The Partnership for Open Publishing (POP) is a publishing model, set of tools, and service offering developed by the University of North Carolina Press to advance open access (OA) scholarship across the statewide UNC System. POP grows out of the Press’s wide-ranging strategy to further OA publishing. Our initial goal is to support OA journal publishing in partnership with each institution’s library. Content published on POP will be discoverable, accessible, and presented under each school’s instance.
POP is a platform with two layers—a content hosting and display platform built on Meru, and an optional editorial and production tool powered by Janeway. POP offers customizable layouts, issue- and article-level metadata, and item-level usage metrics. Libraries can use the whole platform or just the hosting and display layer, which can harvest existing content from multiple systems including OJS, DSpace, and Janeway.
Each UNC System library will have a designated contact for their faculty and journal editors. The library and its institution determine what content is published based on its specific mission and goals. POP completed its pilot phase and is currently reaching out to potential new partners across the System.
See our FAQ for answers to common questions from libraries and journals.
Why POP?
Discoverability The platform extends a journal’s reach and impact by increasing its visibility within and beyond the UNC System.
Metadata and Metrics POP showcases open-access journals in a professional yet flexible, data-rich display.
Sustainable OA POP was developed to further the open-access goals of UNC System libraries in a sustainable way, so costs will remain low. There is no cost to readers or contributors.
Extension of Individual Campus Brands Developed for the statewide System and using economies of scale, the web presentation features the local campus as publisher, ensuring that readers associate the journals with its host campus.
Economies of Scale By developing a common back-end supported by UNC Press, we can reduce duplication of systems and inconsistent practices. Libraries can reduce staff labor, and yet enhance their publishing resources and skills.
Training and Support Training and ongoing support for journals and Library staff is provided by staff in the Journals Department at UNC Press.
Equitable Support for Optimal Publishing Practices POP helps journals from institutions of all sizes and means achieve equal levels of professional publication quality through optional services like DOI and ISSN registration, cover design, and indexing/abstracting.
The Back Story
POP grew out of the Next Generation Library Publishing initiative, which was supported by grants from the Arcadia Fund. The Provost’s office of UNC Chapel Hill has committed to two years of funding for a project manager housed at UNC Press to support the development of both POP and a related OA initiative called the ARC Alliance that is being developed by faculty at UNC CH.
Partnerships
POP is grateful to its pilot partners at UNC Greensboro University Libraries, the UNC Asheville Ramsey Library, and the UNC Wilmington Library for their collaboration and ongoing commitment. They have been invaluable in helping us refine our model. Now, we are excited to expand the POP community to more journals and campuses.
Contact
If you are an interested journal within the UNC System, please contact your library. If you are a UNC System librarian, please contact Stacy Lavin, Journals Manager, [email protected] or Caroline Mort, OA Journals Managing Editor, [email protected] for more information.