Since its inception, the [Union for Nubian Studies](http://unionfornubianstudies.org/) has been committed to opening up Nubiological research to a wider audience and broadening access to source materials. *Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies* was launched in 2014 as an open-access journal, with free access for both authors and readers. It has been hosted by [DigitalCommons@Fairfield](https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/djns/) of Fairfield University and since 2019 by University of California's [eScholarship](https://escholarship.org/uc/dotawo) platform.
Both digital platforms allowed *Dotawo* to grow, expanding its reach by means of the creation of persistent digital identifiers and membership of the [Directory of Open Access Journals](https://doaj.org/toc/2373-2571). The content of *Dotawo,* however, remained tailored to human readers because it was only available in PDF or printed form, and to privileged readers with access to institutional libraries because the references it included were often difficult to access for members of the public without such access, even though most if not all of this research was produced with the aid of public funds. This state of affairs presented a challenge in terms of the discoverability of the journal and the long-term preservation and openness of the scholarship presented and referenced.
Both digital platforms allowed *Dotawo* to grow, expanding its reach by means of the creation of persistent digital identifiers and membership of the [Directory of Open Access Journals](https://doaj.org/toc/2373-2571). The content of *Dotawo,* however, remained essentially tailored to human – rather than machine – readers because it was only available in PDF or printed form, and to privileged readers with access to institutional libraries because the references it included were often difficult to access for members of the public without such access, even though most if not all of this research was produced with the aid of public funds. This state of affairs presented a challenge in terms of the discoverability of the journal and the long-term preservation and openness of the scholarship presented and referenced.
Starting with the present issue, *Dotawo* will design and publish its content via the [Sandpoints](https://git.sandpoints.org/UnionForNubianStudies/Dotawo) platform, developed by Marcell Mars. *Dotawo* contributions are formatted in [Markdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown) syntax, thus moving away from proprietary software such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Adobe InDesign. Using the collaboration and version-control features of [Git](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git), the online issue is created via [Gitea](https://gitea.io/en-us/) and [Hugo](https://gohugo.io/), which take the Markdown files from the Git repository and generate a static website from them. The result is a compact and fast website, which moreover can also be used offline. Also the typography of *Dotawo* is now based on open fonts. The journal is typeset in [Gentium](https://software.sil.org/gentium/), which is released under an [SIL Open Font License](http://scripts.sil.org/ofl). The PDF output is generated by [PagedJS](https://www.pagedjs.org/), and will continue to be hosted on the eScholarship platform, while the printed book will remain available through scholar-led open access press [punctum books](https://punctumbooks.com/imprints/dotawo/). In short, all of the software used in the creation of *Dotawo* will thus be open source. Although this process demands a certain amount of flexibility of the editors, it also shows that transitioning an open access journal to open infrastructure not only possible but also feasible.
With its graduation to the [Sandpoints](https://git.sandpoints.org/) platform starting with the present issue, *Dotawo* is entering a new phase. The entire journal will now be "born digital," created in [Gitea](https://gitea.io/en-us/) with a website generated by [Hugo](https://gohugo.io/). The journal is typeset in [Gentium](https://software.sil.org/gentium/), which is released under an [SIL Open Font License](http://scripts.sil.org/ofl). The PDF output is generated by [PagedJS](https://www.pagedjs.org/), and will continue to be hosted on the eScholarship platform, while the printed book will remain available through scholar-led open access press [punctum books](https://punctumbooks.com/imprints/dotawo/). All of the software used in the creation of *Dotawo* will thus be open source.
The plundering and destruction of the University of Khartoum by forces allied with the former dictator during the 2019 Sudanese Revolution[^8] has once again impressed upon us the precarity of the research environment in which many scholars of Nubia operate and thus the necessity and moral obligation of creating open and resistant scholarly infrastructures. To improve the long-term preservation of and access to the scholarship contained and referenced in *Dotawo*, all sources mentioned in contributions to the journal will henceforth be linked, as much as possible, to records deposited in a public library using the open infrastructure of [Memory of the World](https://www.memoryoftheworld.org/).[^10] This will allow for easy storage and dissemination of both content and contect of the research presented in *Dotawo* to those scholars of Nubia – and there are many – who are not institutionally privileged, including many who live in the Global South.
vincentwj
3 years ago