TU Delft OPEN Publishing | 2023 Annual Report

News - 06 June 2024

TU Delft OPEN Publishing aims to create a community-driven, open-access (OA) platform for scholarly communication. The platform provides resilient publishing services to the dynamic community of teachers and researchers at TU Delft.

After four years, the team is proud of their achievements and excited about the future. They look forward to working with many more scholars from all faculties, supporting them in their journey to bring their research to the world!

Read the full report

Portfolio

Books

The book collection of TU Delft OPEN Publishing contains textbooks, conference books, monographs, and edited volumes. In late 2022, Delft Academic Press (DAP) ended its longstanding activities of publishing and distributing physical teaching materials, causing significant disruptions for lecturers at TU Delft. Therefore, TU Delft OPEN Publishing acquired 20 textbooks published by DAP and gradually published all the titles they have publishing rights for as open textbooks throughout 2023.

In 2023, TU Delft OPEN Publishing published 34 books, including 12 classical textbooks, four interactive textbooks, and three conference books. Four textbooks resulted from a collaboration with other universities, and six monographs and edited volumes were co-published in partnership with other publishers. They started a partnership with Mkuki na Nyota publishers from Tanzania, co-publishing "Things Don’t Really Exist Until You Give Them a Name: Unpacking Urban Heritage."

With the introduction of “Education Series,” authors address themes encountered in their teaching activities at TU Delft. These themes include the role of collaboration in learning, multidisciplinary approaches to education and research, the need for a broader skill set beyond technical knowledge, more holistic roles for engineers emphasising social responsibility, innovation, and sustainability, and the integration of societal values, and the critical examination thereof, into university education.

Journals

Across all open-access (OA) journals, TU Delft OPEN Publishing published 189 articles in 2023. TU Delft OPEN Publishing manages fourteen journals and hosts three additional OA journals.

The Journal of Open Aviation Science, co-edited by Junzi Sun (Faculty AE, TU Delft) and Xavier Olive (ONERA, France), published its first articles and conference proceedings.

The Journal of Coastal and Riverine Flood Risk, co-edited by Jeremy Bricker (University of Michigan), Bas Jonkman (Faculty CEG, TU Delft), Grit Martinez (Ecologic Institute, Germany), and Miguel Esteban (Waseda University, Japan), published its first articles and its first special issue.

Improved publishing services

: Crossref: In 2023, TU Delft OPEN Publishing became a member of Crossref and began migrating Datacite DOIs to Crossref. This process will continue in 2024. Crossref membership increases the visibility and discoverability of publications, consequently enhancing the recognition of authors and editors.

BioRender: In 2021, TU Delft initiated a two-year pilot with BioRender, a tool that allows researchers to create professional figures quickly using pre-made icons and templates. This helps researchers promote and communicate their work more effectively. Due to positive feedback from researchers in three faculties (AS, 3mE, and EWI), the pilot was extended in 2023 as a permanent service. By the end of 2023, the number of available seats was expanded to 200.

Indexing: Books, including master's-level textbooks, are now indexed in Scopus, increasing their accessibility and academic impact.

Co-creation: TU Delft OPEN Publishing started a partnership with Jap Sam Books, an independent publisher specialising in architecture, art, philosophy, design, and photography. This partnership includes journals and books, with the first publications expected in 2024.

Software Upgrades: There have been five upgrades to the software used for the journals and books platforms. These upgrades aim to enhance functionality, improve user experience, fix bugs, and introduce new features.

Templates with the TU Delft Brand: Three templates have been created for the book platforms and two for the journal platform. These templates include design elements such as text positioning, colour schemes, typography, and layout styles, all representing the TU Delft brand identity.

Open Science Initiatives

Two events were organised: the codecheck hackathon as part of the peer-review of data and software pilot, and a panel discussion on peer review. The piloting of ChatGPT to assist the Journal of Aviation Science in the copyediting stage was initiated. To enhance the visibility of authors and editors, Authors/Editors spotlights have been introduced and are published on the blog. Publons (Reviewer Locator & Reviewers Recognition) has been integrated with the Open Journals System (OJS) to monitor journal engagement with reviewers. As the pilot concludes, UX interviews with editors, authors, and reviewers are being conducted to evaluate the impact of both tools on the publishing process and peer-review practices.

: The pilot project on peer reviewing datasets and software, a collaboration between TU Delft OPEN Publishing and Research Data and Software teams, is experimenting with innovative open peer review processes that consider data and software as independent research outputs.

Its aim is to make the methodology of data and software production more open and transparent, optimising the reuse of data, enhancing reproducibility, and promoting principles of Open Science.

The pilot consists of three phases. Phase one of the pilot focused on a) engaging people and communities interested in data, software, open publishing, and open science, b) seeking collaborations through events, c) writing guidelines and ideas for implementation, and d) testing the peer review guidelines.

