJELT is an international, peer-reviewed journal, publishing articles and multimedia outputs of interest to researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in the field of educational and life transitions. It is interdisciplinary in approach, particularly welcoming research involving more than one discipline, sector, or nation, and publishes research studies, policy reviews, literature reviews, and multi-media and creative outputs.The journal publishes research focused on educational, social, cultural, and psychological adaptation across multiple contexts such as home, school, workplace, and community, for example, transitions of international families, from hospital to community, or of LGBTQ+ young adults to and through employment.We are pleased to see IJELT grow and continue to publish interesting and impactful research. The journal is now looking for contributions to the 2024 volume, for either the open submissions or to one of their collections.Find out more.Logo for International Journal of Educational and Life TransitionsBook Reviews Wanted: Journal of Interactive Media in EducationLogo for Journal of Interactive Media in Education on a blue backgroundThe Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME) is seeking reviews of some of the latest books released on the topics of educational technology, and the role of multimedia technologies in higher education.Reviews will be commissioned on a first-come, first-served basis for qualified reviewers and are due on 31st March 2024, with the final collection of reviews to be published in July 2024. Those who are interested should contact Foster Gondwe (Book Reviews Editor) with an expression of interest.Find out more.Call for Papers:Journal of Interactive Media in EducationJIME is seeking papers for an upcoming special collection entitled ‘Open learning and learning at scale: The legacy of MOOCs’. The collection will celebrate 10 years of the FutureLearn Academic Network (FLAN)’s research and scholarship, and refocus the network’s attention and activities. The deadline for full submissions is 31st January 2024.Find out more.Jobs and Opportunities: Join the ]u[ Ubiquity Press Team!Editorial Account Manager/Senior Editorial Account ManagerAre you an open access book enthusiast, with strong project management and communication skills? We are looking for a proactive and passionate individual with publishing experience to join our team as either an Editorial Account Manager or Senior Editorial Account Manager, depending on experience.The Editorial Account Manager plays a critical role in managing and supporting all publishing activity on the ]u[ Ubiquity platform. This involves the management of ]u[ Ubiquity Press publications, alongside helping to manage a portfolio of ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Presses. The role will have a strong book focus, with responsibilities including the management of book workflows and hands-on editorial processing. Find out more about the role and how to apply via our website.Find out more.That’s all from us for this month. We’ll be back in December, with a special end-of-year edition of the ]u[ Ubiquity Press newsletter. Until then!-The ]u[ Ubiquity Press Team]u[ Ubiquity Press October Newsletter was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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The ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network is made up of a diverse range of presses united under a common goal; to publish fully in open access.A large proportion of our partner presses are university presses, based at institutions all over the world. They publish research from across all academic disciplines and in a range of different formats, such as journals, monographs, data sets, and so on.As the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network continues to grow, we are always delighted to watch our presses flourish, and continue to publish high-quality, impactful research. In honour of this year’s University Press Week theme, #SpeakUP, we want to spotlight just a small selection of the recent research output from some of our university-based partner presses, in order to demonstrate the strength of the university press model. In today’s post, we spoke to Matleena Sopanen, Communications and Publications Coordinator from Helsinki University Press, about just a handful of the press’ book publications.Matleena: Helsinki University Press (HUP) is a fully open access university press, which launched its first books in 2020. It was established with the aim to further the transition to open research, and publish research literature with as global a reach as possible. The press is particularly conscious of being accessible to researchers and readers in the Majority World, where paywalls are a major challenge, as well as to audiences outside of academia. We believe that the absence of paywalls increases the societal impact of research. By making all of our publications freely available, we seek to contribute to a more equitable publishing landscape.We aspire not only to provide accessible publications with as wide a reach as possible, but to produce publications of the highest quality. The press publishes high-quality literature across a wide range of academic fields and disciplines, with a particular focus on the humanities and social sciences. We are committed to upholding rigorous standards of peer review and the highest levels of academic integrity, and we offer researchers a number of services to ensure a smooth and professional experience publishing their works in open access.Since its launch, HUP has published a wide range of publications, including journals, monographs, and multidisciplinary edited volumes. The press’ book publications cover a range of timely and fascinating topics; the titles highlighted in this post represent the diversity of HUP’s book output.Military Revolution and the Thirty Years War 1618–1648: Aspects of Institutional Change and Decline