The new year marks a number of exciting events for PKP. First off, 2023 is PKP’s 25th year of operation. The Project is launching a completely refreshed website this week, and is celebrating its recent designation as a Core Facility of Simon Fraser University. PKP is also about to release Version 3.4 of Open Journal Systems (OJS), Open Preprint Systems (OPS), and Open Monograph Press (OMP).
25 years of open source and open access
In the late 1990s, the internet was exploding with the promise of knowledge sharing. But that promise did not seem to hold true in many cases. Deeply concerned over whether research and scholarship would be part of that promise of making knowledge public, John Willinsky launched the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) in 1998.
The name “Public Knowledge Project” is meant to represent PKP’s mission of improving the quality of, and access to, scholarly communication as a global public good. Since its inception, PKP has been developing free and open source software (FOSS) to facilitate scholarly publishing, while researching, as well as advocating for, open access in line with this mission.
The name and the mission have not changed in 25 years, but the infrastructure, research, and relationships have certainly grown.
PKP joins the Core Facility Program at Simon Fraser University
With great pleasure we announce that PKP is now a Core Facility at Simon Fraser University (SFU). This administrative move means that the already long-standing relationship between SFU and PKP will become stronger, and PKP will have more support for continuing the work it has been doing for the last 25 years. Perhaps Dugan O’Neil, Vice-President of Research and International (VPRI) at SFU, summed it up best when he discussed this reciprocal relationship:
“One of the main purposes of universities is to conduct and disseminate research for the betterment of society, and Simon Fraser University is proud to be a part of the vital work of the Public Knowledge Project… We are also delighted to welcome the PKP into our Core Facilities Program and look forward to building upon this partnership and supporting the impactful work it does to mobilize knowledge and make a difference in the world.” (PKP Annual Report, 2021).
Please stay tuned for a press release with more details on this announcement.
Software version 3.4 planned release
The people behind PKP have been working to implement community feedback for the release of 3.4, which is scheduled to come out this year. One of the major changes will be the faster upgrade time from 3.3 to 3.4. To learn more about the work being done, check out the latest development update (webinar). If you want to learn more about PKP software, check out the feature descriptions and showcases of PKP software.
New year, new website!
As a part of this big celebration, PKP is freshening up its look, starting with a major overhaul of the website. We invite you to browse the website and learn more about PKP’s timeline, from software to hosting and services, from community to sustainability,
We hope the website will serve as a visual delight, featuring photography by PKP’s Senior Systems Administrator Jason Nugent, as it offers a deeper look into PKP, the project, and the community.
Here’s to another 25 years of making knowledge public with open source and open access!
