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: 
# Present News items from across the OSGeo community 
# Collect Case Studies showing the application of OSGeo-related (and other) technologies 
# 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.
Category:Newsletter
Category:Journal
Category:Advocacy