Pensoft and the Bibsam Consortium have signed an Open Access agreement that covers 65 peer-reviewed scholarly journals published by Pensoft or using the open-access publisher’s signature platform ARPHA. The agreement covers almost 100 institutions, including Karolinska Institutet, Lund University, Uppsala University, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Now, researchers affiliated with institutions in the Bibsam Consortium will benefit from a streamlined publication process where they will not be charged with any publication fees (APCs).
Pensoft and the Bibsam Consortium, operated by the National Library of Sweden, are pleased to announce the signing of a comprehensive Open Access (OA) agreement, marking a significant step in the transition towards a more transparent and open scholarly publishing landscape in Sweden.
Thanks to this move, researchers at participating institutions will be able to publish their findings in 65 journals published by Pensoft or using its advanced publishing platform ARPHA, including flagship titles such as ZooKeys, PhytoKeys, Biodiversity Data Journal, NeoBiota and IMA Fungus, without incurring individual article processing charges (APCs).
All authors affiliated with participating institutions can benefit from this agreement, with publishing costs 100% covered by an institutional deposit secured by the National Library of Sweden.
Unlike subscription-based systems, an OA framework ensures that scientific findings are immediately and freely available to the global community, supporting the global shift toward accessible science and adhering to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable).
OA agreements like this one reduce the financial burden on scientists and encourage them to share their work with both academia and the wider public, ultimately lowering barriers to sharing knowledge in a time when scientific input is key to resolving global challenges.
“We are excited to start this partnership with Bisbam and sign an agreement that reflects our strong commitment to open science. By supporting researcher-driven publishing, we continue to foster a sustainable environment for high-impact scientific communication.”
– Prof. Lyubomir Penev, CEO of Pensoft
“We are delighted to announce the addition of Pensoft Publishers to our portfolio of nationally funded agreements for 2026. This represents an important step towards achieving full open access to scientific publications in Sweden.”
– Niklas Willén, License Manager at Bibsam Consortium and National Library of Sweden
Are you affiliated with a research institution operating with OA agreements? Is your institution interested in helping resident researchers navigate the complex processes underpinning academic publishing and knowledge sharing? Reach out to <publishing@pensoft.net> to discuss a potential collaboration.
Published by PHARMAKON-Press under ARPHA’s white-label model, its primary mission is to promote optimum drug therapy and serve as a platform for relevant research. Aiming to provide essential knowledge on drugs based on updated developments and contemporary perceptions, the journal maintains a wide scope of article types accepted for publication.
RCPP was established in Athens, Greece, in 1987 by Prof. Stavros T. Plessas MD and Dr Charalampos T. Plessas.
“Four decades later, the journal continues to publish high-quality, peer-reviewed articles and hosts the proceedings of international conferences serving the scientific community in both Greece and abroad,” its team says on its webpage.
In September 2023, RCPP transitioned to an open-access model, with all its published content since then available on its new website provided by ARPHA. It is led by Editor-in-Chief Dr. Eleni Plessa.
By joining ARPHA, the journal can benefit from the platform’s one-stop, end-to-end publishing solution, high-level integrations, semantical enhancements, and advanced metrics.
“Our move to the ARPHA Platform marks a decisive step in the journal’s evolution, strengthening our commitment to transparency, innovation, and global visibility while modernising our publishing practices and expanding our international reach. Through advanced workflows, semantic enrichment, and robust metrics, this collaboration enables Review of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics to attract high-quality submissions, meet international standards, and ensure long-term visibility and competitiveness in open-access scientific publishing.” said the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Eleni Plessa.
“We’re very excited to partner with Review of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics, adding one more title to our growing portfolio of open-access journals in medical sciences, and look forward to supporting the journal in this next chapter,” said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, CEO of ARPHA.
About ARPHA:
ARPHA is the first end-to-end, narrative- and data-integrated publishing solution that supports the full life cycle of a manuscript, from authoring to reviewing, publishing and dissemination. ARPHA provides accomplished and streamlined production workflows that can be customised according to the journal’s needs. The platform enables a variety of publishing models through a number of options for branding, production and revenue models to choose from.
