As part of Open Access Week in October 2021, I created a campaign for UBC Library to launch their Open Publishing Program using a narrative marketing approach. As a result, the library was able to generate substantial awareness for this new program while shining a spotlight on three open journals that had been running under the radar at UBC for years.
Campaign Approach
The backbone of this campaign included a primary story that detailed how UBC Library supports open journals at the university, followed by three mini-stories that profiled specific journals: Canadian Journal of Undergraduate Research (CJUR), That’s What [We] Said, and Undergraduate Journal of Experimental Microbiology and Immunology (UJEMI).
Over the course of several months, I conducted interviews over Zoom with faculty, staff and students to craft these stories and build out a viable promotional strategy.
UBC Library launches Open Publishing Program
“Starting a scholarly journal may seem daunting, but it can be done with a strong and dedicated team,” says Mahta Amanian, UBC alumna and former Editor-in-Chief and current Senior Advisor of student-led Canadian Journal of Undergraduate Research (CJUR), which is published on UBC Library’s open journal hosting platform.
UBC Library currently hosts 30 active open access journals by providing server space, support, and access to Open Journal Systems (OJS), a popular open source software used for managing and publishing scholarly journals. OJS was created by the Public Knowledge Project, (PKP) a not-for-profit multi-university initiative in which UBC Library is a partner and major contributor, and is currently used by more than 25,000 journals worldwide.
Excerpted from “UBC Library launches Open Publishing Program to support UBC faculty, staff, and student-led open journals and texts” (October 25, 2021) on the UBC Library website.
Spotlight: That’s What [We] Said
That’s What [We] Said was founded in 2018 by a seven-member collective that wanted to bring more attention to the value of the Gender and Women’s Studies program. The first volume was published in 2019 with a mission to “challenge social norms, facilitate a creative platform for an intersectional feminist discourse, and offer an approachable commentary,” writes founding member Christine Fedusiak, then a second-year student at UBC Okanagan.
Excerpted from “UBC Library Open Publishing Spotlight: That’s What [We] Said” (October 25, 2021) on the UBC Library website.
Spotlight: CJUR
The Canadian Journal of Undergraduate Research (CJUR) is a student-led, multidisciplinary publication founded in 2015 by UBC undergraduate students. The journal accepts submissions of unpublished original research as well as narrative, scoping and systematic reviews throughout the year, releasing new issues at the end of each academic term. CJUR moved to Open Journal Systems (OJS) with the help of UBC Library one year after its inception. The move was made to streamline their submission and editorial process and enhance the quality and reach of the journal, says former Editor-in-Chief Mahta Amanian, who joined the journal in 2015 and now contributes as a Senior Adviser to the CJUR editorial board.
Excerpted from “UBC Library Open Publishing Spotlight: Canadian Journal of Undergraduate Research” (October 25, 2021) on the UBC Library website.
Spotlight: UJEMI
The Undergraduate Journal of Experimental Microbiology and Immunology (UJEMI) was launched in 2001 as the product of a capstone course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) program for MICB 421 (Experimental Microbiology) and 447 (Experimental Research), which offer students the opportunity to engage in laboratory experiences and guidance through the research process. Throughout the academic term, students enrolled in these courses undertake several writing assignments with the goal of producing an original research paper, which is then published online in UJEMI.
Excerpted from “UBC Library Open Publishing Spotlight: Undergraduate Journal of Experimental Microbiology and Immunology” (October 25, 2021) on the UBC Library website.