SPARC honors Optical Society of America as a pioneer

[Jennifer McLennan <jennifer@arl.org>]

For Immediate Release
January 14, 2010

For more information, contact:
Jennifer McLennan
jennifer [at] arl [dot] org
(202) 296-2296 ext 121

SPARC honors Optical Society of America as a pioneer in scholarly 
publishing innovation

Washington, D.C. -- With the launch of Optics Express in 1997, 
the Optical Society of America (OSA) created an open-access 
journal that has stood the test of time to become a both a 
scientific and financial success. The journal, now entering its 
second decade of publication, is consistently ranked among the 
top titles in its field. And, it has proved to be such a 
successful financial venture that the Society is this year 
rolling out three more publications that follow the same 
open-access business model.

For being a shining example of community-driven creativity and 
innovation in scholarly communications, the Optical Society of 
America has been named the first SPARC Innovator of 2010. SPARC 
recognizes the team at OSA that brought Optics Express into 
existence and nurtured its growth and sustainability:

* Dr. Joseph Eberly, founding editor, Carnegie Professor of 
Physics and Professor of Optics at the University of Rochester 
and director of the Rochester Theory Center.

* Dr. Michael Duncan, second editor-in-chief, research physicist 
at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Bethesda, Maryland.

* Dr. Martijn de Sterke, current editor-in-chief, professor in 
physics at the University of Sydney, Australia.

* Dr. John Childs, senior director of publications at OSA in 
Washington, D.C.

Optics Express publishes original, peer-reviewed articles in all 
fields of optical science and technology twice a month -- within 
an average of 47 days after article acceptance. The quick 
turnaround, along with creative ways to highlight content -- such 
as electronic cover images for every issue and Focus issues -- 
have made Optics Express a sought-after publishing destination 
for authors and a top journal in the field. OSA is introducing 
three new journals under the Optics Express brand and publishing 
model over the next year: Biomedical Optic Express, Optical 
Material Express and Energy Express.

"Through the efforts of many people, we built something very 
unique that came together," said Childs. "We use Optic Express as 
a harbinger, a model for what I think is probably going to come 
to pass."

"OSA's success with Optics Express is a testament to the fact 
that Open Access can not only help accelarate the pace of 
scientific communication, but can also be a viable, sustainable, 
commercial option," says SPARC Executive Director Heather Joseph. 
"Initially, Optics Express was viewed as an experiment, but it 
has become a highly regarded journal and a popular destination 
for manuscripts," she said. "The financial success it has 
achieved is just the icing on the cake."

Joseph added, "SPARC named Optics Express a Leading Edge partner 
in 2004. It's our pleasure to be able to now name the publishers 
of Optics Express as SPARC Innovators."

The January 2010 SPARC Innovator Profile is online at 
http://www.arl.org/sparc/innovator  .

The SPARC Innovator program recognizes advances in scholarly 
communication propelled by an individual, institution, or group. 
Typically, these advances exemplify SPARC principles by 
challenging the status quo in scholarly communication for the 
benefit of researchers, libraries, universities, and the public. 
SPARC Innovators are featured on the SPARC Web site semi-annually 
and have included Mike Rossner of the Rockefeller University 
Press; R. Preston McAfee of the California Institute of 
Technology in Pasadena; Harvard University FAS; student leaders; 
Ted and Carl Bergstrom; Melissa Hagemann of the Open Society 
Institute; the University of California; and Herbert Van de 
Sompel of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. SPARC Innovators 
are selected by the SPARC staff in consultation with the SPARC 
Steering Committee.

Individuals can nominate their colleagues as potential SPARC 
Innovators at http://www.arl.org/sparc/innovator/nominate.shtml.

For more information, see the SPARC Web site at 
http://www.arl.org/  sparc.

###

SPARC

SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), 
with SPARC Europe and SPARC Japan, is an international alliance 
of more than 800 academic and research libraries working to 
create a more open system of scholarly communication. SPARC's 
advocacy, educational, and publisher partnership programs 
encourage expanded dissemination of research. SPARC is on the Web 
at http://www.arl.org/sparc/.

-------------------------------------
Jennifer McLennan
Director of Communications
SPARC
http://www.arl.org/sparc