An analytical study of Editorial and Publication Policies of the Open Access Journals of Library and Information Science

Background: Open-access journals of Library and Information Science (LIS) have been a key medium for library professionals and academicians to publish their research results. The publication policy of the journals is a significant aspect for the authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers, which becomes guidelines to assist all the stakeholders' work under policies. Purpose: The study is conducted to find out the status of the publication policy and editorial policies of Open Access (OA) journals of Library and Information Science which are indexed by publishers from various countries in the SCOPUS, Web of Science, (DOAJ), etc. The study was conducted to find out and assess the indexing of OA journals in the citation database and their countries, factors of publication and editorial policy, periodicity, archiving policy, publication fees, and ethical perspectives in the societal context. Design/methodology/approach: The study was initiated by the selection of 151 OA journals of library and information science that are indexed in the citation database, UGC Care List, DOAJ, etc., and after scrutinizing the websites, the database was worked out in an Excel sheet made for this purpose. This is needed because the policies differ from journal to journal, and researchers are often confused as to which one would be the best to follow for their research results. Findings: The USA has indexed the highest number of 21.38% of OA journals in the LIS database. It was found that 82.12% of OA journals preferred the "Double Blind Peer Review" review process; the CC-BY copyright licensing policy is adopted by 46.36% of OA journals; more than 88.74% of journals do not charge for article processing; and it is very low and needs to be adopted for the integrity of the research. Practical implications: In order to conduct a study that was dispersed among all journals separately and make use of the material that was available to stakeholders- researchers, librarians, academicians, etc.-the authors faced the issue of gathering all the necessary information in one location. The analysis of the LIS journals served as the study's sole foundation. Originality/value: : In order to evaluate trends, kinds, and natures of policy patterns, this research shows how to analyze editorial and publication policies in a thorough and instructive manner. In order to support scientists, academics, and researchers in their work as they prepare research articles for journal publication, it is also necessary to develop inclusive policies.