UC Berkeley Library

Seismica, a pioneering diamond open access journal in Seismology and Earthquake Science, launched in July 2022. Seismica is an independent journal supported by McGill University, designed and built by a global community of researchers with the aim of making scientific research freely available. Our international team of over 40 people includes disciplinary experts as well as specialists in open science and data; equity, diversity and inclusion; outreach and communication; and digital media and branding. Volunteers cover traditional editorial roles as well as the journal’s full-time management and operation (including technical support, copy editing, branding and communications). 

Now in its second year of publication, Seismica has evolved as both a journal and a community dedicated to transparency in science, and supporting not only open access articles, but also a fully open publication process. Beyond traditional research articles, Seismica publishes an innovative set of peer-reviewed reports including fast reports, null results/failed experiments, software reports, and instrument deployment/field campaign reports; we also require the sharing of related data and code. This initial year of growth has included the development of of our own reproducible workflows on the backend, the publication of a special issue in response to the Turkiye earthquakes of February 2023, and much work behind the scenes fostering community, mentoring new editors, opening peer review, investigating future funding and planning for sustainable succession. This presentation will demonstrate how Seismica contributors have responded to community needs and changing expectations in the field while gaining invaluable professional experience along the way.

This presentation was supported by a Presentation Grant from the Librarians Association of the University of California (LAUC).