Phases 2 and 3 (c, d), which will focus on sustainable integration of data/software reviews into publication workflows and additional policy documentation of the project recommendations, will be deployed after 2024 Q1. Please check the final report
: Their communication and engagement efforts with researchers and teachers centred on a comprehensive strategy. A panel discussion on peer review was organised to gather collaborative feedback, and the initiation of Authors/Editors Spotlights was undertaken, recognising academic contributions to promote a sense of community. Exploring the integration of open scholarly publishing advocacy in faculties, TU Delft Open Publishing aims to offer guidance on open-access publishing, funding, and policies. Efforts are being made to expand outreach beyond academia through public engagement initiatives, including plain language summaries for publications and blog posts.
: In response to some researchers' preferences, a student proficient in Latex was enlisted to assist with transforming publications/templates. Another student focused on creating a generic book template, streamlining the book creation process, and ensuring consistency and professionalism. Additionally, exploration is underway into the integration of AI for copyediting, and enhancing language and grammar checks to maintain high-quality outputs in publications.
: TU Delft OPEN Publishing succeeded in making one step forward in the recognition of reviewer work by implementing the first open identity review reports in their journal, The Evolving Scholar. The reviews are available immediately after submission, linked to the reviewed paper, enhancing transparency in the review process. This initiative aligns with TU Delft OPEN Publishing’s commitment to fostering a transparent and streamlined peer review system within their academic publishing framework. Mainstreaming Open Science Fund recipients.
: This pilot project started in March 2023 and was led by two student assistants to explore the practices of TUD researchers when it comes to mentioning, sharing, and citing their data in the publications. An assessment framework has been developed, and a community session has been carried out at the Open Science Festival on 31-08-2023; at the moment, a blog on the Open Science Festival session and a report on the findings of the project is close to completion.
: DelftX: Open Science-Sharing Your research to the world

The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) introduces participants to Open Science principles, covering Open Data management, FAIR software practices, and citizen science engagement. They learn how to effectively enhance research visibility, manage data, and navigate Open Access publishing, with practical applications and discussions on implementing Open Science policies. Between 25th October and 5th December 2023, the MOOC focused on Open Access publishing. The course syllabus is available here.
: In 2022, 98% of the peer-reviewed articles and 91% of the conference papers published by TU Delft were open access, respectively.

The Executive Board approved the new Open Access policy and guidelines in October 2023 and instituted the Short Scientific Work at TU Delft Scheme as part of TU Delft’s terms of employment. This policy, known as the Tavern Amendment, allows authors of publicly funded scientific works to make their articles freely available after six months. This right overrides any publisher agreements, enabling authors to share their work in the university repository.

Publications and Collection Taskforce

: Within the Library, there are experts who observe concerns and trends both nationally and internationally. To be proactive rather than reactive, it is considered as a positive first step to chart the publication cultures within the faculties of the university. Once there is a clear picture of the current situation, TU Delft OPEN Publishing would suggest initiating a broader discussion on the desired publication culture and the necessary steps for each faculty to achieve it. Their taskforces are available to provide expertise and serve as a link to Library support.

Initially, they aim to raise awareness among employees regarding both their reading and publication habits.

Journal Citations and APC costs (previously named author awareness). This dashboard shows APC costs from journals in relation to the number of citations of the article (impact). It can help authors decide what the best journal to publish in is.

This dashboard shows journals and their number of views (read), references and publications from TU Delft authors

Outreach

TU Delft OPEN publishing became members of OASPA (Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association), a diverse community of organisations engaged in open scholarship. The hope is that OASPA will serve as a unifying factor, supporting all bona fide open access initiatives, and thus act as a partner in TU Delft OPEN Publishing’s work.

Conferences/Workshops

TU Delft OPEN Publishing visited the 3rd AEUP meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, 16-18 May, 2023 2023 3rd AEUP Conference – AEUP
Open Science Festival, 31-08-2023
- Cooperative Publishing: Building a New Social Infrastructure:
  - Ludo Waltman, Anna van ‘t Veer, Dan Rudmann, Thed van Leeuwen & Leo Waaijers ✝ (Leiden University), Just de Leeuwe & Frédérique Belliard (Delft University).
  - Topic: How might TU Delft OPEN publishing develop local communities to rethink and enact scholarly publishing? In this interactive session, they will consider and map together the social infrastructure necessary to enable community-led publishing initiatives within their own organisations.

Connecting Open Data to Open Access: Madalina Fron (B.Sc of Computer Science and Engineering, TU Delft), Zahra Khoshnevis (M.Sc of Building Technology, TU Delft), Yan Wang, Just de Leeuwe Frederique Belliard (TU Delft Library).

Workshop: A 45-minute session will be led by students and focus on promoting the trustworthiness of datasets used in academic publications and introducing our framework that estimates the extent of the connection rate of OA publications to FAIR data practices.

To increase the visibility of authors and editors, TU Delft OPEN Publishing introduced Authors/Editors spotlights published on their blog. Launched in 2021, the blog aims to share innovative concepts, trigger discussion, and highlight their latest developments and progress. It endorses openness, fairness, and diversity. In 2023, they produced 14 blogs, including four Editor/author spotlights.

The Publication & Collection Taskforce, in collaboration with the Scholarly Communication & Publication team, has authored a discussion paper on the publication culture at TU Delft and their concerns. Irene Haslinger (Director of the TU Delft Library) and Anke Versteeg (Policy & Relations Coordinator) have discussed this with the deans of all faculties. It has been well received, and they are formulating the next steps.

Organisation

Two new members were added to the team: a Publishing Operations Officer and a Publishing Operations Support. Additionally, the team was reorganised to better serve the community. You can find more information about the team here.