1. 07/05/2014 1
USERS & PROGRAMMERS
Opportunities and Challenges
Using Open Source Software in
Academic Libraries
Octavio Escalante Menchaca
Sean Xiao Zhao

2. 07/05/2014 2
WHAT IS OJS/OCS?
1. Open Journal Systems (OJS)
–Manage journal’s workflow
–Manuscript  Publication
2. Open Conference Systems (OCS)
–Manage Conference’s workflow
TRY Conference

3. 07/05/2014 3
WHO SUPPORTS OJS/OCS?
● Open Source Software maintained by the PKP
PKP Development Partners.
Source: PKP 2014

4. 07/05/2014 4
IMPORTANCE OF OJS
Source: Willinsky and Edgar (2010). A Survey of Scholarly Journals
Using Open Journal System
● 11,500
journals use it
● 16 languages
supported
(and growing)

5. 07/05/2014 5
AN EXAMPLE
Source: Clinical and Investigative
Medicine (2014)
● H index: 31
● 1,618 articles
citing articles
from this journal
● Top 40 of medical
journals in
Canada
Source: SCimago Journal
and Country Rankings
(2014)

6. 07/05/2014 6
WHO ARE THE USERS/
PROGRAMMERS?
● Users
– Editors
– (Readers)
● Programmers
– System administrators
– Computer scientists
– Technical support
● Power Users
– Editors (with some technical knowledge)

7. 07/05/2014 7
WHICH ARE OUR USERS NEEDS?
● ↑ Revenue
● ↑ Number readers
● ↑ Impact of publications
(citations)
● ↑ Number and Quality of
submissions
● ↓ Costs
● ↓ Time needed to
manage the journal
● ↓ Customer churn

8. 07/05/2014 8
CATEGORIES OF CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
● ↑ Revenue
● ↑ Number readers
● ↑ Impact of publications
(citations)
● ↑ Number and Quality of
submissions
● ↓ Costs
● ↓ Time needed to
manage the journal
● ↓ Customer churn

9. 07/05/2014 9
BENEFITS
● “Free”
● Online-ready
● Google indexation
● Social media integration
● Standardized process
● Automated tasks
● And more… 

10. Standard
• PayPal payments
• Author fees
• Reader fees
• General fees
Implemented by ITS
• PayPal donations
buttons
• PayPal integration
manuals
↑ REVENUE

11. Standard
• Standard Share buttons
Implemented by ITS
• Social Media Sharing
Buttons
• Social Media Following
Buttons
• DIY Manuals
↑ NUMBER OF READERS
↑ IMPACT

12. Standard
• OJS in an hour
• OJS Manuals
Implemented by ITS
• Introductory training
sessions
• DIY manuals
• Technical support
↓ TIME NEEDED TO MANAGE THE
JOURNAL

13. 07/05/2014 13
SUMMARY
WHAT WE HAVE DONE?
● Social Media buttons
● Look customization
● Configuration and Technical Support
● Manuals and training sessions

14. 07/05/2014 14
THE FUTURE OF OJS
● OJS 3.0a released last year
● Coding sprint held in Vancouver
– Focus on looks and highly requested features
● Continued support from partners
● Closer collaboration between OCUL and PKP

15. 07/05/2014 15
CONCLUSION
● Open Source Software (including OJS) is free and
easy to use
● Reliable and mature software
● Supported by many institutions
● Can be setup with relative ease

16. 07/05/2014 16
THANK YOU!
● Octavio Escalante Menchaca
– Octavio.escalantemenchaca@mail.utoronto.ca
● Sean Xiao Zhao
– Xiaofeng.zhao@utoronto.ca

17. 07/05/2014 17
Q&A

18. 07/05/2014 18
REFERENCES
O
•http://www.paragoninnovations.com/guide.sht
ml
•http://src-
online.ca/index.php/src/article/view/24/41

19. 07/05/2014 19
OPPORTUNITIES – OJS
● Lack of funding
● ↓ Number of print
readers/subscribers
● ↑ Number of online readers
● ↑ Need to evaluate and increase
impact of publications
● ↑ Time for editors to manage
the publication/review processes
• “Free”
• Online-ready
• Social media
integration
• Standardizes process
• Automates tasks
Characteristics of OJS

20. 07/05/2014 20
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH OJS?
● Create a Journal
● Manage

21. 07/05/2014 21
CREATE A JOURNAL: STEP 1