Stanford University Press (SUP) has announced a pioneering collaboration with the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) to advance sustainable Open Access (OA) models in journal publishing. This partnership marks a significant stride in shaping the future of scholarly publishing, as a distinguished university press aligns forces with a university-based open infrastructure project.
Founded 25 years ago and rooted at Simon Fraser University (SFU), the Public Knowledge Project has been actively involved on the Stanford campus through its founder, John Willinsky, Stanford’s Khosla Family Professor of Education Emeritus. The project is renowned for developing the Open Journal System (OJS), an acclaimed open-source platform managing the editorial workflow and publishing process for over 34,000 journals.
Combining PKP's global reach with Stanford University Press’ scholarly depth dating back to its first monograph in 1892, the collaboration aims to offer new journals meeting SUP’s Editorial Board’s rigorous standards the advantage of PKP’s journal management and publishing platform, hosting services, and experienced support team.
This initiative, developed in consultation with the Office of Scholarly Communications at Stanford Libraries, responds to the escalating challenges faced by commercial publishers’ journal editors and their boards, including rising article processing charges (APCs) and increased publication rates. The partnership leverages the strengths and resources of both organizations to provide journals with an experienced publisher and platform developer. The collaboration will offer journals both subscribe-to-open and reasonably priced APC paths, ultimately enhancing access for authors and readers.
This collaboration sets the stage for a new era in Open Access journal publishing, reinforcing the commitment of academic institutions to foster accessibility, sustainability, and collaboration in scholarly communication.
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