NEWS AND ANALYSIS News in Brief
Medical research charities launch charity fund for UK APCs Six UK medical research charities have launched the Charity Open Access Fund (COAF) to cover open- access, article-processing charges (APCs). The fund, which is being administered by the Wellcome Trust for an initial two-year pilot phase, will provide block grants to 36 UK research institutions. This money can be used to cover APCs for peer-reviewed original research articles where one, or more, of the participating charities, funds the research.
BMJ to expand reviewer pool with new software from Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters has announced a collaboration with British Medical Journals (BMJ), to optimise the efficiency of the article peer- review process and address the problem of reviewer fatigue. The collaboration will use ScholarOne Reviewer Locator, an extension of ScholarOne Manuscripts, the peer-review and online-submission programme for scholarly publishers.
Springer partners with Peerage of Science Springer has joined forces with Peerage of Science to help authors more easily submit their manuscripts for consideration in Springer journals.
Both organisations are aiming to make the process easier and less time-consuming, to reduce the time to publication, and to eliminate the need for re- submissions. They say the end goal is ‘to make the work of peer review a more enriching experience for both authors and for reviewers, and to further recognise the hard work of those who are entrusted with this duty’.
Nepalese university takes on control of database of the country’s journals
INASP is handing over Nepal Journals Online (NepJOL), an online resource that facilitates worldwide access to Nepalese research, to Tribhuvan University Central Library (TUCL). NepJOL is a database of journals published in Nepal, covering the full range of academic disciplines, which aims to increase worldwide knowledge of indigenous scholarship. The objective of NepJOL is to give greater visibility to Nepalese journals, and to the research they convey by providing an open access platform that allows full-text downloadable content. NepJOL has been managed by INASP since 2006.
On 4 November TUCL signed
The meorandum of understanding was signed on 4 November
a memorandum of understanding with INASP for the handover of this online platform with the aim of TUCL taking over full responsibility of NepJOL at the end of 2016.
Sioux Cumming, programme
manager for Journals Online at INASP, said: ‘We are very pleased that Tribhuvan University Central Library will be taking over management of NepJOL, and we are confident that the website will grow and develop in the future.’
Research in sub-Saharan Africa must improve, says report
Sub-Saharan Africa’s research in key areas remains insufficient to meet the needs of the rapidly modernising continent, according to a report from the World Bank and Elsevier. According to the report, A Decade of Development in Sub-Saharan African Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Research, Africa’s share of global research output is less than one per cent – compared to its 12 per cent share of the world’s population. The report found that Africa’s research capacity is fragmented across the region, while there is
More collaboration required
More collaboration between interested parties is required if the world’s digital cultural heritage is to be properly protected, according to the National Documentation Centre of Greece (EKT) and Europeana – Europe’s platform for innovation in digital cultural heritage.
The ‘Europeana for Research’ report suggests that Europe’s digital cultural heritage can provide clear benefits for research and innovation. The report recommends that policymakers
12 Research Information DECEMBER 2014/JANUARY 2015
work together at the national and European level for coordinated policies, strategies and practices that support the greatest possible openness and reuse of Europe’s digital cultural heritage.
They should also collaborate at the national and European level, using Europeana where possible, to meet the increasing demand for digitised cultural content for research. In addition, the report urges them to promote the use of Europeana as a resource for research.
little sub-regional collaboration. Intra-African collaboration (without a South African or international collaborator) comprises less than three per cent of total research in three sub-regions – east Africa, west and central Africa, and southern Africa.
Self publishing’s strong growth continues
The number of self-published titles in 2013 increased to more than 458,564, up 17 per cent over 2012 and some 437 per cent over 2008, according to an analysis of U.S. ISBN data by ProQuest affiliate Bowker. The research reveals that print titles were up 29 per cent over 2012, indicating the format’s continuing relevance to self-publishers. However, the pace appears to be slowing.
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