Moore & Wigdorowitz (2025) “I just very much love the journal”: Understanding the community-led publishing landscape at the University of Cambridge | F1000Research

Moore S and Wigdorowitz M. “I just very much love the journal”:  Understanding the community-led publishing landscape at the University of Cambridge [version 2; peer review: 4 approved]. F1000Research 2025, 14:266 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.161163.2)

Background

A growing movement of researcher-driven publishing projects has emerged in response to several challenges and shifts within the academic publishing landscape. One publishing initiative in this area are what we term community-led publishing projects (CPPs), which are produced entirely by academics, librarians and students without any involvement of the commercial publishing industry. CPPs are part of a growing global movement but their values and practices remain underexplored. This article presents findings on the landscape of CPPs at the University of Cambridge.

Methods

A landscape analysis was undertaken to identify and describe the various CPPs at Cambridge. A subset of 10 journal editors were subsequently interviewed to explore the practices, motivations and needs of these initiatives.

Results

Thirty-four CPPs were identified across a range of disciplines with a variety of publishing practices, open access status and professionalisation. From the interviews, CPPs were driven by an array of motivations including volunteers who are dedicated to their disciplines, who care for publishing, have a responsibility to disseminate their own research and who acknowledge the value these projects bring. They have complicated relationships with open access, being encouraged by public access to knowledge while maintaining a desire for print and being critical of some cultures of publishing brought on by the turn to openness. Practically, they employ a “DIY” approach due to the availability of resources but in doing so adhere to professional standards. Their success relies on collaboration and support, leveraging networks, technical and financial backing, and ensuring sustainability through careful handover.

Conclusions

This study helps us better understand the scope and practices of community-led publishing at a research-intensive university in the UK. It shows that CPPs are valuable for a variety of reasons and that universities, funders and governments should support such projects to ensure the preservation of unique scholarly content.