Scholarly publishing and open access in the Nordic countries

Abstract

This study examines aspects of scholarly journal publishing in the Nordic countries. On average half of Nordic journals publish online. In most Nordic countries, commercial publishers predominate; however, in Finland the majority are society publishers. The number of open access journals is low, in line with international figures. There is concern to maintain local languages in journal publishing. A majority of the journals publishing in local languages are within social science, humanities, and arts; the STM sector publishes in English. English-language publications are favoured in research assessments, international recognition, and impact, while the visibility of local-language scholarly journals in international databases is low. The Nordbib program supports Nordic scholarly journals and fosters co-operation with publishing companies and learned societies over migration to e-publishing; it also supports open access. The article discusses future challenges for journal publishing, pointing out the problems of small journal publishers and the need for co-operation between stakeholders. © Turid Hedlund and Ingegerd Rabow 2009.