New partnership supports open source publishing software development http://www.sfu.ca/mediapr/news_releases/archives/news01200501.htm January 20, 2005 The University of British Columbia's Public Knowledge Project (PKP), the Simon Fraser University Library and SFU's Canadian Center for Studies in Publishing (CCSP) have formed a partnership to support the maintenance and ongoing development of the internationally acclaimed open source software developed by PKP. Under the direction of John Willinsky (PKP), Rowland Lorimer (CCSP) and Lynn Copeland (SFU Library), the software development will remain focused on improving the scholarly and public quality of published research, supporting the efforts of those with little experience with scholarly publishing and publishing technologies, reducing costs associated with publishing, and supporting a variety of publishing and economic models, including various forms of open access to the contents of journals. Mario Pinto, Vice-President, Research at SFU, says: �This partnership is a great example of how libraries and researchers are working together, not only to ensure the preservation and cost-effectiveness of the publication of research results in the form of journal articles and research archives, but also to ensure the continuing development and maintenance of important software.� Donald Brooks, Acting Vice-President, Research at UBC, adds: �It is encouraging to see how this partnership will extend the university's innovative work in advancing the exchange of knowledge and sharing of scholarly resources on a global scale, and do so in the very spirit of collaboration that lies at the origin of the Public Knowledge Project.� At the heart of the partnership are three major software programs. Open Journal Systems (OJS) provides online management for journal submissions, peer reviewing, editing, and online publishing and indexing. Open Conference Systems (OCS) manages conference registration, programming and paper submission and publication. The PKP Harvester (PKPH) is used to automatically create an online index of materials from a variety of online sites including journals and repositories such as those housed at the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, which are harvested and reside on an SFU Library server. PKP will continue to pursue research on scholarly publishing, while CCSP will take the lead with publishing development and associated training. The SFU Library heads up software production, implementation, and support, and provides a permanent home for the software . All three partners will contribute to this venture through in-kind and financial contributions and will work with partners, such as the Synergies project, in securing additional funding. The Public Knowledge Project focuses on the access question for research and scholarship, with a concern for increasing research capacities among universities in developing countries, as well as among professional communities and the public at large. The Canadian Center for Studies in Publishing at SFU is a university/industry initiative dedicated to the development of publishing in Canada and internationally, with a special focus on books, magazines and electronic media. The SFU Library has an international reputation for technological innovation and co-operation. - || - Websites: B.C. Public Knowledge Project: www.pkp.ubc.ca/sun/day2.html SFU library: www.lib.sfu.ca/ SFU Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing: www.ccsp.sfu.ca/home.htm ======================== ===== Miraj Khaled ============ techiemik@yahoo.com mindexplorer.blogspot.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com