The list of journals flipping to Diamond Open Access from commercial publishers is growing. But what kind of community governance structure can ensure those journals remain safely independent?
Dr Caroline Edwards, Executive Director of the Open Library of Humanities (OLH) at Birkbeck, University of London, explores the issues in the latest blog post on OSC blog Unlocking Research. Dr Edwards, defining Diamond as not-for-profit and community-governed OA, notes some of the journals the OLH has flipped have set up a non-profit organisation to protect themselves.
Others of OLH’s journals have been owned by scholarly associations from the start, or have decided to affiliate themselves with scholarly societies which secures their community governance.
Journals can also join forces, running under a foundation or not-for-profit legal entity with limited liability like a trust, controlled by a Board of directors and without shareholders. Read the full article for examples and greater detail.