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Harvard University Press launches its first Open Access journal

Yesterday, Harvard University Press (HUP) launched the Journal of Legal Analysis, its first online, Open Access publication. According to a statement issued yesterday by HUP,

"The Journal of Legal Analysis aspires to publish the best legal scholarship from all disciplinary perspectives and in all styles, whether verbal, formal, or empirical. The JLA is faculty-edited. All articles are subject to peer review. The Journal is co-published by Harvard University Press and the John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Business."

HUP has not published an academic journal in nearly three decades but has long wanted to enter the realm of online journal publishing. HUP's director Bill Sisler noted in yesterday's announcement,

“Possibilities opened up by the internet are transforming the whole landscape of publishing, especially in the realm of academic journals.  By taking this step, Harvard University Press has signaled its determination to participate in the transformation and to do so in a way that will promote the diffusion of first-rate scholarship.”

The Journal of Legal Analysis is hopefully the first of many HUP Open Access publications.

Congratulations to Harvard University Press for its efforts to increase accessibility to high quality scholarly works.

The launch of the Journal of Legal Analysis is the second bright spot for Open Access legal scholarship we've highlighted in less than a week! Last Thursday we announced the launch of the Legal Education Commons, where law professors can exchange and access teaching resources under Creative Commons licenses.

It's only February, but it looks like 2009 will be another big year for Open Access.