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Open Access journals published in Belgium without author fees
This blog post was written by Demmy Verbeke and Laura Mesotten.
A first version of the dataset dedicated to the landscape of Belgian Open Access (OA) journals which do not charge author fees has been published with DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20760254.
This overview, compiled by Laura Mesotten and Demmy Verbeke, provides a comprehensive list of Belgian Diamond OA journals – defined as journals that are published in OA without charging author fees and that are governed by the academic community. The dataset includes a range of bibliographical, editorial, and technical details, such as ISSNs, publishing software used, funding sources, and peer review status. In addition, the dataset documents the operational Diamond OA criteria for journals as developed in the context of the DIAMAS and CRAFT-OA projects. As such, it serves as a practical tool for identifying journals that are eligible for inclusion in the Diamond Discovery Hub maintained by the European Diamond Capacity Hub.
The “About” section of the dataset outlines the methodological choices and scope. For instance, it specifies the criteria used to determine whether a journal qualifies as Belgian. For the purposes of this dataset, a journal is considered Belgian if its publisher or publishing entity (i.e., the institution or society responsible for the journal) is legally based in Belgium. In cases of co-publishing, a journal is also considered Belgian if at least one co-publisher or publishing entity is legally based in Belgium, even if the registered publisher is located elsewhere. By contrast, indicators such as the nationality or institutional affiliations of editors, funding from Belgian institutions, or distribution via Belgian platforms are not considered as sufficient grounds for classifying a journal as Belgian.
The dataset further includes a “Belgian delayed OA journals” tab, which provides information on journals whose content is made openly available after an embargo period. Inclusion in this category is restricted to journals where OA applies to the issue as a whole (rather than to individual articles) and where such access is unconditional – that is, authors can be assured that their publication will become openly accessible after a defined embargo period. No restrictions are imposed on the length of the embargo, and, where identifiable, the duration of embargo period is explicitly recorded in the dataset. Journals are excluded from this category if it is not clearly stated that they provide delayed OA, or if it remains uncertain whether the availability of open content reflects an established embargo policy or merely the opening up of the journal’s archive, without reassurance that newly published material will become openly accessible over time. This section should be viewed as an initial exploratory effort to map delayed OA journals in the Belgian context. While distinct from Diamond OA, delayed OA regularly shares certain features with it, notably the absence of author-facing fees. Further research will be required to validate and refine the identification of such journals. Including them at this stage enables their separate documentation and supports the monitoring of changes in access conditions over time.
As a first release, the dataset should be regarded as a living resource rather than a definitive inventory. It is intended to support research and analysis on scholarly communication and Diamond Open Access publishing in Belgium, while also facilitating the visibility and monitoring of community-led journals. The dataset will be periodically updated to reflect changes in journal policies, platforms, and indexing statuses. Users are encouraged to consult the most recent version and to share additions, corrections, or comments with the authors.
