2017 Charleston Library Conference

With publishing models in flux, several independent initiatives have emerged to support those who seek quicker, less costly means to publish and distribute online content. While many have a clear mission to be open source and free, supporting platforms that can serve thousands of users is serious ongoing work, that requires a great deal of time, expertise, and … money. How are innovative teams today developing ways to draw upon the current enthusiasm for community-based, open platforms, while still generating the resources they need to grow? Put another way: how are innovative projects able to do good, while also doing well?

This session brings together teams from two open source projects to discuss different approaches to addressing user needs and sustainability. The Public Knowledge Project (PKP) has developed Open Journal Systems publishing software used by over 10,000 journals around the world and Open Monograph Press, among other open source solutions. The Collaborative Knowledge Foundation (CoKo) has developed PubSweet, a component-based approach to support journal and book publishing. Both PKP and CoKo are grounded in the mission to make publishing tools freely and easily available to those who need them, and both are pursuing different strategies to grow and sustain their operations.

A moderated Q+A with the project leads will let participants hear about these two approaches, the strengths and current challenges both project face. Then, participants will be drawn into a larger discussion about innovative publishing platforms, the benefits and challenges of working closely with a community of users, and ways to be innovative and open, while still keeping the lights on. This session will be of interest to those engaged in publishing of all types, as well as those leading any sort of open source or other community-based program, where it is critical to create a reliable business model or other system of support.