Hi Tania, we recently set up a locally-hosted instance of OJS. We have had previous experience with implementing and customising open source software; the downside of which involves high maintenance overheads and a more onerous upgrade process . As we don't have the resources to manage another 'needy' piece of software, one of our objectives with OJS was to use it 'out of the box' and make only essential changes, including those configurable through the user interface. While OJS is certainly usable under this model, there are some issues which we've had to find workarounds for. For example, default copyright text can't be changed without directly accessing the underlying templates, so we've set up separate copyright pages instead. We had issues with Shibboleth and LDAP, so have to use OJS's own authentication system; which isn't always compatible with the way journal owners prefer to operate.

It is a bit frustrating not being able to make simple tweaks to templates etc; however, our past experience has been that even the most simple of tweaks leads to requests for more, and before you know it, you're stuck with a highly-customised software that makes upgrades a nightmare.

Bernadette Houghton
Digitisation and Preservation Librarian
Library

Deakin University
Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, VIC 3220
+61 3 52278230
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www.deakin.edu.au
Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code 00113B



-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tania Fersenheim
Sent: Wednesday, 17 December 2014 2:24 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [CODE4LIB] Open Journal Systems - experiences?

I have some staff interested in a pilot of Open Journal Systems.
http://openjournalsystems.com/

Anyone here have experiences with the software they'd like to share, either installed locally or hosted by the OJS folks?

I'm especially interested in how responsive the developers and the user community are.

--

Tania Fersenheim
Manager of Library Systems

Brandeis University
Library and Technology Services

415 South Street, (MS 017/P.O. Box 549110) Waltham, MA 02454-9110
Phone: 781.736.4698
Fax: 781.736.4577
email: [log in to unmask]

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