Electronic Journal Support

The Library can provide support for your existing journal or help you create a new journal using journal hosting software.

The Library hosts a version of Open Journal Systems (OJS), a journal management and publishing system developed by the Public Knowledge Project. This open source software replicates the traditional refereed publishing workflow in an online environment, from submission of manuscripts to final publication on the World Wide Web.

This software can be used either to transition your existing paper-based or email attachment journal workflow into one that exists solely online, or to create a brand-new open access journal.

The Library can also archive your journal articles in SMARTech, Scholarly Materials And Research at Georgia Tech, the trusted repository for intellectual content on campus.

Who can participate?

Faculty, staff, and students of the Georgia Institute of Technology who are creating a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal are eligible to use the library's services.

What support does the library provide?

We offer individual and group training, workflow and database troubleshooting, proceedings standardization and some design services (customizing the look and feel of the OJS software by modifying and uploading a style sheet through the web interface). Requests for software hosting should be made at least eight weeks prior to the call for papers. Any software customization requests must be sent to the Project Manager and are subject to review.

What is OJS?

Open Journal Systems (OJS) is a journal management and publishing system developed by the Public Knowledge Project through its federally funded efforts to expand and improve access to research. OJS assists with every stage of the refereed publishing process, from submissions through to online publication and indexing. Through its management systems, its finely grained indexing of research, and the context it provides for research, OJS seeks to improve both the scholarly and public quality of referred research.

What is an open access journal?

An open access journal is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal whose contents are made freely available to the world. The costs of funding an open access journal do not come from subscription prices; rather, funding is sought through alternative means, so that the scholarship produced by the journal can be disseminated as widely as possible. Peter Suber's Open Access Overview provides a good description and history of the open access movement. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a web site that lists free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals.

What are the benefits to producing an open access journal?

An open access journal expands and improves access to research by removing the financial barrier. Some studies have shown that journal articles published in open access journals are cited more often than articles published in for-profit journals. The Library strongly supports the use of open access journals, and encourages faculty members to explore this option.

What is SMARTech?

SMARTech is a repository for the intellectual output of the Institute in support of its teaching and research missions. SMARTech connects stockpiles of digital materials currently in existence throughout campus to create a cohesive, useful, sustainable repository available to Georgia Tech and the world.

What are the benefits to archiving our journal articles in SMARTech?

SMARTech provides a stable, permanent place for your work - the url will never change. Because it is indexed by Google and Google Scholar, it encourages serendipitous discovery.

As part of the abstract submission process, all authors will be asked to sign and submit the SMARTech Deposit Agreement. Authors will retain copyright ownership of the materials they create, retain rights to re-use the materials in any manner they wish, and grant the Georgia Institute of Technology a non-exclusive license to distribute and preserve this material for non-commercial, educational purposes.

How do I find more information?

Email epage@library.gatech.edu to discuss your journal project with a librarian.

E-Journal Projects:

• Information Technologies and International Development (ITID) Journal. The library provides electronic manuscript submission and review support for Information Technologies and International Development with Dr. Michael Best, Co-founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief ITID, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the College of Computing.
• The Tower. The library provides electronic manuscript submission, review and archiving support for the Georgia Tech student publication The Tower, The Undergraduate Research Journal of Georgia Institute of Technology.

For questions about the electronic journal support service:

• email: