5.1 Publishing systems and their features

5.1.1 Suggested training topics

Introduction to common publishing systems
Advanced use of publishing systems:
1. Introduction to the advanced use of publishing systems
2. Update and security features of publishing systems
3. Automating migration to a dedicated publishing system
XML publishing workflows

5.1.2 Notes on the training topics

The report on technical challenges and gaps in journal operations (Laakso et al. 2024) specifically states that the use of the open publishing systems could alleviate the difficulties journals experience adhering to common publishing standards:

Many standards would almost automatically be fulfilled if the journal would reside on a modern publishing content management system rather than something self-built or a generic website framework not tailored to publishing specifically. (p. 108)

The course block offers a foundational and advanced level upskilling on commonly used publishing systems (e.g. OJS, Lodel, Janeway). The background of the foundational course is the overall functionality of the system from the perspective of the editors and reviewers with the focus on the editorial workflow. As a part of the advanced course the update procedure and the security features will be covered, as necessitated by the recently conducted survey on OJS technical requirements (see above).

The presence of the third topic - “XML publishing workflows” - is conditioned by the fact that some publishing systems offer not only a submission workflow and a publishing service, but also authoring-editing, layout, typesetting and . These features are commonly based on XML datasets, which are converted into different output formats such as HTML, PDF and ePub. This training topic covers XML publishing workflows either on a selected publishing platforms (e.g. TEI Publisher) or platform-independent, using XML editing software such as Oxygen XML. An introduction to XSLT and CSS may constitute part of the training, as the transformation scenarios mostly include XSL templates. The level of detail with which the different technologies are covered may vary to serve the needs of the target audience. For instance, a “train the trainer” format would require a different approach than a training of editors.

5.1.3 Modules build-up: Publishing Systems and their Features

Table 2: Modules for the training block “Publishing systems and their features”

5.1.4 Training materials

Existing training materials.

Table 3: Existing materials for the training block “Publishing systems and their features”

Training materials planned to be produced by CRAFT-OA

Table 4: Potential materials for the training block “Publishing systems and their features”

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