More scholarly societies are exploring what it would look like to bring some or all of their journal publishing operations in-house. Doing so can give societies greater control over their publications and closer connections with the communities they serve. But it also means seriously considering the technology, expertise, and operational resources needed to manage a journal program effectively. 

That raises an important strategic question: What should a society manage internally, and where can specialized technology and service providers fill the gaps? 

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The right approach will depend on a society’s staff expertise, budget, publishing goals, and existing infrastructure. For some organizations, independent publishing may mean building a largely internal operation. For others, partnering with multiple specialized providers may be a more sustainable path. 

Creating new options for nonprofit publishers 

The need for flexible publishing models is particularly relevant as the scholarly landscape continues to evolve. Nonprofit publishers play an important role in supporting research communities and developing publishing programs aligned with their missions. 

The Scholarly Publishing Collective (SPC), managed by Duke University Press, was established in 2021 to help nonprofits manage some of the operational complexities of running journals. Its services include subscription management, digital access fulfillment, institutional sales, discovery, preservation, and journal hosting through a cooperative instance of the Silverchair platform. 

As part of its recent expansion efforts, SPC decided to seek partners to offer nonprofits further support for connecting their end-to-end journal workflows. 

“As more scholarly organizations explore independent publishing models to retain control over their journals, they need technology and operational support,” said Raymond Lambert, Publishing Services Manager at Duke University Press, which manages SPC. “We have solutions to some key parts of the puzzle, but we knew we needed to connect the rest, and we wanted to seek independent partners to work with who would offer flexibility and who were well known and well respected among nonprofit scholarly publishers. That led us to Scholastica and Westchester.” 

 

The organizations came together to form Allied Journal Publishing Solutions, a joint services model wherein publishers can combine editorial management, production, hosting, sales, and fulfillment solutions from the three interconnected Allied partners. 

Embracing a modular approach to journal publishing 

Rather than asking publishers to adopt a single bundled software/service provider solution, Allied is designed around a different premise: organizations should be able to select the technology and services that make sense for their particular publishing programs. 

Through the alliance, publishers can work with any combination of the three partners while benefiting from coordinated support across connected workflows. 

Services include: 

• Powerful, readily configurable peer review software from Scholastica 
• Editorial project management, copyediting, and production support from Westchester 
• XML, HTML, and print-ready PDF production through Westchester or Scholastica 
• Journal website hosting options (portfolio or individual) through SPC or Scholastica 
• Subscription management, sales, and customer service support through SPC 

“We’re excited to help nonprofits that want the benefits of streamlined publishing software and services while still retaining choice over their providers and workflows,” said Brian Cody, CEO and Co-Founder of Scholastica. “Allied Journal Publishing Solutions brings together three best-in-class providers, not the traditional all-in-one suite which limits choice and forces publishers into bundled services.” 

Finding the right balance for your publishing program 

For societies considering independent publishing, the goal doesn’t necessarily need to be bringing every function under one roof. Instead, organizations can evaluate their current capabilities and determine where additional technology, expertise, or operational support would have the greatest impact. 

Questions to consider include: 

• Which publishing functions does our team have the expertise and capacity to manage? 
• Where would specialized technology reduce administrative work or improve workflows? 
• Which services would be difficult or costly to build internally? 
• What capabilities will we need as our journal program grows? 

Allied Journal Publishing Solutions offers independent publishers a new route to combine internal expertise with specialized external support. 

“What makes the Allied Journal Publishing Solutions model so valuable for publishers is the flexibility it provides, while also maintaining full control over their workflow and goals,” said Westchester Publishing Services CEO Deb Taylor. 

Learn more about Allied Journal Publishing Solutions 

Want practical advice for evaluating your readiness for independent journal publishing or expanding your existing in-house publishing program? 

Join Publishing Services Manager at Duke University Press Raymond Lambert, CRO and Managing Director at Westchester Publishing Services Tyler Carey, and CEO and Co-Founder of Scholastica Brian Cody for “Intro to Allied Journal Publishing Solutions and Advice for Publishing In-House” on September 29 at 10 AM ET. 

The free webinar, which is a satellite session for this year’s ALPSP Conference, will cover: 

• How Allied’s technology and services can support nonprofit journal publishers 
• Steps for assessing readiness for independent publishing or evaluating an existing in-house journal program 
• Strategies for finding the right balance of internal capabilities and external support 

There will be time for audience Q&A, and everyone who registers will receive the recording. 

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Scholastica is a Bronze Sponsor for the ALPSP Annual Conference & Awards 2026. 

Trusted by 1,300+ journals, Scholastica offers modern, easy-to-integrate software and services for peer review management, article production, and OA journal hosting. Since 2012, our mission has been to empower scholarly organizations to publish top-quality research more efficiently and sustainably.