by Olli Bäckström, (2023)In Military Revolution and the Thirty Years War 1618–1648: Aspects of Institutional Change and Decline, Olli Bäckström provides an interdisciplinary reinterpretation of early modern warfare. The book examines the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) in the context of the Military Revolution theory, which links military changes to the formation of early modern states.The author’s approach to military history is fresh and innovative, shifting the focus away from technology and tactics to explore change and decline within military institutions. The book offers a new way of understanding military history, attempting a historical application of contemporary sociology.Finnishness, Whiteness and Coloniality by Josephine Hoegaerts, Tuire Liimatainen, Laura Hekanaho, Elizabeth Peterson (eds.), (2022)Finnishness, Whiteness and Coloniality is a multidisciplinary volume, edited by Josephine Hoegaerts, Tuire Liimatainen, Laura Hekanaho, and Elizabeth Peterson. The authors are scholars from a range of disciplines, including cultural studies, history, sociology, linguistics, and genetics, and bring together a collection of case studies that explore the shifting experiences and framings of Finnishness and its relation to race and coloniality.Instead of imposing a singular definition of what it means to be Finnish, Finnishness, Whiteness and Coloniality creates space for diverse understandings and analyses of whiteness and Finnish identity. The book reveals that the imagined homogeneous whiteness of Finland has always been (and remains) a myth.The Kobane Generation: Kurdish Diaspora Mobilising in France by Mari Toivanen, (2021)The Kobane Generation analyses how Kurdish diaspora communities mobilised in France after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war and political unrest in Turkey and Iraq in the 2010s, focusing on the second generation of Kurdish migrants.The book provides valuable insights into the generational dynamics of political mobilizations and their significance in understanding diaspora contributions; it goes beyond the diaspora context and examines the migrants’ descendant’s political activism and its relation to global transformations in political subjectivities. The book also focuses on the potential role the second generation can play in peace promotion. It has been hugely impactful in its field and received the 2022 Alixa Naff Book Prize in Migration Studies.Modern Folk Devils: Contemporary Constructions of Evil by Martin Demant Frederiksen, Ida Harboe Knudsen (eds.), (2021)Modern Folk Devils: Contemporary Constructions of Evil investigates and analyses the construction of the concept of ‘evil’, drawing upon Stanley Cohen’s theory on folk devils and moral panics. The case studies presented in the book span across Europe, Asia, and Oceania, examining various manifestations of the devilish, and how the concept of folk devils continues to shape ideas of otherness and evil on a global scale. The authors show how the concept can encompass potential threats, individuals, phenomena, or visible groups such as refugees, technocrats, LGBTQ+ groups, and right-wing politicians.The volume features works from a wide range of authors, who are scholars from various disciplines including anthropology, sociology, political studies, ethnology, and criminology. Each contribution demonstrates how the concept of ‘evil’ can encompass potential threats, individuals, phenomena, or visible groups such as refugees, technocrats, LGBT groups, and right-wing politicians.As HUP continues to go from strength to strength, ]u[ Ubiquity is delighted to be able to support the press and to be involved with producing such an interesting and important range of publications. HUP demonstrates just how successful open access, university publishing can be in offering a scholar-led alternative to traditional publishing models.We are proud to support a major resurgence of University Press publishing, to be able to help new presses become established, and to provide them with the capability to grow and flourish. We believe this trend will only accelerate, so please speak with us if your institution would like to join the movement.#SpeakUP: Helsinki University Press was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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Be a Leader, Not a Follower: The Reality of Open Access University Press Publishing]u[ Ubiquity was founded out of a desire to empower and support the scholarly community in publishing under their own terms, as well as furthering the drive towards open research. Founder and CEO Brian Hole developed the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Press service, and the subsequent ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network (UPN) in 2014, in order to provide universities and institutions with the infrastructure to sustain their own successful Open Access publishing programmes, and empower them to run their own open access university presses without technological constraints, costs, nor editorial restrictions.There remain many misconceptions about university presses and the value they bring to the scholarly community and society as a whole. In honour of University Press Week, and this year’s theme #SpeakUP, we want to address some of these misconceptions and highlight what we believe to be some of the unique, invaluable benefits that university presses offer to the scholarly landscape.Misconception one: ‘University Press’ is just an honorary title for bigger, corporate publishers.Reality: University presses are research-first entities, upholding the integrity of research publications.A university press in name is not necessarily a university press in nature. Institution- and library-based university presses may operate under a multitude of publishing models; however, they share the same commitment to quality over quantity.One must dissociate the few university presses which over time have become large