Universiteit Leiden

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Workshop

Open up DIY Journals

Date
Thursday 17 September 2026
Time
Explanation
This session will be in English
Address
University Library
Witte Singel 27
2311 BG Leiden
Room
t.b.a.

This library workshop offers information and practical support to DIY journal editors, as well as an opprtunity for them to meet and exchange best practices.

Abstract

Many academic publications are owned, produced, run and governed entirely by communities of volunteering scholars. Examples include junior journals that provide (under)graduate students with supervised, hands-on publishing experience; society journals that bridge academic, professional, and/or general audiences on niche topics; alternative journals that experiment with different media alongside the traditional journal article, and many others. 

Because of their grassroots, voluntary organization, many of these 'Do-It-Yourself' (DIY) journals face similar and recurring challenges related to continuity, visibility, editorial routine, and publishing practices. The transition to open access, with its particular costing models and requirements for open licensing and online discoverability, proves particularly difficult for many of them. This workshop is opportunity for DIY journal editors to exchange best practices and benefit from the library expertise and services on their route to open access.

Programme

14.00  Opening up: key insights from research on DIY Journals in the Netherlands
14.30 Round of introductions: participating journals, editors and research support staff
14.45

Knowledge sharing: journal standards for

  • peer review
  • author contracts and open access licensing
  • metadata and persistent identifiers 
  • scholarly communications infrastructure
15.30 Coffee break
15.45 

Exploring DIY routes to open access, among which: 

  • Open Library of Humanities
  • openjournals.nl
  • Scholarly Publications repository
  • collaborations with publishers
16.30 Plenary round-up: gathering needs, opportunities and next steps

Target audience

We expect this workshop to be most relevant for current and prospective editors of DIY journals (of any type). Anyone else with an interest in the topic is welcome to join.

Organisation

This workshop is organised by Leiden University Libraries' Centre for Digital Scholarship, as part of the Open Science Week 2026. Find out what other events you can join during the Open Science Week via the programme on the Open Science Community Leiden's website

Registration

Please register via the following form, by clicking the button below or copying the link in a new browser tab:

https://www.formdesk.com/universiteitleiden/OpenUpDIYJournals

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