2025 FOSS4G NA | Open Access for Open Source - Jessica Breen
In this session from FOSS4G NA 2025, Jessica Breen presents Open Access for Open Source. Jessica discusses the launch of a new collaboration between FOSS4G North America and the open-access journal STAX, aimed at bridging the gap between open-source geospatial practice and academic literature.
The session outlines an opportunity for conference presenters—whether they delivered talks, workshops, or posters—to publish their work in a dedicated special issue. Jessica explains the benefits of open-access publishing, including retaining copyright and reaching a global audience, while detailing a transparent, collaborative peer-review process designed to be constructive and practitioner-friendly. She also provides practical tips for first-time authors on structuring short "two-pager" articles and sharing data through open repositories.
Highlights:
🛰️ Bridging the Gap: Why open-source geospatial work often misses out on academic citation and how a special issue can help
🔄 Open Access vs. Traditional Publishing: A look at how flipping the subscription model makes information free for everyone while authors keep their copyright
🧩 The STAX Review Process: An inside look at a transparent, consensus-based peer-review system where reviewers work together with authors
⚙️ The "Two-Pager" Format: A low-barrier entry point for publishing 800- to 1,200-word articles that focus on what was done and why it matters
🌐 Citable Workflows: Transforming GitHub repos and workshop slides into durable, citable entries in the scholarly record
🏢 Data Stewardship: Best practices for sharing datasets through repositories like Zenodo, FigShare, and Dryad to ensure long-term reusability
🏗️ Support for Authors: How the FOSS4G academic committee is helping non-academics navigate the publishing process without the need for "academic-ese"
For more content like this check out www.projectgeospatial.com
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