corporations, and have consequently grown dependent on following market trends and mass appeal to continuously increase their earnings; with the majority of university presses that are mission-led and purposefully prioritise the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. The latter, which are the ones referred to in this post, often recognise important fresh perspectives in scholarship by publishing work in emerging, often interdisciplinary areas that have not yet gained wide attention. Freed from this commercial pressure, they can also prioritise academic integrity, and uphold stringent standards of research practice.Misconception two: University presses only publish the work of established academics at their parent institution.Reality: University presses are fully community-centric publishing endeavours, supporting not just the interests of a few eminent academics, but the wider community at their institution and beyond.One of the benefits of university presses is that they can extend the mission, influence, and brand of their parent institution, making their commitment to knowledge and ideas evident.However, this is not merely a self-serving exercise: university presses can demonstrate their parent institutions’ support of research in essential academic fields, particularly in the Humanities and Social Sciences, that are rarely supported by funding. Through publishing in open access, they are also contributing to the wider open science and open research movements.It is also a myth that university presses only publish the work of their own faculty and staff. Though university presses offer all-important support to their own academic community, for example by supporting early-career scholars with best practice advice and practical authorial support, they also publish research of high quality from around the world.Misconception three: University presses only publish low quality journals and books, not ‘top level science’.Reality: It is important not to confuse a high volume of publishing with high quality; just because larger, legacy publishers are able to publish large quantities of research does not mean that what they publish is necessarily of higher quality than smaller university presses.This is especially true when we consider the current ‘publish or perish’ culture, or issues such as research paper mills. Due to university presses not being focused on commercial markets, and instead centred around an academic institution and its faculty, they are able to focus solely on publishing high quality work, both in terms of academic integrity and production value.Moreover, there are plenty of examples of top journals that choose to publish with university presses. For just some examples of the high-quality and diverse research that university presses are producing, you can take a look at AUP UP Week website.Misconception four: University presses only publish esoteric work that has no relevance to the general public.Reality: University presses, particularly those prioritising Open Access, actively engage in bridging the gap between academia and the rest of society.By publishing in Open Access, university presses strive to make scholarly works accessible to a wider audience, by opening to the broader public the full range and value of research generated by university faculty. Their locality often means they support the publication of research based on local cultures and regions, and often champion research exploring a wide range of historical and sociological cultures, giving a voice to underrepresented individuals and groups.At a time of increasing consolidation in the commercial publishing industry, university presses contribute to the abundance and variety of cultural expression; and critically, by publishing in Open Access, they recognize that the public has the right to access the results of research paid for by their taxes.In the ever-evolving landscape of academic publishing, where large commercial entities are becoming increasingly powerful, institutionally-led university presses provide an opportunity for the scholarly community to take back the reins of research publishing and dissemination. Open Access university presses are the leaders of the next phase of scholarly publishing, committed to making real change both within academia and the wider world.Be a Leader, not a Follower: The Reality of Open Access University Press Publishing was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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The ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network is made up of a diverse range of presses united under a common goal; to publish fully in open access.A large proportion of our Partner Presses are university presses, based at institutions all around the world. They publish research from across all academic disciplines and in a range of different formats, such as journals, monographs, data sets, and so on.As the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network continues to grow, we are always delighted to watch our partner presses flourish, and continue to publish high-quality, impactful research. In honour of this year’s University Press Week theme, #SpeakUP, we want to spotlight just a small selection of the recent research output from some of our university-based Partner Presses, in order to demonstrate the strength of the university press model. In this post, we spoke to Kate Petherbridge, Press Manager of White Rose University Press, about some of the press’ recent publications.White Rose University Press (WRUP) is a non-profit, open access publisher of peer-reviewed academic journals and books, publishing across a wide range of academic disciplines. The press was founded in 2016, and is run jointly by three of the UK’s leading universities; the University of Leeds, the University of Sheffield, and the University of York.All three universities have a strong research presence both within the UK and globally and came together