Pensoft, the independent academic publishing company known for its innovative open access publishing tools, workflows, and technologically advanced platforms for text and data publishing, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Reviewer Credits, the Berlin-based network for peer reviewers and publishing integrity hub. The collaboration also encompasses ARPHA, Pensoft’s publishing platform that supports the entire scholarly publishing workflow with cutting-edge semantic tagging, collaborative manuscript authoring, and transparent peer review.
Reviewers who create a free account on Reviewer Credits will automatically record their peer review contributions, which will be certified via the platform and earn rewards and recognition within the scholarly community. While a reviewer can register any of their peer reviews on the platform, reviews for journals partnering with Reviewer Credits earn additional redeemable credits.
“Our partnership with Reviewer Credits is important for recognising and rewarding the contribution of our reviewers,” said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, Founder and CEO of Pensoft. “Good reviewers are essential for ensuring the publication of quality science. In the past, their role has been overlooked, and collaborations like this are important steps towards changing that.”
“This partnership between Reviewer Credits and Pensoft/ARPHA represents a significant step forward in recognizing and rewarding the vital contributions of peer reviewers, enhancing transparency, and strengthening the integrity of scholarly publishing for the entire research community” said Sven Fund, Managing Director at Reviewer Credits, “This collaborative approach not only incentivizes reviewers by formally documenting their efforts and providing tangible recognition, but also democratizes participation in peer review—empowering researchers at every career stage to contribute meaningfully, build networks, and advance standards of transparency and accountability within the global research community.”
About Reviewer Credits: Reviewer Credits is the global network that recognizes and rewards the vital contribution peer reviewers make to scientific publishing. The Berlin-based sciencetech company collaborates with more than 220 international publishing houses and around 1,800 academic journals and is home to over 43,000 reviewers. Around 300,000 reviews have already been uploaded to the Reviewer Credits platform. For more details, see www.reviewercredits.com.
The Annals of the Natural History Museum Vienna (ANHMW) has launched its first issue since transitioning to the ARPHA scholarly publishing platform and entering a co-publishing partnership with Pensoft.
The open-access, peer-reviewed journal publishes original research relating to the museum’s scientific collections and ongoing projects, covering anthropology, biosciences, earth sciences, genetics, prehistory, and the museum’s history.
Established in 1836 as the Annalen des Wiener Museums der Naturgeschichte, the journal is one of Europe’s oldest periodicals, maintaining a longstanding tradition of scientific publishing. Over the years, the journal experienced various iterations and name changes and, in 1980, it was divided into three series. Now, following the transition to Pensoft, these series have been reunited under one title.
ANHMW operates as a diamond open-access journal, allowing authors to publish freely thanks to the generous support of the Natural History Museum Vienna. Co-published by Pensoft and the museum, all articles are available in multiple formats including HTML, JATS XML, and high-resolution full-colour PDF.
Content is enhanced semantically and converted into Linked Open Data and OpenBiodiv Biodiversity knowledge graphs. To meet nomenclatural standards for electronic publication, all articles will be indexed and archived in repositories such as Zenodo, CLOCKSS, Portico, and more, with nomenclatural acts registered in ZooBank.
The joint Editors-in-Chief, Dr Anna Weinmann, Mag Andrea Krapf, and Dr Nesrine Akkari, expressed enthusiasm for the journal’s digital transformation. Andrea Krapf commented, “I am very proud to accompany such a venerable and traditional journal as the Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien on its journey into the digital future under its new English title, Annals of the Natural History Museum Vienna. In Pensoft, we have found a reliable partner to publish the journal under a modern diamond open access model, making it thus more attractive to the scientific community and the general public.”
Dr Nesrine Akkari said, “Since joining the editorial team of the Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien as the editor-in-chief of Serie B in 2018, I have witnessed continuous attempts to modernise the journal’s editorial workflow and publications. The idea of moving to Pensoft as a co-publisher was discussed and I am delighted that our managers support it.
“As both a scientist and an editor, I recognise the importance of the Annals as part of the museum’s legacy, while I also recognize the many advantages of the collaboration with Pensoft. I believe that this change marks a new era for the Annals and that, by combining modernity and tradition, our journal will continue to thrive.”
Prof Lyubomir Penev, CEO and Founder of Pensoft, welcomed the partnership: “We are thrilled to welcome the Annals of the Natural History Museum Vienna into the Pensoft family of next-generation scientific journals. ARPHA’s publishing solutions will allow the journal to modernise and find new audiences.”
