Automating repository workflows with Orpheus, an Open Source database of journals and publishers

Abstract

Repository management relies on knowledge of numerous attributes of academic journals, such as revenue model (subscription, hybrid or fully Open Access), self-archiving policies, licences, contacts for queries and article processing charges (APCs). While datasets collating some of this information are helpful to repository administrators, most cover only one or few of those attributes (e.g., APC price lists from publishers), do not provide APIs or their API responses are not machine readable (self-archiving policies from RoMEO), or are not updated very often (licences and APCs from DOAJ). As a result, most repositories still rely on administrative staff looking up and entering required attributes manually. To solve this problem and increase automation of tasks performed by the Cambridge repository team, I developed Orpheus, a database of academic journals/publishers written in Django. Orpheus was recently integrated with our DSpace repository Apollo and auxiliary systems via its RESTful API, enabling embargo periods to be automatically applied to deposited articles and streamlining the process of advising researchers on payments, licences and compliance to funders' Open Access policies. Orpheus is Open Source (https://github.com/osc-cam/orpheus) and may be easily expanded or tailored to meet the particular needs of other repositories and Scholarly Communication services.