Three formerly print-only scholarly journals are now searchable on the Web thanks to software now available at York University Libraries.
Using Open Journal Systems software, digital services librarian Andrea Kosavic has worked with publishers of Topia: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies and CAML Review, the journal of the Canadian Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres, and is working with a third, Histoire sociale/Social History, to make past and current issues available on the Web.
Open Journal Systems software was developed at Simon Fraser University to give journal publishers a quick and easy way to publish online. Created with the non-technical user in mind, the software is easy to use and guides users at every stage of the refereed publishing process, from submissions through to online publication and indexing.
Publishers can use the software to control access to journal content. For instance, they can display the table of contents but limit access to the full text of articles to subscribers. They can also use the software to handle subscriptions.
Depending on access control, readers can take advantage of a variety of quick search options, from full-text searches to searches of titles, authors and abstracts of journal articles. Readers can also browse journals by author, title or issue and avoid the time-consuming practice of scanning tables of contents in print-only journals.
Data stored within the Open Journal Systems software is exportable, allowing for journal portability and integration with larger databases such as Scholar’s Portal. This opens up the journal to a very large potential online readership.
For more information about Open Journal Systems software, contact Andrea Kosavic at akosavic@yorku.ca.