The first issue is now available on the ANHMW’s new website, including an editorial by the Editors-in-Chief reflecting on the past and future of this historic journal.
Phytologia Balcanica, an international journal in plant sciences, has integrated with the ARPHA publishing platform, in a move aiming to strengthen the journal’s commitment to advancing phytological research and expanding its global reach.
Phytologia Balcanica publishes original scientific articles and communications across various plant science fields. Its scope encompasses the taxonomy or biosystematics of plants and fungi, chorology, floristics, evolution, phytocoenology, palaeobotany, palynology, plant anatomy, embryology, ecology, monitoring, and the biology and chemistry of medicinal and aromatic plants.
ARPHA, a platform developed by Pensoft, offers an end-to-end science publishing solution that makes it easy for both humans and machines to access, cite, and reuse research, meaning Phytologia Balcanica will get access to improved publishing infrastructure and benefit from increased visibility and discoverability for its published research.
The journal is published by the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research (IBER) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Thanks to IBER’s support, Phytologia Balcanica operates on a white-label Diamond Open Access model, ensuring that all articles are published free of charge. The journal’s editorial team is led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dimiter Ivanov, who is affiliated with the IBER.
“Phytologia Balcanica’s integration onto the ARPHA platform will streamline the publishing process for authors and broaden the dissemination of critical research in plant sciences to a global audience. We hope this partnership will strengthen the journal’s role in contributing to biodiversity and ecosystem research worldwide,” said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, CEO and founder of ARPHA.
The first Phytologia Balcanicaarticles published after the move to ARPHA are already available on its new website.
In August, Pensoft had the honour of welcoming colleagues from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) to the headquarters of the open-access scholarly publisher and technology provider in Sofia, Bulgaria. The visit was marked by engaging discussions on scholarly publishing, future innovations, current challenges in academia and potential collaborations.
The highlight of the meeting was the formal signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Prof. Dr. Lyubomir Penev, Pensoft’s CEO and founder, and Prof. Dr. Thai Hoang, Vice Chairman of the Scientific Council of Materials Science at VAST and the Editor‑in‑Chief of the Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology.
“This Memorandum of Understanding marks an important step towards fostering international collaboration in scholarly publishing. By combining the expertise and know-how of Pensoft and VAST, we aim to make research more accessible and innovative for communities worldwide,”
commented Prof. Dr. Lyubomir Penev.
“I am very happy to visit Bulgaria and collaborate with Pensoft Publishers. Here, we know Pensoft and the ARPHA publishing platform for their diverse publishing solutions designed for scientific papers, monographs, academic books and more, as well as their professional and efficient work. All this makes them quite prestigious for us. Starting from this Memorandum of Understanding, next, we will explore ways to use the ARPHA publishing platform for the publication of Vietnam’s scientific journals, books and other research outputs.”
Prof. Dr. Thai Hoang said.
Over the course of the visit, the group engaged in an enriching dialogue. Guests from VAST offered an in-depth look at their publication outlets and shared insights into the Vietnamese scholarly publishing landscape, as well as the nation’s rich cultural heritage and natural wonders.
In turn, Pensoft offered a comprehensive overview of the company’s journey of over three decades, starting from the launch of the first Pensoft journals and proceeding to the continuous development of several innovative publication platforms and solutions, including the full-featured end-to-end publishing platform ARPHA. Today, there are over 80 open-access peer-reviewed journals, including both Pensoft-launched titles, and many owned and run by research institutions, universities and learned societies from around the globe.
The visit continued beyond the office with the publisher’s management inviting their guests to a several-day trip around the country that covered the cultural and historic hubs of Plovdiv and Koprivshtitsa.
By the end of the visit, both parties agreed that their meeting in Bulgaria underscores their shared vision: to advance open, innovative, and accessible scholarly communication. With the MoU in place, both sides look forward to transforming this mutual understanding into concrete collaborative initiatives.