to establish WRUP due to their shared values, with three overarching objectives. First and foremost, the press would support and further the transition to open access and open research, by providing open access, easily disseminated research that is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Secondly, the press would provide ‘service-led’ publishing, by providing open access, barrier-free publishing, as well as providing support and expertise to scholars publishing in open access for the first time or looking to experiment with different forms of publishing.Lastly, WRUP was established in order to fulfill these first two objectives, without compromising on quality. The WRUP editorial board is comprised of eminent and respected academics from across the White Rose Universities, all of whom bring to the press a great amount of expertise in research and publishing. As such, the press upholds rigorous standards of peer review and produces high-quality publications both in terms of academic and production quality.Over the last few years, WRUP has focused in particular on its book and monograph publications, producing a number of impactful and incredibly high-quality books across a wide range of disciplines. Hidden Depths: The Origins of Human Connection, and Children’s Culture and Citizenship in Argentina: A History of Billiken Magazine typify the type of volumes that WRUP looks to publish; both volumes offer academically rigorous explorations of their subject area, whilst also being engaging and accessible to a wider reading audience, alongside being valuable to academics in their specific fields. In this way, they also mirror the value of open access publishing as a model as they are, in their content, also accessible to the widest possible audience.Children’s Culture and Citizenship in Argentina: A History of Billiken Magazine by Lauren Rea, (2023)Argentina’s Billiken was the world’s longest-running children’s magazine, publishing 5144 issues over one hundred years. It educated and entertained generations of schoolchildren, and came to occupy a central role in Argentine cultural life. This volume offers the first academic history of the whole lifespan of Billiken as a print magazine, through to its transition into a digital brand. It explores how Billiken magazine not only reflected society, but shaped it through its influence on childhoods, children’s culture, and education, and provides an alternative window onto the history and politics of a tumultuous hundred years for Argentina.Published just last week, this volume is part of Lauren Rea’s wider work on and with Billiken, focusing on children’s culture in Argentina, and the importance and legacy of the Billiken magazine. She was appointed MBE for services to Education in Latin America and the UK in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours list.Hidden Depths: The Origins of Human Connection by Penny Spikins, (2022)In Hidden Depths, Professor Penny Spikens explores how humanity’s emotional connections have shaped our ancestry. She explains how the emotional sensitivities of our earliest ancestors drove them to care for vulnerable members of their group, and how new connections based on generosity, trust, and inclusion made early groups of humans resilient to ecological changes. These deep-seated emotional capacities then provided the basis to allow later human ancestors to further reach out beyond their local group and care about distant allies.This new narrative moves away from one in which our evolutionary journey is simply one of progression towards our eventual final form, and instead demonstrates different evolutionary pathways and key transitions that bring us nearer to, rather than away from, other animals. Our close cousins, the Neanderthals, are revealed as equally caring yet emotionally different humans, and who might, if things had been different, have been in our place today.Published in 2022, Hidden Depths has been hugely academically important in its field. It is also deeply engaging and accessible, providing a persuasive account of how the development of positive human connections is supported by physical evidence from the fossil record, and how these connections are important to the way we live our lives now.Professor Spikins has also written articles on this and related areas for The Conversation.As a university press, WRUP balances a commitment to academic quality with its focus on barrier-free dissemination. The press is also very active in the wider OA community; WRUP has been instrumental in establishing OIPA (the Open Institutional Publishing Association) and is honoured that WRUP Press Manager Kate Petherbridge is the Association’s inaugural Chair. We are delighted to see how influential and successful WRUP has become in the open access sphere and are proud to be involved with helping support the press in producing high-quality research output.We are proud to support a major resurgence of University Press publishing, to be able to help new presses become established, and to provide them with the capability to grow and flourish. We believe this trend will only accelerate, so please speak with us if your institution would like to join the movement!