• The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) has launched a new platform with improved searching features. DOAJ now contains 8869 journals with 4550 journals searchable at the article level.
• The Research Councils UK (RCUK) policy on open access came into effect from the 1st April 2013. The policy states that all peer-reviewed published research articles and conference proceedings funded by RCUK must be open access. A video from BioMed Central has a helpful explanation.
• Updates have been made to the "Where to Publish" page with Lists of journals which allow free access to the published version within 12 months: Highwire Press, Elsevier and Wiley-Blackwell.
• De Gruyter have released a video showcasing their new open access model for libraries, "The Art of Paper Planes".

Just launched is the new open-access scientific journal Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. Elementa aims to facilitate scientific solutions to the challenges presented by this era of accelerated human impact on natural systems. It is committed to the rapid publication of technically sound, peer-reviewed articles that address interactions between human and natural systems and behaviors (Elementa, Feb 2013). Submission will be accepted April 2013

Elementa is aimed at six main knowledge domains including:

• Atmospheric Science
• Earth and Environmental Science
• Ecology, Ocean Science
• Sustainable Engineering
• Sustainability Sciences

Elementa is supported by BioOne and five academic Dartmouth, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington.

For further information go to the pre-publication site.

• Sage Open has reduced their open access article processing fee to $99 per article. Announcement Jan 24th 2013
• The Max Planck Society and De Gruyter Sign Agreement for Open Access Book Publishing. Press release Jan 24th 2013
• World Allergy Organization Journal is now open access has published its first open access articles with BioMed Central. BioMed Central Blog Jan 31 2013
• Portland Press adopts Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC-BY) for Open Access papers, which includes journals such as ASN NEURO, Bioscience Reports, Biochemical Journal, Biochemical Society Transactions and the clinical research publication Clinical Science. Press release Feb 2nd 2013

Figshare Partners with Open Access mega journal publisher PLOS

Figshare announced this week that they have gone into partnership with PLOS to host the supplemental data for all seven PLOS journals. For ease of access to view the data, PLOS will provide a widget, which will allow the users to view the data alongside the content.

"PLOS believes in making data as visible and useful as possible," said Kristen Ratan, Chief Publishing and Product Officer at PLOS. "Partnering with figshare is an important step in increasing the accessibility of the data associated with our research articles."

Become a Figshare advisor and get lots in return!

Figshare have invited members of their community to become advisors. In exchange for presenting figshare to your colleagues at a lab meeting or journal club.

• In return for becoming an advisor Figshare are offering :
• figshare goodies such as hoodies, t-shirts, mugs, stickers, pens, etc.
• Early access to new features before they're public.
• A figshare Advisor badge on your figshare profile.
• Travel expenses paid by figshare when you give presentations outside of your area.
• Looks great on your C.V.

F1000Research (launched 2013) is an original open-access publishing program for life scientists it offers:

• Immediate publication
• Transparent peer review (post-publication)
• Full data deposition and sharing

Other service on this platform includes:

F1000Posters an open access repository of conference posters and oral presentations from across biology and medicine. F10000 claims that by depositing you poster it will:

• Widen your audience by linking your full paper to the poster
• Provide discussion and feedback

F1000Prime an online directory which includes:

• Daily updates
• Over 100,000 recommendations of the top publishing articles in biology and medicine directory
• Personnel customization for quick access to the content that interests you including; favourite sections, stored search, bookmarked articles and email alerts

Institutional membership is available for University of Queensland staff & students. Register at F100Prime.

The latest issue of World Archaeology is a special issue on "Open Data"

Articles includes:

• Open archaeology by Mark Lake
• A vision of Open Archaeology Anthony Beck & Cameron Neylon
• Openness and archaeology's information ecosystem Eric Kansa
• DIY and digital archaeology; what are you doing to participate? Colleen Morgan & Stuart Eve
• Lost in information? Ways of knowing and modes of representation in e-archaeology Jeremy Huggett

For further information go to World Archaeology Volume 44, Issue 4, 2012