*
With perfect timing, shortly after the visit, one of the VAST delegates: biologist Prof. Dr. Quang Manh Vu (also affiliated with the Hoa Binh University, Hanoi, Vietnam), in collaboration with his Bulgarian and Vietnamese colleagues: Dr. Ivailo Dedov (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) and Dr. Tuan Trieu Anh (Hung Vuong University, Viet Tri City, Vietnam) published a study in Pensoft’s inaugural and flagship journal in zoological systematics: ZooKeys. The research paper lists species of slugs and semi-slugs of the superfamily Helicarionoidea the team collected in North Vietnam in 2023. Amongst the collected specimens, the scientists discovered a new-to-science species of semi-slug they named after Pensoft’s Prof. Dr. Lyubomir Penev, who is himself a biologist and taxonomist by background.
“When I found out I had a new species, I had no hesitation on the name: Ostracolethe penevi. I had been looking forward to naming a curious species after my friend Prof. Lyubomir Penev, a man who made the world look up to Bulgarian science, and someone who has helped me a lot through the years,”
“This newly described species deserves a name that reflects the generosity of nature, the advancement of science, and the enduring friendship between Vietnam and Bulgaria,”
added Prof. Dr. Quang Manh Vu.
***
Additional information:
Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST)
Founded on 20 May 1975, VAST is Vietnam’s largest multidisciplinary research organization, with branches in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, Nha Trang, Dalat, and Hue. Its mission spans basic and applied research, the development of high technology, human resource training, and providing scientific advice to the government on pressing national issues.
VAST is known for achieving high output in international peer-reviewed journals; in 2023, more than 2,200 works were published, with nearly 80% in international outlets. The Academy is responsible for several cutting-edge initiatives, including satellite R&D through the Vietnam National Space Center, strategic technology fields aligned with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (e.g. AI, new materials, semiconductors), and large-scale environmental and biodiversity monitoring across the country. Looking forward, VAST has set ambitious goals, including mastering key advanced technologies, increasing technology transfer, enhancing publication impact, strengthening partnerships at home and abroad, and cultivating world-class scientific talent.
Pensoft
Founded in 1992 “by scientists, for scientists”, the academic open-access publishing company is well known worldwide for its novel cutting-edge publishing tools, workflows and methods for text and data publishing of journals, books and conference materials. Back in 2010, Pensoft became the first scientific publisher to introduce semantic enrichments in scholarly publications. Through its Research and Technical Development department, the company is involved in various research and technology projects.
ARPHA Publishing Platform
ARPHA is a full-featured, end-to-end publishing platform for open-access journals, books, conference materials and preprints. ARPHA offers flexible operating and business models, and a wide-range of automated and human-provided services. The ARPHA team places a special focus on its scholarly communication solutions designed to leverage the visibility and outreach of academic output, while prompting inclusivity and engagement.
The Journal of Applied Sports Sciences (JASS) has transitioned to science publishing platform ARPHA. Making use of ARPHA’s advanced digital publishing infrastructure, the journal aims to enhance the accessibility and visibility of research in sports sciences.
JASS is published by the National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski” (NSA) in Sofia, Bulgaria. Established in 2017, it aims to represent a wide range of scientific publications in sports sciences, providing visibility of the research results and an opportunity to deepen knowledge in the field.
ARPHA is proud to support JASS in its mission to share knowledge and contribute to global scientific progress.
Prof. Lyubomir Penev
The journal covers a broad array of topics relevant to the advancement of sports and physical activity. Key areas include sports and health, physical education, sports management, and physiotherapy. It also seeks to enhance communication among the various disciplines in the field, actively seeking manuscripts with interdisciplinary content and application in sports.
JASS operates under a Diamond Open Access model, ensuring that all research outputs are freely accessible without any article processing charges for authors. Manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer-review process and are published continuously, featuring research outputs, review articles, reports, discussions, studies, and editorial materials. The journal’s complete archive is now available on the ARPHA platform.
“The integration of the Journal of Applied Sports Sciences with ARPHA’s publishing platform facilitates access to research and supports knowledge dissemination in sports sciences. ARPHA is proud to support JASS in its mission to share knowledge and contribute to global scientific progress,” commented Prof. Lyubomir Penev, CEO and founder of ARPHA.
Content from more than 30 biodiversity journals published on the ARPHA Platform will now be archived in the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), the world’s largest open-access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives.
A global consortium of natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries, BHL digitises and freely shares essential biodiversity materials. A critical resource for researchers, it provides vital access to material that might otherwise be difficult to obtain.
