About Edition Open Sources

Titles in the Edition Open Sources (EOS) series appear in four published formats, and have a common Book Structure. The series presents significant Innovations in academic publishing and promotes Open Access Terms of Publication. Edition Open Sources is implemented with a simple yet sophisticated Workflow.

Published Formats

The Edition Open Sources workflow automatically produces each publication in four different formats:

  • EOS Online: A dynamic online presentation, which is HTML-based, interlinked and freely accessible. It supports digital tools for analysis and interlinking and can be accessed from computers and mobile devices by researchers engaged in ongoing collaborative scholarship.
  • EOS EPUB: A freely downloadable EPUB file which is compatible with most eReaders and mobile devices and can be resized to fit different screens.
  • EOS PDF: A freely downloadable PDF file for offline viewing and printing that can be managed as other downloaded articles.
  • EOS Print: An affordable printed edition is available for purchase at Pro BUSINESS/book-on-demand to ensure high visibility, wide marketing, and library acquisition.

Book Structure

Books published in Edition Open Sources have at least three main sections:

1. Scholarly essay

The first part of the book contains a scholarly essay (or essays) on the primary source text(s). This scholarly essay constitutes a contribution to scholarship on the level of a monograph for which the related historical source plays a central role. Although the scholarly essay should cover a small number of essential topics, including a biographical excursus on the author or authors of the primary source(s), an overview of the content of the source(s), and bibliographical material (both primary and secondary) related to the source(s), the structure of the scholarly essay may vary from one title to another in order to give to the author enough flexibility to best convey the results of research. Examples: The two screenshots show two different approaches to the scholarly essay.

2. Facsimile of the source(s)

The facsimile of the source(s) consists of high resolution color images available with an open access license. For information about locating and obtaining facsimile images, see About the Sources.

3. Transcription of the source(s)

An authorized transcription of the source(s) offers a readable text and a powerful online platform for annotation, analysis and interlinking of resources. (See Published Formats.)

Optional:

Translation of the source(s). Optionally, an author may elect to include an English translation of the source, which is then published on facing pages with the transcription. (See Sample.)

Additional materials. EOS books may contain additional materials, including front- and back-matter, a foreword, acknowledgements, indexes (of names, places, subjects, etc.), glossaries, and other relevant tools.

Innovations

Edition Open Sources pioneers a new paradigm in publishing, devoted to open access and high-quality peer review. It is innovative in several ways:

  • Open Access: Consistent with the Berlin Declaration on Open Access, EOS publications are peer-reviewed, require no author fees, and are free and immediately accessible to the public worldwide.
  • Online Technologies: The real power of EOS is found in the online platform, which supports non-Latin characters; morphological searching; transcribed & translated texts; mathematical & chemical formulas; rich, abundant in-line visual representations; high-resolution color facsimile photographs.
  • Ongoing Development: Joint development by the host institutions and collaborating partners including members of the DigitalHPS consortium. Features in development include: text and image annotation-sharing tools; data mining of linked texts; visualization tools; bibliographic tools.
  • Culture of Collaborative Scholarship: The platform encourages the building of international scholarly communities whose research interests focus upon common clusters of sources.
  • Published Formats: EOS integrates open access digital publication with on-demand print publishing, ensuring high visibility, wide marketing, and library acquisition.
  • Peer Review: The peer review system uses a blind-to-open model that begins with a double-blind review process that becomes entirely open and transparent as soon as the work is accepted for publication.
  • Workflow: EOS uses a unique technical workflow carefully designed to rapidly transform author-prepared copy into multiple high-quality formats, including HTML, PDF, EPUB, and print.

Terms of Publication

Works published by Edition Open Access are placed under a Creative Commons - By - Share Alike - Non-Commercial license (“cc-by-sa-nc”). This open-access license allows for the reuse and redistribution of all or part of the work as long as it is attributed to the author, and as long as the same licensing terms are designated in the redistributed copy. Works distributed under this license cannot be adopted for commercial use without contacting EOS. Special permission is required for any other use. For further information, see https://creativecommons.org/.

In accordance with the Berlin Declaration on Open Access, the authors transfer to EOS only the non-exclusive copyright for making the work available openly on the internet in formats defined by EOS and for providing printed copies via a book-on-demand service. Authors retain full copyright on their production.

No royalties are provided, nor are any complimentary hard copies given to authors after publication. As a not-for-profit initiative, EOS devotes the entirety of its resources to publication in a sustainable, open platform. It will be each author's responsibility, along with the publisher of the printed copies, to provide copies of a work to scholarly journals who may wish to review it. Authors may be assured that their scholarly work will remain openly available in a sustainable, federated repository ecosystem without fees for access.

Workflow

Unlike other publication workflows, EOS requires authors to assume responsibility of preparing the work for press. This entails use of a variety of software tools, including LaTeX and XML editors.

To achieve the four published formats from a single workflow, the EOS platform employs a simplified version of the professional LaTeX typesetting coding system. LaTeX coding enables authors to have full control over their books, accommodating unusual characters and complex layouts. This automated EOS workflow differs substantially from standard publication models by requiring authors to manage all aspects of the production of their manuscript from drafting to copy editing to typesetting.

Authors must strictly follow the style guide during the production of the manuscript. Instructions on formatting are found on an installation and tutorial page.

A raw transcription of the primary source(s) in XML format will be furnished to each author. Authors will enhance this raw transcription and improve its quality for accuracy and for use with advanced digital tools by using an XML Editor appropriate for the task, such as jEdit.

Once the manuscript is completed (after the post-review process), the author will submit it to the EOS editors, who will perform a final redaction and ensure quality control. The book is then uploaded into the system and output in the four published formats.

Training and other forms of assistance will be provided. The EOS website contains help files to support authors in the editing and typesetting process, including tutorials, samples, a FAQ list, and a troubleshooting section. Personal help will be available for authors who have special questions or run into problems in compiling their files.