# 5.1 Publishing systems and their features

**5.1.1 Suggested training topics**

1. Introduction to common publishing systems
2. 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
3. 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 annotation[^1]. 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**

| **Topic**                                              | **Level**    | **Audience**                                                          | **F-A-I-R** |
| ------------------------------------------------------ | ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- |
| Introduction to publishing systems                     | Foundational | <ul><li>Editors</li><li>Reviewers</li><li>Researchers</li></ul>       | F-A-I-R     |
| Introduction to the advanced use of publishing systems | Advanced     | <ul><li>Editors</li><li>Reviewers</li><li>Researchers</li></ul>       | F-A-I-R     |
| Update and security features of publishing systems     | Advanced     | <ul><li>Software developers</li><li>Technical professionals</li></ul> | F-A-I-R     |
| Automating migration to a dedicated publishing system  | Advanced     | <ul><li>Software developers</li><li>Technical professionals</li></ul> | F-A-I-R     |
| XML publishing workflows                               | Advanced     | <ul><li>Software developers</li><li>Technical professionals</li></ul> | F-A-I-R     |

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

**5.1.4 Training materials**

1. Existing training materials.

| **Title**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            | **Creators**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | **Comment**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Finding the Right Platform: A Crosswalk of Academy-Owned and Open-Source Digital Publishing Platforms ([https://doi.org/10.17613/z27e-0z11](https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:59231))                                                            | [Cheryl E. Ball](https://hcommons.org/deposits/?facets%5Bauthor_facet%5D%5B%5D=Cheryl+E.+Ball),[ Corinne Guimont](https://hcommons.org/deposits/?facets%5Bauthor_facet%5D%5B%5D=Corinne+Guimont) ,[ Matt Vaughn](https://hcommons.org/deposits/?facets%5Bauthor_facet%5D%5B%5D=Matt+Vaughn) | Published in 2023 this document gives an overview of selected publishing softwares and their features, including the topics “Hosting & Cost, Ingestion Options, Editorial Workflows, Interactivity, Archive & Preservation, Export Options, Discoverability, Accessibility”. |
| Plan S compliance in OJS: Open webinar recording ([https://docs.pkp.sfu.ca/plan-s/en/](https://docs.pkp.sfu.ca/plan-s/en/))                                                                                                                          | PKP                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | The webinar from November 2022 outlines the steps that journals can take to comply with Plan S requirements in OJS. In addition to the video, there are helpful notes on the website.                                                                                        |
| Guidelines for XML publishing in Hrčak[^2] ([https://wiki.srce.hr/display/HRCAK/Guidelines+for+preparing+a+DOCX+document](https://wiki.srce.hr/display/HRCAK/Guidelines+for+preparing+a+DOCX+document) )                                             | University of Zagreb University Computing Centre (SRCE) as part of CRAFT-OA                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | The documentation gives a step-by-step explanation of how to publish XML files in the Portal of Croatian scientific and professional journals (Hrčak). It also forms the basis for workshops that members of SRCE give as part of CRAFT-OA.                                  |
| Automation of processes for publishing journal issues in OJS ([https://github.com/CHC-Computations/CRAFT-OA-training-materials/tree/main/OJS\_automation](https://github.com/CHC-Computations/CRAFT-OA-training-materials/tree/main/OJS_automation)) | The Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IBL PAN) as part of CRAFT-OA                                                                                                                                                                                          | This Jupyter notebook contains a Python script to enable the automatic transfer of texts and their metadata to OJS instances. It is used for training delivered during the CRAFT-OA project and may be a valuable resource for advanced users of OJS.                        |
| OA Journals Toolkit: Software and Technical Infrastructure ([https://www.oajournals-toolkit.org/infrastructure/software-and-technical-infrastructure](https://www.oajournals-toolkit.org/infrastructure/software-and-technical-infrastructure))      | DOAJ, OASPA                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | The article from the OA Journals Toolkit discusses publishing software and possible integrations.                                                                                                                                                                            |
| OA Journals Toolkit: Structured Content ([https://www.oajournals-toolkit.org/infrastructure/structured-content](https://www.oajournals-toolkit.org/infrastructure/structured-content))                                                               | DOAJ, OASPA                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | The article from the OA Journals Toolkit introduces the advantages and disadvantages of publishing content in a XML format.                                                                                                                                                  |

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

1. Training materials planned to be produced by CRAFT-OA

| **Title**                                                                       | **Planned in the context of**          | **Institution** |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | --------------- |
| Intro to publishing platforms                                                   | WP3 / T3.3                             | TIB             |
| XML Publishing                                                                  | 2024 summer school for journal editors | TIB / Operas    |
| Advanced use of OJS                                                             | WP3 / T3.3                             | SRCE            |
| Staging and container virtualisation, pro’s and con’s                           | WP3 / T3.3                             | UGOE            |
| Typical journal platform migration processes                                    | WP3 / T3.3                             | UGOE            |
| OJS automation: automatic transfer of texts and their metadata to OJS instances | WP3 / T3.3                             | IBL PAN         |
| SciFlow: HTML and PDF production                                                | WP3 / T3.3                             | UGOE            |

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

[^1]: \[19] A comprehensive typology of publishing systems is provided by Maxwell at al (2019).

[^2]: \[20] https://hrcak.srce.hr/