Under the agreement, over 16,000 articles published on Pensoft’s self-developed ARPHA Platform are now available on BHL. Both legacy content and new articles are made available on the platform, complete with full-text PDFs and all relevant metadata.
Thanks to this integration, content in our journals will become even more accessible and readily discoverable, helping researchers find the biodiversity information they need.
Prof. Lyubomir Penev
More content published on ARPHA will gradually be added to the BHL archive.
The publications will be included in the Library’s full-text search, allowing researchers to easily locate relevant biodiversity literature. Crucially, the scientific names within the articles will be indexed using the Global Names Architecture, enabling seamless discovery of information about specific taxa across the BHL collection.
“Pensoft is pleased to collaborate with BHL in our joint mission to support global biodiversity research through free access to knowledge. Thanks to this integration, content in our journals will become even more accessible and readily discoverable, helping researchers find the biodiversity information they need,” said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, CEO and founder of Pensoft and ARPHA.The news comes soon after BHL announced it is about to face a major shift in its operation. From 2026, the Smithsonian Institution – one of BHL’s 10 founding members – will cease to host the administrative and technical components of BHL. As the consortium explores a range of options, the BHL team is confident that “the transition opens the door to a reimagined and more sustainable future for BHL.”
Scholarly publisher and technology provider Pensoft welcomes the latest addition to its diverse portfolio of scholarly outlets: the open-access, peer-reviewed journal Scientific Annals of the Danube Delta Institute (SADDI).
The official journal of the Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Developmentin Tulcea, Romania, SADDI publishes research in a variety of fields related to the Danube Delta and similar wetland ecosystems. Established in 1993, it offers a multidisciplinary platform for studies in the fields of ecology, biodiversity, environmental protection, hydrology, ichthyology, ornithology, limnology, and sustainable development related to wetlands and deltaic environments.
SADDI is led by Editor-in-Chief Iuliana-MihaelaTudor of the Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development.
As a diamond open-access journal, SADDI will be free to read and publish and invites researchers and scientists to submit their manuscripts.
In joining Pensoft, SADDI will get access to improved publishing infrastructure and benefit from increased visibility and discoverability for its published research, making use of Pensoft’s full-featured platform ARPHA, an end-to-end publishing solution that makes it easy for both humans and machines to access, cite, and reuse research.
At the 32nd International Symposium “Deltas and Wetlands” in Tulcea, which will take place on 12–17 May, Pensoft’s CEO Prof. Lyubomir Penev will give a talk how the newly revamped SADDI has changed now that it is powered by the ARPHA publishing platform, and will also discuss how scholarly publishing can help advance Danube conservation.
“The Pensoft team is excited to cooperate with the Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development as we support SADDI’s growth and development. We appreciate this new partnership and look forward to seeing the journal thrive using our advanced publishing services,” Prof. Penev said ahead of the event.
Published on Pensoft’s ARPHA platform on behalf of the AASP, SKINdeep features original articles, state-of-the-art reviews, and perspectives offering insights into the mechanisms of skin diseases and their therapeutic relevance. The open-access journal is led by three Editors-in-Chief: Prof. Peter Wolf of the Medical University of Graz, Prof. Johann W. Bauer of the Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg, and Prof. Georg Stingl of the Medical University of Vienna.
“Within the international scientific community, Austria enjoys an excellent reputation in the field of clinical and experimental dermatovenereology. On this basis, it was possible to assemble a remarkable cohort of deputy and associate editors as well as expert advisors from Austria and abroad who will secure high scientific quality of the journal and, together with a dedicated editorial office and publishing house (AASP), can guarantee a very rapid publication of manuscripts, individually or assembled to special topics,” the three Editors-in-Chief said.
By embracing ARPHA’s end-to-end scholarly publishing platform, SKINdeep will benefit from a comprehensive suite of services designed to streamline every stage of the publishing process, from manuscript submission to article publication, indexation, dissemination, and archiving, ensuring a seamless workflow for authors, reviewers, and editors alike.
“We are excited about this partnership and firmly believe SKINdeep will be an impactful and globally accessible academic outlet for publishing high-quality research in dermatology,” said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, CEO and founder at ARPHA and Pensoft.SKINdeep journal is the second journal published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences Press to utilise ARPHA’s services, after Biosystematics and Ecology moved to ARPHA in 2021.
