Misperceptions clarified

["Julian Fisher, MD" <fisher@scholarlyexchange.org>]

The lack of familiarity that many academics have with open source 
journal publishing software is unfortunate, as it now often 
exceeds the capabilities of commercial offerings - and at a 
unbeatable price.  It does, like any software, require some 
support.  Even those costs can be kept to a bare minimum.

Anthony Watkinson raised the question in a response to Heather 
Morrison about whether Scholarly Exchange supported large 
journals.  Many of our journals are recently started but rapidly 
becoming both active and recognized.  The software on which they 
run, the Public Knowledge Project's Open Journal Systems, has 
received a sufficient workout, with by PKP's estimate over 800 
journals using it, and is capable of handling the editorial loads 
that journals of all but the top few percent have to manage.

Our efforts, directed (but not exclusively) to smaller journals 
and smaller societies, with their limited resources, have focused 
on assistance with startup (a free year's hosting and 
management), guidance in the startup process, and development of 
resources to continue publishing thereafter (at minimal cost). 
Beyond that, we vigorously encourage our journals to arrange 
long-term archiving arrangements with university or governmental 
bodies, a task made easier by the OAI-compliant and 
LOCKSS-compliant nature of OJS.

It is no longer an embarrassment to work with systems that cost a 
hundredth of what older systems cost.  Many consider it a 
definite advantage, especially if free and open access is the 
goal.

Julian H. Fisher, MD

Managing Director
Scholarly Exchange, Inc., a 501 (c) 3 public charity