IFLA ARL Satellite conference 2023: Inclusiveness through Openness Presentation on Institutions and Infrastructure : “Moving the needle: addressing inequity in global open access journal publishing” by Joanna Ball (UK), DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals). Session chair – Evviva LaJoie, University of Buffalo. Satellite conference held at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 18 - 19 August 2023.

1. Classification: Internal
Moving the needle: addressing
inequity in global open access
journal publishing
Joanna Ball
August 2023

2. Classification: Internal
About DOAJ - Directory of Open Access Journals
1
A unique and extensive index of
diverse peer-reviewed open
access journals.
2
Mission to raise profile, visibility
and impact of all quality OA
journals, globally regardless of
discipline, geography or
language.

3. Classification: Internal
About DOAJ - Directory of Open Access Journals
3
Our criteria are an unofficial gold
standard for open access journal
publishing, trusted across the
scholarly community.
4
Our services and metadata are
provided completely free of
charge to all.

4. Classification: Internal
https://doaj.org

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DOAJ statistics 2022
8,000
applications &
1,725 update
requests from
journals
35% of
applications
accepted for
inclusion
Average review
time under
three months
20 core staff,
80 volunteer
editors & 25
ambassadors

6. Classification: Internal
Overview
● What’s the problem?
● What does an equitable OA journal landscape look like?
● How does DOAJ contribute?
● Call to action!

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What’s the problem?

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In short…
● Open Access continues to grow.
● The use of the APC/read-and-publish
model continues to rise.
● The average APC cost is increasing
(and linked to impact factors).
● Publication costs exclude researchers
from LMICs, early career researchers,
and those without access to funding.
● Waivers aren’t making a difference.

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But…
● The debate is focused on a global north
perspective of publishing
● The prominence and visibility of publishers
from the global north overshadows those
from the rest of the world.
● Open Access doesn’t mean APC
● Open Access isn’t broken, just the APC-
model
● Discussion of waivers & how researchers
from LMICs can get published in
“international” journals misses the point Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

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What does an equitable
publishing landscape look
like?

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Plurality of…
● Countries of origin
● Business models
● Output types
● Languages
● Research topics
● Publisher types
Image by Racool_Studio (CC BY)

13. Classification: Internal
Global examples of bibliodiversity
1
J-Stage, the platform for
scholarly publications in Japan,
provides access to more than
3,200 publications 1,800
publishers (90% free to read)
2
In Latin America, non-commercial
open access systems like SciELO
and Redalyc are the dominant
models

14. Classification: Internal
Global examples of Bibliodiversity
3
Indonesia has a flourishing Open
Access journal scene, and is the
country with the most journals
listed in DOAJ
4
The Croatian portal HRČAK
provides access to over 500
journals and is one of many
similar national services in
Europe

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We already have a diverse
scholarly publishing ecosystem…
It is our shared responsibility to
nurture it

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We need to shift the conversation
From
● Impact factors
● Prestige publishing
● Read and publish/
transformative agreements
To
● Health of the research
ecosystem
● Community-led and
owned publishing

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How does DOAJ
contribute to a healthy
and equitable ecosystem?

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DOAJ reflects the diversity of
scholarly publishing

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Geographic spread of journals in DOAJ
Data collected from DOAJ 2023-03-14 from database
created by Ikhwan Arief, DOAJ Ambassador

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DOAJ is a diverse index
We are vital for the
visibility of 9873 journals
that aren’t in Scopus or
Web of Science.
https://blog.doaj.org/2023/07/06/doaj-is-confirmed-as-a-unique-platform-for-many-open-access-
journals-and-a-key-index-for-african-journals/

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DOAJ is business model agnostic
67% of journals indexed do
not charge APCs, and are:
Diamond
or
Subscribe to open

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DOAJ raises the profile of non-English language
journals
DOAJ indexes
journals in 80
languages
Our criteria are
written in
informal,
simple
language
Our wider team
come from 45
countries and
speak 36
languages
Our important
documents are
available in
different
languages

23. Classification: Internal
DOAJ enhances the visibility of all
Open Access journals

24. Classification: Internal
Journals from
societies and
university
presses
Journals from
areas and
languages
under-
represented in
other databases
Diamond / S2O
journals
Library discovery
systems, services
and advice

25. Classification: Internal
56,180,109
Clicks into DOAJ records from Summon and Primo library discovery systems July 22-June
23

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Promoting smaller journals through journal stories
Published in May 2023 Forthcoming in August 2023

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What benefits do our journals report?
Enhanced
reputation
Increase in
website usage
Increase in article
downloads and
citations
Increase in
submissions
Feedback collected between 31st Jan - 14th Feb 2023, from survey on journals indexed in DOAJ 1st Jan to 30th June 2021

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We combat the myth that
publishing outside the global north
is predatory

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DOAJ criteria, application process,
and (sometimes) rejection help
journals increase their own
standards.

