Value-Based Purchasing, a new quarterly newsletter produced by the Department of Health Policy, has published its inaugural issue in the Jefferson Digital Commons. This marks the Commons' first foray into publication of original material without a counterpart (no print copies or other formats). In effect, the Commons is serving as a University Press, offering space, editorial tools, design support, and journal formatting.
How does the Commons support original publishing?
The Jefferson Digital Commons is flexible enough with design templates to offer a unique look and feel to a publication such as a journal or to a lecture series, so it can be “branded” with a departmental or organizational identity.
Editorial accounts are available on the Commons so that Jeffersonians can administer publications themselves, independently of Library staff. When an author submits an article online, an editor may choose whether to assign the articles to reviewers, to accept the article, reject it, or to correspond with the author.
The Commons allows editors to create new volumes and issues of a journal and to populate them with articles (choosing the order in which articles appear). Editors also choose when to release a new issue for public viewing.
As with other Commons materials, original publications are indexed by major search engines (like Google/Google Scholar), and are open access so that anyone on the Internet may find and view the content.
Journals/newsletters hosted by the Jefferson Digital Commons also allow readers to “subscribe” - a free service that lets them receive email notification when a new issue is released. And the software provides statistics on use, so that editors can track the popularity of each article.
What does it cost?
There is no fee to departments for space or use of the Jefferson Digital Commons. Library staff are available without charge for training of editors, initial set-up of publications, and on-going consultation. Artwork for a unique design is available from AISR staff on an hourly fee basis.
Is this only for journals? What about other types of material?
While the Commons does have special software to support journal & newsletter production, it can also create special sections for all types of material that make sense to group together - audio, video, PowerPoint, books and more. Think about what kinds of conference and workshop proceedings, on-going lecture series, grand rounds, or other types of presentations/publications your department supports. All could be candidates for preservation in the Jefferson Digital Commons.
How do I find out more about this service?
Contact Ann Koopman, JEFFLINE Editor, at 215-503-0441 or Ann.Koopman@jefferson.edu.
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