News
Celebrating a decade of Episciences
by Giulia Malaguarnera and Anastasia Aritzi
Episciences is a journal platform for editing and publishing scientific overlay journals that runs on top of existing repositories and provides a quality control and editorial process for articles. It has been instrumental in promoting the principles of Open Access and easing the transition from traditional publishing models to community-owned models based on Open Access archives.
A few weeks ago, Episciences celebrated its 10th anniversary, and we gathered in Lyon (France) for a special event.
We at OpenAIRE share Episciences' unwavering commitment to advancing the sharing and dissemination of research outputs. As proud partners, we have been honoured to contribute to its impactful journey. Our partnership with Episciences has been vital in enabling researchers to publish their work openly and ensuring that the research output is visible and accessible to the wider scientific community.
"Episciences is a shining example of the growing need for an equitable, community-driven, and academic-led overlay journal platform, as supported by leading funders in the scientific community. Its existence is more valuable now than ever before, and we are proud to celebrate its decade-long contribution to Open Science." Giulia Malaguarnera, Outreach and Engagement Officer, OpenAIRE
Thanks to the OpenAIRE project, Episciences has been included in the EOSC Marketplace, making it interoperable with other services in the OpenAIRE Catalogue. This interoperability has enhanced the discoverability and accessibility of research outputs, making it easier for researchers to collaborate and share knowledge. The inclusion of Episciences in the OpenAIRE infrastructure provides a seamless experience for users to discover and access the research output.
"Thanks to OpenAIRE, and via the OpenAIRE-Nexus Project, Episciences has been included in the EOSC Marketplace and is interoperable with the other services of the OpenAIRE Catalogue. Now, for example, we can enrich metadata information in the articles, automatically adding the ORCID of authors and funded projects. Moreover, we can link datasets with articles thanks to ScholeXplorer and Zenodo, and provide documents’ citations with OpenCitations. Before our collaboration with OpenAIRE, all these were not possible” Raphaël Tournoy, Service Manager of Episciences at CCSD, Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe.
Through this collaboration between OpenAIRE and Episciences, researchers can create and run a community-led publishing venue with no costs (diamond open-access model) and get all the benefits. The platform helps researchers to link their ORCID, funded projects and supplementary materials with their articles or books. The metadata information from the articles contributes to the quality and enrichment of the research product exposed in the OpenAIRE Graph, searchable in OpenAIRE EXPLORE.
The work of Episciences and its community of researchers, publishers, and advocates has been truly transformative, and it is exciting to be a part of the conversation about its future. As we reflect on the past decade of Episciences, it is important to acknowledge the progress that has been made while also recognizing the work that still needs to be done. By working together and embracing the principles of openness, collaboration, and inclusivity, we can build a more fair and impactful research landscape.
“We must offer virtuous and sustainable journals, allowing Open Access and free publications for authors. Quality articles are assured by peer reviews and this is exactly what Episciences offers […]. The objective is simple: to increase the attractiveness of Episciences by offering new services to journals and readers, and by developing communication and promotion actions” Antoine Petit, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CNRS.
The partnership between Episciences and OpenAIRE embodies a shared commitment to advancing Open Science through sustainable infrastructures that enhance the discoverability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of research. By continuously developing new features to streamline the research process, both organizations are working to create a more equitable and impactful research landscape.