Journal Report 2007

= Journal =

The Official Publication of OSGeo

 * Period covered by report: Jan-Dec 2007
 * Contact Name: Tyler Mitchell, Editor-in-chief

A New Work
In late February, 2007, the OSGeo Journal was born. In total, 3 volumes of the Journal were published in 2007. The purpose of this new project was threefold but has continued to morph into much more:
 * 1) Present News items from across the OSGeo community
 * 2) Collect Case Studies showing the application of OSGeo-related (and other) technologies
 * 3) Introduce readers to projects, local chapters and other works in OSGeo

Key Accomplishments
This first year of the OSGeo Journal was an exploratory pilot to gauge several things. The results were highly successful, here are a few of the highlights.

Making it Real
Initially we weren’t sure how much interest there would be in reading or writing for the Journal. The concept had been tested before under the GRASS News effort. Once we started collecting articles for the first volume, we had no problem seeing that a second volume would be easy to collect content for. The third held the FOSS4G conference proceedings and this report you are reading now, is the fourth. Interest continues to grow at a pace slightly faster than we can currently meet. This is encouraging and shows great opportunities for the future.

Interest Growing
After publishing the first three volumes of the Journal, interest began to grow considerably. There has also been added interest from the academic community looking for a place to published papers that fit the goals of the Journal. This is seen as an important accomplishment because there are really no other venues of this sort available to academic authors.

Team Growing
Our team has also continued to grow. Since starting up with only a few editors, we now have more than 10 people helping in different capacities as editors, plus several others who are available to help as reviewers. We also have an editor/manager overseeing the upcoming peer review processes.

Language Translation
The Francophone Local Chapter has done a tremen- dous job translating the Journal from English into French. This is not a simple affair and was done very efficiently. It is a great compliment to have this local chapter believe enough in the value of the publica- tion to see the worth in doing this work. Thank you to the group for taking this on. We continue to try to improve the process of Journal production so that the translation can be done easily. Other language groups are always welcome to join in.

Areas for Improvement
There are several areas were we are trying to im- prove:
 * Streamline the process using the Open Journal System (OJS).
 * Involving more editors and reviewers.
 * Providing peer review opportunities.
 * Improving layout and design for more attractive printing.
 * Spreading the word about the Journal.

Opportunities to Help
You are welcome to help with any of the above areas, in particular we need help running and maintaining the OJS instance, so it can become the primary portal for the Journal. Also, the production has been funnelled, largely, through a few individuals. Opening up the process for others to help is important for the long term sustainability of the project. Editors, designers, reviewers and authors are all welcome to join. Please introduce yourself on our mailing list to show your interest.