#SpeakUP: White Rose University Press was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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]u[ Ubiquity Partner Presses was established in 2014, to provide infrastructure and expertise that would enable university and society presses to commit to open access publishing. Today, our ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network is comprised of over 30 presses, over half of which are university presses. We are proud to support such a diverse group of university presses, and are strong proponents of the invaluable role that university presses play in scholarly communications.In honour of University Press Week 2023, we will be posting a series of blog posts focused around and celebrating university presses. In this post, we spoke to ]u[ Ubiquity founder and CEO, Brian Hole, about the origin story behind the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network, the current university press publishing landscape, and the unique benefits of an institution setting up their own open access, university press.Why did you decide to create the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Press platform?Brian: We first started ]u[ Ubiquity Press as an independent scholarly publisher, with a 100% dedication to Open Access. In order to be fully optimized for OA, we really had to both extend the OJS software we were running journals on, and build our own press website to make books properly open as well. That we managed to do this very quickly caught the eye of others in the scholarly community, who noted that other publishers and in particular university presses, really lacked this kind of capability. When we took their advice and investigated this further, we found a significant amount of interest, not only in platform hosting for OA, but in all of the supporting services around publishing. Our Partner Press platform was thus established with the launch of Westminster University Press in 2014 and has been growing ever since.How has the university press publishing landscape changed in the last 10 years; are there any major trends you have noticed, or indeed are there any opportunities (or barriers) for university presses, or institutions looking to start a press, that didn’t exist a decade ago?Brian: We have seen a critical revival of university presses in the UK and Europe, which is mirrored in how many of the presses on our platform are newly launched. Libraries have also been increasingly seeking to evolve their roles within their institutions, looking to increase the ways they support both open access and academic publishing in general.In the United States, things are a little different, with a much larger community of University Presses already in place. Here what is interesting is that these presses have been slower to take up Open Access, partly because they have strongly entrenched publishing models focused on traditional book sales. We believe this is going to start changing quite quickly as these presses come under more pressure from authors for OA. An example of this will be the University Press Library Open portal, which we will begin hosting in early 2024 for the eBound foundation. This will be a strong catalyst for the expansion of OA with many leading US university presses.What do you believe are the unique benefits of a university setting up its own press, as opposed to publishing through other means?Brian: Every university press is unique, each being set up to benefit their institution and academics in different ways. Sometimes this is to support existing publishing activity on campus, or a particularly strong disciplinary focus at the institution. In some cases, the universities and their libraries are focused on making more Open Access options available, especially as they see the large publishers as reluctant to do so at anything other than an exorbitant cost.The one common factor that all university presses do share is that they are reputation-enhancing for their institutions. By playing a prominent role in scholarly publishing, aligned with academic values through Open Access, these institutions raise their profiles as research institutions and are thereby better able to attract students and staff in a very competitive international market.What does ]u[ Ubiquity uniquely offer that can support universities looking to set up and maintain their own university press?Since each university press is unique, we offer a fully custom solution for each one. This goes from advice on establishing and running a press (we have our own and have helped to develop over 30 others), to hosting the book and journal content online, to all professional services associated with a press such as typesetting and indexing. Publishing is a people business, and we provide dedicated support to each press, and work together as partners to make them successful. Essentially we de-risk the setting up of a press.An analogy is that starting a press with us is like buying a shiny new car. You get in, turn the key and take it where you want to. We provide the engine and mechanics to ensure that all the back-end publishing work happens seamlessly while you enjoy the drive. An important thing to look for in any partnership is shared values, and our commitments to Open Access, Open Infrastructure and community involvement mean that we can be trusted as long-term partners. We also bring an entire network of presses with shared values with us through the Ubiquity Partner Network, believing we are all stronger if we support each other.What place do you see university presses occupying in the next 10 years and beyond in the publishing landscape, particularly within the OA space?I think that university presses will continue to be established and to expand, increasing the diversity of publishing. At the same time, the existing ones will expand their Open Access activity, which will especially benefit the Humanities and Social Sciences. Many in the scholarly community are quick to decry what they see as the consolidation of the publishing world, but they ignore and underestimate the importance of growth among university presses, which are critical hotbeds of diversity, creativity and openness. I believe that their resurgence will continue, and that they will continue to play an ever more critical role in scholarly communications.Is your society or institution interested in developing its OA initiatives, and becoming a publisher? The UPN is always growing; get in touch to find out more about setting up a ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Press.Why Start A University Press? A Conversation with ]u[ Ubiquity Founder Brian Hole was originally published in Ubiquity on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.