The workflow for creating a new version of a preprint on Engineering Archive has been a challenge for the last year and a half as there was no mechanism for authors to submit new preprint versions and instead they had to manually notify the server administrator when the new versions were ready to be posted. As of a few weeks ago, this is no longer the case with the development of a new version submission workflow.

Thanks to the work of Lepidus Technologia, funded by Open Engineering, authors can now submit new preprint versions when they are ready for them to be posted. As part of the workflow, authors are also asked to provide a justification for the new version, which will be shared with the server administrator and also displayed publicly on the preprint’s page.

Instructions for following this new workflow can be found on the Submission Editing page.

The Nelson memo, which was written for the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in August 2022, outlined several key principles for scholarly publishing and research:

1. Immediate availability: Papers should be made available as soon as possible after they are accepted for publication.
2. No fees: There should be no charge to access papers.
3. No copyright restrictions: Papers should be published under a license that permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction.
4. Quality assurance: The quality of papers should be maintained through peer review and other quality assurance mechanisms.

engrXiv satisfies all four of these principles. By making papers available immediately, without any fees, and under a Creative Commons license, engrXiv helps to ensure that the benefits of scientific research are shared widely.

• Immediate availability: engrXiv makes papers available immediately upon submission, without any embargo period. This allows researchers to share their work with the world as soon as possible, and to benefit from feedback from other researchers early on.
• No fees: engrXiv is free to use for both authors and readers. This removes financial barriers to access, and helps to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate in the scientific process.
• No copyright restrictions: engrXiv papers are published under a Creative Commons license, which allows anyone to read, share, and build upon the research. This promotes collaboration and innovation, and helps to ensure that the benefits of scientific research are shared widely.
• Quality assurance: engrXiv enables early review and scritiny of work posted to the server and enables transparency throuh real-time posting of the latest research as it becomes available.

In addition to satisfying the open access principles outlined in the Nelson memo, engrXiv also offers a number of other benefits to researchers. For example, engrXiv provides a forum for researchers to share their work with a wider audience, and to receive feedback from other researchers. engrXiv also helps to increase the visibility of engineering research, and to make it easier for researchers to find and cite relevant papers.

This past year has been a year of change for Engineering Archive. Early in the year, we announced the move to a new hosting provider and a new preprint server software. We are incredibly happy to be partnered with the Public Knowledge Project and to be using Open Preprint Systems as the server’s backend. A major component of this transition has been helping engineering authors who submitted preprints on our previous hosting platform get migrated to the new platform so that they can continue to manage those preprints.

Migration this year has reduced the number of preprints posted by about 25% compared to the previous two years. We anticipated that we would see some reductions this year as folks adapt to the new platform and adjust their workflows. We expect that submission numbers will recover as engineering authors become more comfortable with the new platform. If you are having any difficulty with using the new platform, please reach out over email (director[at]engrxiv.org) or on our Matrix support channel.

Finally, we want to make sure that we acknowledge and show our appreciate for the support of the Engineering Archive Membership Circle. The Membership Circle creates the opportunity for institutions, libraries, and other organizations to support the sustainability of the server through a $500 annual contribution. We are especially grateful to the Universith of Minnesota Libraries who have newly joined in 2022! We cannot forget our sustaining members, some of whom are in their fifth year of provided this vital support for the server!

We hope you’ll keep in touch via social media. Find us on the fediverse at our Mastodon account @engrxiv@scicomm.xyz.