Columbia University Journals

On this page you will find resources, tutorials, and sample documentation for the Columbia Libraries Journal Partnership program. If you have further concerns or can’t find the answer to your question here, please reach out to publishing@library.columbia.edu and a member of the Open Scholarship staff will be in touch with you.

If you need to report an error with your OJS site, please email publishing@library.columbia.edu, which will register a ticket with our issue tracking system and help us to resolve your problem as quickly as possible.

Editorial Workbook | Licensing Forms & Copyright Information | ORCID Information | OJS Resources

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Editorial Workbook

The editorial workbook takes readers through the step by step processes needed to start a journal. Although digital publishing is a complex process with many technological moving parts, and there is more to consider than what is covered in this document, the workbook provides an excellent starting point for the development of journal scope and editorial processes.

Download the full workbook as a pdf

Download Individual Exercises from the Workbook

• New Journal Partner Onboarding Checklist
• Annual Editorial Checklist
• Editorial Role Assignments
• Annual Publishing Schedule
• Mission, Aim, & Scope Exercise
• Writing Submission Guidelines
• Peer Review Guidelines and Forms
• Marketing Plan

Download Sample Journal Texts

• About the Sample Journal
• Sample Contributor Guidelines
• Sample Peer Review Guidelines
• Sample Policies (Open Access, Archiving, Review)

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Licensing Forms & Copyright Information

The documents and guides in this section should be used to manage copyright permissions and licenses for journals. The documents in this section have been co-created with and reviewed by legal counsel. While the templates may be modified, you should consult with a copyright attorney before making major changes and alert Columbia Libraries staff about any significant modifications to your agreements.

Copyright Basics

• Copyright Quick Guide
• An introduction to copyright from the Columbia Libraries

Agreements and Contracts

All journal partners are required to obtain signed author agreements from all of their authors and retain them in perpetuity.

• Journal Author Agreement Template
  • How to send Author Contracts through OJS
  • Journals must require each author to sign a copy of this - or a similar agreement - before articles are published. The easiest way for journals to have authors sign this agreement is to request that the authors include a signed agreement along with their initial submission.

Media Permissions and Art Preparation

All journal partners are required to ensure that rights have been cleared for any other copyrighted materials (such as images).

• Fair Use Checklist
  • A resource from Columbia Libraries that can be used to assess if a Fair Use argument (when using copyrighted material) is appropriate
• Art Preparation Guidelines
  • Guidelines that journals may use in their submission instructions to authors
• Copyright Management Tool
  • Journals may require authors to use this or a similar template if they are submitting articles that include media for which a third party holds the copyright. This spreadsheet template includes helper text for those who are new to managing copyright
• Media Log Template
  • Another helper template for authors to use in order to manage copyright and licensing information for media submitted as a part of their article(s). Does not include helper text
• Permissions Agreement Template
  • A template that article authors may use to obtain permissions to use materials for which another party holds the copyright (such as images) in their published article

Creative Commons Licenses

Each journal in our program must publish their content under a Creative Commons (CC) license. What CC license a journal uses is generally set by a past editorial board. If you’d like to change the license of your content moving forward, you should follow up with Columbia Libraries staff for guidance and support. 

• How to include CC licenses in typeset articles

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ORCID Information

You can read more about ORCID at Columbia on this page provided by Columbia Libraries.

Logging into OJS using ORCID

The journal multi-site (OJS) uses a service provided by ORCID to allow users to log in using 2 factor authentication (2FA). New users of journal websites must follow these steps to create an ORCID account, set up 2FA, and create an OJS account.

Crediting Authors & Peer Reviewers through ORCID

Your journal’s website is configured to allow for you to credit authors through ORCID and display their ORCID iD with their published articles. You can also credit Peer Reviewers through ORCID.

• PKP Documentation: Using the ORCID Plugin

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OJS Resources

Open Journal System (OJS) is the open-source software that powers the journals multisite. For new users of a journal, the first step is to set up an orientation session with Columbia Libraries staff by emailing publishing@library.columbia.edu. The references below, including official guides from PKP, the institutional home of OJS, can also be used as reference and to navigate different aspects of website management.

• PKP School - Editorial Workflow in OJS 3
• PKP School - Setting up a Journal in OJS 3
• PKP Documentation: Learning OJS 3.3: A Visual Guide to Open Journal Systems
• Columbia Libraries Documentation: Quick Submit Workflow
• Use this workflow if you are adding articles that were not submitted by authors through your OJS website