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DOAJ Review and decision
Application
Publisher/editor
applies
Assess/ISSN
DOAJ Triage team
Evaluate and
recommend
DOAJ Editorial team
Final decision
DOAJ Managing
Editor
Feedback
Publisher/editor

31. Classification: Internal
Firstly, our application was rejected, as we did
not have proper copyright arrangements. After
that, we consulted with some experts and
lawyers, adopted the CC copyright model, and
arranged everything else in order to really
become an open access journal.
“
”
Feedback collected between 31st Jan - 14th Feb 2023, from survey on journals indexed in DOAJ 1st Jan to 30th June 2021.

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Our specially trained quality team
investigates 270 cases of
suspected questionable practices
each year

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DOAJ provides tools and
advice to help vulnerable
and smaller journals

34. Classification: Internal
Community projects to support OA journals

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Our Ambassador programme
The programme
was launched
in 2016 and is
going strong
Initially funded
by the
International
Development
Research
Centre
We have 21
active
ambassadors
from all over
the world
Ambassadors
took part in 95
engagements
and events
around the
world in 2022

36. Classification: Internal
Advocating for
Open Access
Vrushali Dandawate, our
ambassador in India, works
tirelessly to promote Open Access
and the value of DOAJ in Asia

37. Classification: Internal
Supporting the
visibility of regional
journals
In 2021, our Latin American
ambassadors Ivonne Lujano and
Gimena Del Rio Riande held
workshops on DOAJ indexing in
Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama,
Peru, Spain and Uruguay.

38. Classification: Internal
Achieving
recognition for Open
Access journals
In 2021, our South African
ambassador Ina Smith successfully
worked to include DOAJ in the
South African Department of Higher
Education and Training recognised
list of indexes.

39. Classification: Internal
Promoting journal quality
and the importance of
standards
Ikhwan Arief, our Indonesian
ambassador, holds regular
workshops and webinars for
editors and publishers on the
value of DOAJ indexing.

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Call to action!

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We know there is more to do
PKP Study identified
26,500 OJS journals
Diamond OJS
estimated 17-29k
titles
DOAJ lists only 287
journals from Africa
Many OA journals from
global south not listed
Saurabh Khanna, Jon Ball, Juan Pablo Alperin, John Willinsky; Recalibrating the scope of scholarly publishing: A modest step in a vast decolonization process. Quantitative Science Studies 2022; 3 (4): 912–930. doi:
https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00228
Bosman, Jeroen, Frantsvåg, Jan Erik, Kramer, Bianca, Langlais, Pierre-Carl, & Proudman, Vanessa. (2021). OA Diamond Journals Study. Part 1: Findings. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4558704

42. Classification: Internal
DOAJ outreach priorities 2023-24 (Africa)
1
Collaborate with other
organisations (WACREN, EIFL)
to develop training for journal
editors in Africa
2
Advocate for OA and the
importance of DOAJ
indexing to policy- and
decision-makers at Open
Science events in Nigeria
3
Extend our African
ambassador programme to
promote OA, DOAJ and
support journals to be
indexed

43. Classification: Internal
How librarians can
support local journals
● Integrate indexes like DOAJ
into your library discovery
system
● Point users and authors to
more diverse resources via
your subject guides
● Provide advice on DOAJ
indexing for your institutional
journals

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To be a librarian is not to be neutral, or passive,
or waiting for a question. It is to be a radical
positive change agent within your community.
R. David Lankes
“
”

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How librarians can influence change
1 Strategically…
Encourage your institution to
question its use of impact
factors and rankings, e.g. sign
up to COARA and DORA
2 Financially…
Use your budget
strategically to support
bibliodiversity and
community-led publishing
and infrastructure
3 Individually…
Use your voice and look for
opportunities to get
involved.

46. Classification: Internal
Questions?
Joanna Ball
Managing Director
joanna@doaj.org
@joanna_ball