OMI-SPEC-007: Publishing Model
Status
Draft
Version: 0.1
Purpose
The Publishing Model defines how a semantic manuscript is transformed into one or more publication formats.
Unlike traditional publishing workflows, OMI separates scholarly content from presentation.
A manuscript is authored once and rendered many times.
Design Principles
The Publishing Model follows these principles:
- Single source of truth
- Semantic rendering
- Format independence
- Reproducibility
- Interoperability
- Extensibility
- Automation
Publishing Philosophy
Publishing is not document conversion.
Publishing is the process of rendering semantic knowledge into publication-specific representations.
The manuscript never changes.
Only its presentation changes.
Publishing Pipeline
Semantic Manuscript
│
▼
Publication Profile
│
▼
Rendering Engine
│
▼
Publication Format
Every publication is generated from the same semantic source.
Publication Profiles
A Publication Profile defines how a manuscript should appear for a specific target.
Profiles may define:
- typography
- citation style
- note style
- layout
- metadata mapping
- accessibility requirements
- branding
The manuscript itself remains unchanged.
Supported Outputs
OMI is designed to support multiple publication formats.
Examples include:
- HTML
- EPUB
- DOCX
- JATS XML
- Crossref XML
- DataCite XML
- Markdown
- Plain Text
Future formats may be added without changing the manuscript.
Multi-Target Publishing
One manuscript may generate several outputs simultaneously.
Example:
Semantic Manuscript
│
┌──────┼──────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
HTML PDF JATS XML
▼ ▼ ▼
Website Print Repository
Each output is derived independently.
Rendering Engine
The Rendering Engine interprets semantic objects and applies publication rules.
Examples:
Heading
↓
HTML
<h2>
↓
Large Heading
↓
JATS
<title>
The semantic object remains identical.
Notes
Annotations may be rendered differently.
Examples:
↓
Footnotes
HTML
↓
Tooltips
EPUB
↓
Endnotes
JATS
↓
Semantic elements
Citations
Citation rendering depends entirely on the publication profile.
Examples:
APA
↓
(Author, Year)
Chicago
↓
Footnote
IEEE
↓
[15]
The Citation Model itself never changes.
Figures
Publication Profiles determine:
- placement
- captions
- numbering
- cross references
- accessibility
Tables
Profiles may define:
- responsive HTML tables
- printable tables
- accessibility metadata
- long table handling
Equations
Supported rendering may include:
- MathML
- LaTeX
- SVG
- PDF vector output
Metadata
Metadata is exported independently for each target.
Examples:
Crossref XML
↓
Crossref Schema
DataCite XML
↓
DataCite Schema
JATS XML
↓
JATS Metadata
No metadata is duplicated manually.
Accessibility
Publishing Profiles should preserve accessibility.
Examples:
- semantic headings
- image descriptions
- table headers
- keyboard navigation
- tagged PDF
- EPUB accessibility metadata
Accessibility requirements should be configurable.
Preservation
Publication formats intended for long-term preservation should maintain semantic integrity.
Preferred preservation formats include:
- JATS XML
- PDF/A
- EPUB
- Markdown
Future mappings may support institutional repository standards.
Automation
Publishing workflows may be fully automated.
Example:
Review Completed
↓
Accept
↓
Generate HTML
↓
Generate PDF
↓
Generate JATS XML
↓
Deposit Metadata
↓
Publish
No manual document recreation is required.
Plugin Architecture
New publication formats are added through plugins.
Examples:
OMI Core
│
├── HTML Renderer
├── PDF Renderer
├── EPUB Renderer
├── JATS Renderer
├── DOCX Renderer
└── Custom Renderer
The Core Publishing Model remains unchanged.
Interoperability
Future integrations include:
- Open Journal Systems (OJS)
- Open Monograph Press (OMP)
- Open Preprint Systems (OPS)
- Crossref
- DataCite
- Zenodo
- Institutional Repositories
Versioning
Every publication is reproducible.
A published output should always be traceable to:
- manuscript version
- publication profile
- rendering engine version
This ensures reproducibility and transparency.
Future Work
Future specifications will define:
- Rendering API
- Template Language
- Publication Profiles
- Workflow Automation
- Continuous Publishing
- Dynamic Publications
Summary
The OMI Publishing Model transforms a single semantic manuscript into multiple publication formats without altering the original scholarly content.
By separating semantic meaning from presentation, OMI enables automated, reproducible, and interoperable publishing workflows across journals, repositories, and future scholarly communication platforms.