Contents
About Unair
Unair is one of the best and biggest campuses in Indonesia. Since the start of the collaboration in July 2022 to upgrade and implement themes in 100 Unair Campus journals, we have observed a significant change in the journal’s reputation rating. Previously, in the OJS 2 version, only one journal was indexed by Scopus. However, after we completed the upgrade process to OJS 3 and implemented the Noble theme in all of their journals, there are currently 8 journals indexed by Scopus, and several other journals have also begun to be indexed by several high indexing reputations such as DOAJ, SINTA, etc. We as developers are very proud and happy for the achievements obtained in several Unair journals.
Therefore, this achievement has encouraged the management of the Institute for Journal and Publication Innovation of Scientific Works (LIPJPHKI) at the Airlangga University Campus to continue to innovate and improve the quality of publications on campus. As a result, in March 2023, we received an invitation to discuss this again with the LIPJPHKI team. Unlike the previous OJS team, on this occasion, we received an invitation from the book publication management team, they gave us a big challenging project, namely developing a book publication process on the Airlangga University Campus so that it is more compatible in terms of workflow usage, compatibility functions, and also supporting Other features.
Even though the Unair Campus currently has a book publication application, in the discussion, the LIPJPHKI team explained several deficiencies that still need to be improved. These deficiencies include:
- The submission process is still done manually. Currently, authors only need to send data and book file attachments via email, so that the application editor team will handle the entire subsequent process.
- Not yet integrated with an automated payment system. As a result, every author who wants to purchase a book will be redirected to book payment through the Google Book platform. However, we need to be aware that currently, the margin cut from book sales on Google Books tends to be high.
- There are no statistics on sales reports and site visitors. The application currently does not provide a statistical feature that allows the editorial team to track and analyze book sales reports and site visitor data. This information is very important for managers to monitor publication performance and make decisions based on accurate data, for example, book statistics that are most viewed by readers.
- Email notifications don’t work automatically. Every process that involves the role of other members still relies on a manual email notification system.
- Lack of metadata information on each page of the book. The application currently does not provide adequate metadata on every published book page.
- The application page display is still standard. The application interface design still needs to be improved to make it more attractive and in accordance with user needs.
Problem with OMP?
As we know, the OMP platform has existed and been released by PKP for a long time, but why did LIPJPHKI previously use a book management platform that they built themselves? Over time there is a need for them to use more familiar platforms such as OJS which have been mastered by many writers. However, they faced several limitations so that they still could not instantly migrate from the platform they previously used to OMP. Here are some of these limitations based on the needs of the UNAIR publishing team:
- Payment features that are not optimal
Because OMP was built only in the context of book publishing workflow management, PKP as an OMP developer did not focus on book commercialization. The payment features are not as complete as those already available at OJS. Payment platforms are also limited to PayPal, while in Indonesia, most do not have PayPal accounts. So it is a challenge for us to build a payment feature that supports the rupiah currency and completes several payment features. - The need for additional information in the workflow
In OMP, there are limitations and complexities when it comes to adding custom additional fields in metadata. In fact, adding these fields requires programming skills to edit core files within the OMP installation. So that the results of each submitted author in OMP cannot meet the standard data requirements of the LIPJPHKI team. - Add custom metadata to author profile information.
At Unair Publishers, they have a system of giving royalties to authors whose books are purchased by the most readers after being published. In order for this royalty distribution system to work, the publisher needs some information from the author, such as the NPWP number and bank account details. Currently, the input of this information is not available by default in OMP. - Added the existing author feature to the contributor column
By default, when filling data in contributor information in book details, sometimes the same data can be entered repeatedly. This could result in possible duplicate data from previously registered contributors. This situation became a problem for the LIPJPHKI team when they tried to prepare a report on the author with the most number of books and published works.
The challenges and solutions we provide
After getting an overview of the results of the discussions and understanding what was needed, we realized that we were facing some quite complex challenges. The book application used currently has been around for a long time and some editor users are already familiar with the appearance and workflow of the current application. However, with the goal of better development and achieving optimal workflow, we are trying to introduce a particular platform designed to manage book publications, namely OMP (Open Monograph Press). Through OMP, we hope to be able to provide more efficient and effective solutions for managing book publications on the Airlangga University Campus.
Based on the needs expressed by the LIPJPHKI team, we designed several solution steps to improve the book publication application on the Airlangga University Campus:
- Automated submit process: By using OMP, the workflow from the initial submission process to the publication process is automatically handled properly. Authors will be able to fill out online submission forms via the app, upload book files, and track their publication status in real time. This will speed up and simplify the submission process.
- Payment system integration: We will integrate Xendit payment into the OMP platform. Thus, authors who wish to buy books will be able to make payments directly through the application with a choice of various payment methods, and this will increase convenience for managers in reducing margin deductions imposed by third-party platforms.
