Adding value to repositories through overlay journals

In June 2018, two math professors, Timothy Gowers (University of Cambridge) and Dan Kral (University of Warwick), in collaboration with Queens’ University in Canada, launched a peer-reviewed mathematics overlay journal built entirely on articles contained in the arXiv repository hosted at Cornell University. ‘Advances in Combinatorics’ is a journal that is free to read and will not charge authors to publish. The relatively low costs of running the journal are being covered by Queen’s University Library, which is also providing administrative support. As we continue our progress towards 100% open access, it is critical that we develop sustainable and quality models that have no costs to authors. The presentation will provide an overview of the broader vision for academy-owned open access and next generation repositories, present the model of the overlay journal ‘Advances in Combinatorics’, and discuss any issues and challenges identified through the work to date.