Pathfinder – The OPERAS' Publishing Service Portal

Pathfinder (https://pathfinder.operas-eu.org/) is an OPERAS service that aims to help editors and editorial managers find publishing services that they can use to perform their editorial tasks on open-access publications (journals, books, editions and other research outputs,…) in social sciences and humanities. It consists of a web-based catalogue where scholarly communication services are presented, mainly those managed by OPERAS members but possibly by other providers as well. While editors and editorial managers are the main target users of the platform, authors can also use Pathfinder to receive suggestions for publishing the results of their research. The current platform has been developed within the OPERAS-PLUS research project and was released in August 2023. While this is the first publicly accessible version of the Pathfinder, an initial prototype of this service had been developed in the past during the OPERAS-P research project, which ended in June 2021. This former experience helped to better definPae the requirements and expectations that led to shaping the current version of the platform. Its web back office has been designed to simplify the process of entering and updating data. It offers a complete classification system for service types whose categories have been selected as a result of a collaborative effort with other OPERAS partners. Users can seamlessly search for services and service providers using a user-friendly interface: results can be further filtered through a faceted interface. Services and service providers are presented in detail, ensuring users have all of the necessary information at their fingertips. Additionally, a user can quickly click on the suggested searches curated by the editorial team, while a search wizard helps users in specifying the right conditions to find what they are looking for. Users can register in Pathfinder through the OPERAS ID service to have access to advanced features. For example, registered users can create personalized lists of services, referred to as “Kits”, which can be shared with collaborators. Also, to foster collaboration and communication among the Pathfinder community of users, a dedicated space on the OPERAS Mattermost chat platform has been activated. This space encourages the exchange of suggestions, enhancing the overall experience for everyone involved. While the main development of the platform has been concluded, data entry and curation of services and service providers will continue until the end of the OPERAS-PLUS project. Synergies with other OPERAS projects (with DIAMAS in particular) have been considered in order to enrich the quality and dimension of the Pathfinder’s catalogue.