Increasing Awareness of Open Access Publication in the Journal of Map and Geography Libraries : A Working Group Report

In early 2025, the Editorial Board of the Journal of Map and Geography Libraries formed a working group to develop strategies to increase the rate of Open Access (OA) publication in the journal. In addition to the option for Gold OA, the journal has a zero-embargo policy that allows authors to post their articles in a repository immediately upon publication, i.e., Green OA. To assess the current status of OA publication in the journal, the working group began by inventorying all peer-reviewed reports and articles published from 2011 (Volume 7, Issue 1) to 2025 (Volume 21, Issue 1–2). This report shares our findings that 45.4% of peer-reviewed publications in JMGL are available OA and have a significant citation advantage over toll-access publications. We also report on the deliverables created for the editors to use when communicating about OA publishing options, including email templates and a “Gold vs. Green OA” comparison table. The discussion explores future directions that might be taken to better understand the context of OA publishing within and beyond this journal and summarizes the benefits of OA publishing for strengthening the profession of map librarianship.