Articles

Dutch journal makes move to Open Access

The Dutch journal Voice, Speech and Language Pathology (Stem, Spraak en TaalPathologie, SSTP), starts the transformation to an open-access journal. SSTP started in 1992. Over the last years publishing was done by a broad network of dedicated researchers on their own account. Now the Library of the University of Groningen will support the Open Access publishing using software from Open Journals Systems.

The SSTP journal publishes original scientific contributions in the field of voice, speech and language disorders, aimed at both researchers and professionals in health and education, centered on colleges and Faculties of Arts in the Netherlands and Flanders. SSTP covers a challenging, rapidly developing multidisciplinary field.

The spread of the Dutch language is not extensive but very knowledge-intensive in terms of research, implementation and application of new developments in the voice, speech and language pathology. Therefore, SSTP is for many an important source of information. It provides a discussion platform by excellence to follow new developments in this field, without having to keep up with a range of journals.

By open access publication, we expect renewed interest in SSTP based on the following effects.
-Free availability, both in terms of cost and accessibility is expected to increase readership of the journal. Especially for the targeted speech therapists (in the Netherlands and Flanders around 8000 speech therapists are employed), who are insufficiently involved in scientific research themselves to allow for a subscription to a research journal, but show interested in new developments in their own - for the group as a whole is very diverse - field, open access publishing offers an excellent opportunity to read selective items.
-Broader access to the journal for professionals in clinical practice makes it attractive for researchers publishing in SSTP, especially for research focusing on applications and implementation. SSTP can become the channel by excellence, especially in applied research, where the specific character of the Dutch language plays an important role. We expect that this will yield a status-enhancing effect on Dutch publications.