24 May 2024
The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has announced that its draft revision of the Journal Article Version (JAV) Recommended Practice is now open for public comment. Stakeholders and members of the scholarly communication community are invited to review and provide feedback on the draft until July 7, 2024, via the project web page.
Originally published in 2008, the JAV Recommended Practice was established to standardize the description of various versions of online scholarly content. However, significant changes in publishing practices over the years, including the surge in preprint publications, have rendered the notion of a single version of record less relevant. These developments have underscored the necessity for updated standardization in terms and recommendations to effectively manage, track, and index multiple versions of scholarly articles.
The NISO working group tasked with revising the JAV Recommended Practice has focused on addressing contemporary challenges. Issues such as the proper citation of different versions and the need for consistent version labeling have been at the forefront of their efforts. The revised JAV Recommended Practice aims to provide clear guidance on these matters.
The updated draft includes an appendix with multiple examples illustrating various use cases. This addition is designed to assist those seeking practical guidance on managing different versions of journal articles in today's dynamic publishing environment.
NISO encourages researchers, publishers, librarians, and all other interested parties to participate in the public comment period. Feedback from a broad range of stakeholders is crucial to ensure that the revised JAV Recommended Practice effectively meets the needs of the scholarly community.
The draft Recommended Practice can be accessed and reviewed on the NISO project web page. Comments are accepted until July 7, 2024.