Rockefeller University Press (RUP) is a renowned publisher of journals in the scientific community that focuses on research data and the premier technology to help reach them. RUP publishes Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), and Journal of General Physiology (JGP), and co-publishes Life Science Alliance (LSA), which collectively contain tens-of-thousands of articles dating back to 1896. Journal sites for JCB, JEM, and JGP launched on the Silverchair Platform in December of 2019.
The challenge
RUP uses the latest technologies to apply the highest standards of novelty, mechanistic insight, data integrity, and general interest to fulfill RUP’s mission of publishing excellent science. As such, RUP required both a fast, flexible, and modern platform as well as highly-responsive service from a true strategic partner with a clear understanding of the needs of scholarly biomedical publications now and in the future.
The solution
Silverchair’s extensive experience delivering biomedical and life sciences content has provided RUP with expertise and capabilities that have enhanced the user experience and discoverability of their publications. Silverchair’s deep understanding of biomedical publishers’ discovery/traffic sources, onsite content/feature usage, and downstream content distribution relationships were enhanced by a robust biomedical taxonomy and thesaurus (Silverchair’s Cortex), which automatically semantically enriches all biomedical content as it is added to the platform, making a meaningful difference to search and discoverability. The configurable interface allows RUP to make changes quickly, while top-tier service provides responsive support when questions arise from RUP staff.
In addition, RUP has become a valued and active member of the Silverchair community, via participation in Publisher Working Groups, Silverchair Forum events, and more, partnering with us in collectively growing and learning for the benefit of all Silverchair clients.
The process
Silverchair began by working in concert with RUP through identifying features, functionality, and configurations of the Silverchair Platform. These requirements were then expressed in detailed documentation & a visual prototype of the site.
The process of adapting the platform to RUP’s established style guide used a line of design thinking applied to all of our sites, Atomic Design. This involved styling existing Silverchair Platform components and variables such as icons, buttons, toolbars, typography, and colors. Once settled during the discovery phase of the project between both parties, Silverchair’s development team was able to carry these components throughout.
An example of a few components and variables changed across the Silverchair Platform UI.
RUP and Silverchair worked closely together in a mutually beneficial partnership that resulted in an improved offering for all Silverchair clients. RUP’s need to retain custom features from their previous platform led to collaborative design and development, as well as a greater feature set for our platform. Among these features were improved CrediT tagging, COI tagging, inline supplemental materials, Scite integration, and country-wide access. The homepage slider widget (below) was also collaboratively developed and is now part of Silverchair’s standard offering.
RUP was able to work with us progressively enhance the Silverchair Platform with custom widgets like the Homepage Slider.
“Silverchair’s offerings sync perfectly with our journals’ needs. Our first priority is to serve the scientific community, and the Silverchair Platform ensures that we meet this commitment providing both an excellent reading experience with cutting edge functionality and by serving as a hub for syndication of metadata and content.”
—Susan King, Executive Director of Rockefeller University Press