- Statistical and analytical features: We will be adding statistical and analytical features to the app to track and analyze book sales reports and website visitor data.
- Automatic email notifications: We will use the default notification feature of the OMP app. So every time there is a process that involves the role of other members, such as reviewers or editors, notifications will be sent automatically via email. This increases communication efficiency and reduces delays in response.
- More complete metadata: We will ensure that every published book page will display complete metadata. This metadata will include information such as book titles, authors, abstracts, keywords, and other relevant information. More complete metadata will help increase visibility and find books more easily.
- Attractive interface design: To provide an attractive and customizable interface, we have chosen the Catalog theme as a solution. By implementing the Catalong theme, users will be able to easily customize the appearance of the application via the OMP backend page. Apart from that, our theme also provides unique additional features such as a book slider.
Preview custom features and implementation results
In this case, we have installed OMP version 3.3.0-15, of course, this version still gets support from (PKP) and this version still doesn’t have any security problems or bugs that have been reported.
1. Added Assigned Menus
The addition of the “Assigned tab” menu has the aim of facilitating more efficient manuscript management for editors. This menu distinguishes between manuscripts that have been assigned to a particular editor and manuscripts that are still awaiting assignment. This menu makes planning the work of editors easier, improves the coordination of the editorial team, and allows better monitoring of the progress of handling each manuscript.
2. Added search contributor feature
The “Search Contributor” feature makes a significant contribution to increasing the efficiency of the author’s data management process on this platform. The ability of this feature to search previously inputted author data allows users, especially authors, to quickly identify and select relevant contributors from an existing database. This not only saves authors valuable time in filling in author information but also effectively prevents duplicate author data input that may occur in various books. Thus, the “Search Contributor” feature substantially reduces the potential for errors and inconsistencies in author data management.
3. Added search contributor feature
In the world of book publishing, it is recognized that every author’s work has value and potential that should be appreciated. Therefore, a fair reward system between publishers and authors is important, especially when a book achieves a significant level of sales. Taking this into account, adding additional fields such as bank account information and NPWP in this platform has an undeniable strategic advantage. This feature allows for the convenience of timely and accurate distribution of profits and royalties to authors, in line with the level of sales their work earns. More than just a technical aspect, the addition of this field also illustrates the publisher’s commitment to treating authors with transparency and integrity, creating a mutually beneficial relationship. As such, this feature substantially strengthens the foundation of professionalism in the publishing industry and provides assurance that the rights of authors are respected and taken seriously.
4. Adding a log feature to the user
Facing a significant number of user members in the management process of this platform, the initiative to implement the “Log” feature has become more and more important to the management team. This feature is expected to provide a comprehensive view of the activities of each given user role, specifically focusing on the role of editor and reviewer. With the ability to record activity logs, platform managers will have access to analyze and monitor a number of critical aspects, including the list of titles that have been submitted for assignment, the number of pending or completed assignments, and the average time required to complete each assignment.
The following is a screenshot of the log details for each user:
5. Custom additional field in metadata
Considering that some of the information data entries on the old platform were not found in OMP, we created additional custom fields that matched the previous data fields. This data entry is an important requirement used by Unair internal parties.
The “Unair Order” feature is an important addition to simplify and improve the management of previously created custom field data. This data has important significance because it forms the basis for preparing a comprehensive report which includes book data that has been received and published. The addition of the export function in CSV and XLSX formats in this menu is also noteworthy, as it significantly facilitates a very easy archiving process.
The “Payments” menu facilitates the handling of payments and financial interactions associated with various sales-related activities. This menu allows the editor to see a list of books sold and can also see full details such as payment methods, time of purchase, price, and data on the list of buyers’ names.
The following is a screenshot regarding more details for each payment list:
8. Added the Required Upload Submission file feature
This feature makes it possible to make the Upload file submission field mandatory for the submission author. This is because the Unair publisher specifically requires that several documents must be attached to be able to continue the submission process, this feature can also be customized with the name of the document needed to be uploaded by the author.
Conclusion
After an intensive development phase spanning 2-3 months, our dedicated team has successfully accomplished all assigned tasks and implemented the custom features as per the specified requirements. We are thrilled to announce the launch of the new and improved platform, now accessible at https://omp.unair.ac.id/aup.
Amazingly, in just a few days after the launch of the platform, several published books have been successfully indexed by the Google search engine. These results stand in stark contrast to previous platforms, where a large number of published books failed to appear in search engine results. The visual representation of our search engine results can be observed in the attached image.
This achievement underscores our commitment to enhancing accessibility and visibility for published content. We are confident that the improved search engine indexing will significantly elevate the reach and impact of the publications.
If you have any questions or need further information regarding our development process or new platform features, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to continuing collaboration and success with you.
