This second OASPA Showcase features the journal Acta Crysallographica Section E published by the International Union of Crystallography (IUCR) based in the UK. The showcase, which comprises a short slideshow with accompanying audio, is presented by Peter Strickland, the Managing Editor for the IUCR.
Peter describes how Acta Crysallographica Section E started life as an online subscription journal in 2000 but after experimenting with a hybrid open access option from 2004-2007 became a fully open access journal in January 2008. In part, the decision to move to open access was driven by the rapid growth in the journal which could not be supported with subscription revenue.
Acta Crysallographica Section E is now one of the largest open access peer-reviewed journals and publishes over 4000 articles each year. The journal publishes short reports of new molecular structures along with all of the key supporting and interactive 3D views of the molecules.
Peter describes how the transition to open access was accompanied by a redesign of the journal and its processes. This enabled the journal to remain true to its goal to publish as many new structures as possible, easily and cost-effectively. The publication fee that supports the journal is only $150, but with the very structured and short article format, this is sufficient to fully sustain the journal.
Acta Crysallographica Section E is also one of the journals that will be featured at this year’s COASP conference in Tallinn, Estonia. One of the themes that we will be exploring at the conference is how new and scalable approaches can lead to tremendously rapid growth of open access publishing. Other featured journals will include PLoS ONE, BMJ Open, SAGE Open, G3 (from the Genetics Society of America) and Scientific Reports (from the Nature Publishing Group). See you there!