Quo vadis, Boreas?

With this short editorial I would like to update you about some forthcoming changes in the mode of production of Boreas. Following in-depth considerations and a recommendation by our Publisher, the Administrative Board decided to convert the journal from the traditional subscription-based model to full Open Access as of 2022, which already came into effect for all new submissions from August 2021. In practical terms, this move means that all forthcoming articles published in Boreas will be freely available to everybody across the world generating a high potential for increased circulation and impact, also where the journal was inaccessible previously. All new articles will be immediately free to download and share, helping to increase research dissemination. Furthermore, all articles published from 1997 will be free to read for everybody online. We continue to see many institutions and global funders creating Open Access policies for their authors, and we are hereby making it easier for authors to fulfil their funders’ mandates regarding Open Access publication. With this move Boreas is joining other high impact journals in the Wiley Open Access portfolio, and will benefit from a number of advantages that this confers.

But Open Access carries also a change in the financial model whereby the accepted articles will be charged a publication fee. Typically, this fee is covered by the bilateral agreements between the publishers and the authors’ home institutions, based on country-wide agreements, which are currently increasing significantly and paving the way for Open Access to become the main science publication model in the future. Individual authors not covered by these licences and not having other funding will be able to request fee waivers.

Another change concerns the production of Boreas on paper. Since its first volume in 1972, the journal has been disseminated as printed copies, later supplemented and gradually replaced by the online edition. Following recent trends, from 2022 Boreas will no longer be printed on paper but remain as an online journal only. Most of you will hardly notice it. The traditional walk to the hardcopy library has long been replaced by the more convenient electronic access, which is clearly reflected by the dropping subscriptions of printed copies of journals worldwide. In doing so, we are not only addressing the global shortages of library space but also saving substantial hardcopy and hardware production flow, with benefit to the environment. This book is thus the last issue of Boreas appearing in the printed version.

Last but not least, Karen Luise Knudsen will be retiring as Assistant Editor at the end of 2021. Karen Luise has held this post since 2000 and I would like to use this opportunity to convey my most sincere thanks for all her dedicated work for Boreas, her professionalism in co-editing it, and enthusiasm in co-managing all relevant administrative matters. Karen Luise’s role in shaping the high standing of Boreas for over 20 years cannot be overestimated and I hope for her continued contributions as a regular member of our Administrative Board. At the same time, I am very pleased to communicate that the new Assistant Editor will be Nicolaj Krog Larsen. Nicolaj is professor of Quaternary geology at the GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, specializing in environmental changes in Greenland. He has broad expertise in glacial geology and Holocene palaeo-climates from various geographical settings and an outstanding publication record, including multiple articles in cutting-edge outlets. Nicolaj has been on our Administrative Board since 2010 and I very much look forward to our closer cooperation in the time to come.

With all these changes, I am confident that Boreas is well equipped to meet the challenges of the rapidly developing publication market and hope for your continued support as Reader and Author of the Green Journal.