We are not currently accepted new titles for our journal publishing service. escholarship.library [at] mcgill.ca (Contact us) to get an email notification when we resume reviewing new submissions.

We support open access research through hosting and publishing journals, conference proceedings, and other forms of scholarly work via Open Journal Systems (OJS) software.

Browse our existing journals

What we provide

McGill Libraries will:

  • install and provide access to OJS software for free
  • evaluate and install OJS upgrades
  • offer initial training workshop on OJS management
  • acquire an ISSN for your journal
  • acquire a URL for your journal within the “.library.mcgill.ca” domain
  • create DOIs for faculty-led journals at no cost

We will also provide consultative services related to:

  • Copyright and licensing
  • Getting your journal indexed in journal directories and indexes (e.g., DOAJ, Web of Science)

Apply for journal hosting

Before applying, please confirm that your journal meets the Libraries’ eligibility criteria and read our guide to scholarly journal publishing.

Choose the option that applies to you and fill out an application form:

After you submit your application, we will contact you to arrange a meeting and discuss next steps.

Eligibility criteria

Faculty-led journals

To be eligible for hosting, a journal must initially have an editor-in-chief who is affiliated with McGill University. We understand that editorial teams change over time, so this affiliation does not need to be maintained permanently. As the journal evolves, the main requirement is that the editor-in-chief is a qualified researcher in the journal’s field.

Student-led journals

Student-led journals must:

  • Must have at least one affiliated McGill staff or faculty member on the editorial board
  • Demonstrate a plan for continuity (e.g., multi-year editorial commitments)
  • Have published for at least two consecutive years

General requirements

All journals must:

  • Use an open access model
    • Clearly state terms of use and reuse for authors and readers
    • Creative Commons licences are strongly encouraged
  • Have a defined review process
    • This may include editor review, blind, double-blind, or open peer review
    • The review process must be publicly described on the journal website
  • Be managed by an editorial board responsible for the journal’s content and direction
  • Be active and publish at least issue per year
    • Under certain conditions, we will take back files for journals who are not intending to be active on our publishing platform and who have ceased publication. Read our full policy on hosting back files.
  • Publish in a Latin-character language (due to system limitations of our publishing platform)
  • Charge no article processing fees (i.e., be diamond open access)
  • Agree to the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA)
    • The MoA and journal activity are reviewed annually by the Libraries
  • If a journal includes the word "McGill" in its title, you must have appropriate permissions from Communications and External Relations

Ineligible publications

Professional or trade magazines, bulletins, newsletters, or advocacy publications are not eligible for hosting services. The journal should publish original, previously unpublished research.

DOIs

Faculty-led journals are automatically eligible for Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), created and paid for by McGill Libraries. DOIs are created via DataCite and assigned to all articles in these journals.

Student journals will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis for DOI eligibility.

Back files and digitization

For journals moving to McGill Libraries hosting, we offer digitization of print back issues where possible.

  • Back files are digitized as searchable PDF files
  • Files are delivered at the volume level
  • Journal editors are responsible for uploading content to OJS, and may divide files further

Digitization is subject to staff and resource availability. Journals must hold the necessary rights to digitize and share this content.

Support and resources

Our guide to starting an open access journal provides information about structures, responsibilities, and best practices in open access scholarly journal publishing.

Contact us

Questions? Contact us at escholarship.library [at] mcgill.ca (escholarship[dot]library[at]mcgill[dot]ca).