UB ScholarWorks: A New Chapter in Open Access Publishing

by DENISE WOLFE

As part of International Open Access Week, the University at Buffalo (UB) Libraries’ Scholarly Communication Team is announcing the launch of UB ScholarWorks, a new publishing program hosted on the Ubiquity Press platform.

This initiative underscores UB Libraries’ commitment to advancing equitable access to knowledge by hosting diamond model open access journals—where neither authors nor readers face publishing or subscription fees.

This program resonates strongly with this year’s Open Access Week theme, “Community Over Commercialization,” emphasizing the value of research communities as the driving force of academic discourse, rather than prioritizing corporate profits.

The launch of UB ScholarWorks introduces two journals into its portfolio, each with a unique focus.

• The Reading Room: A Journal of Special Collections
  After a five-year hiatus, this journal is set to relaunch under the editorial guidance of Marie Elia, archivist for UB Special Collections. With its renewed focus, The Reading Room will resume publication with added content that spotlights UB’s rare books, manuscripts, and archives.
• Journal of Educational Supervision (JES)
  Edited by Ian Mette from UB’s Graduate School of Education, JES explores the latest research in the field of educational supervision. First published in 2018, the journal previously operated through the University of Maine’s Digital Commons platform. Now, it transitions to UB ScholarWorks, where it will continue fostering dialogue in the field and connecting researchers across institutions.

More than just a publishing platform, UB ScholarWorks advances collaborative, community-driven scholarship by challenging the profit-driven systems that dominate academic publishing. Through its diamond open-access model, which removes financial barriers for both authors and readers, UB ScholarWorks ensures that knowledge remains accessible to all. As new opportunities emerge, the platform will expand beyond journals to support broader academic initiatives, helping UB Libraries transform the scholarly communication landscape and foster a future where information flows freely, driving innovation and collaboration at every level.

UB ScholarWorks aligns with the university’s Top 25 ambition by joining the ranks of other top public research institutions with robust library publishing programs. “Twenty-four of the top 25 public research universities already offer library publishing services,” said Jonathan