Arrange the following databases according to their year of launch/inception in ascending order.

A. Hathi Trust

B. DOAJ

C. ScienceOpen

D. SSRN

E. NDLTD

Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

The Correct answer is D, E, B, A, C

Key PointsSSRN:

• The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is a repository for preprints aimed at rapidly disseminating scholarly research in various fields, including social sciences, humanities, life sciences, and health sciences.
• Acquired by Elsevier in May 2016, SSRN is an eLibrary and search engine, not an electronic journal.
• Founded in 1994 by financial economists Michael C. Jensen and Wayne Marr, SSRN was ranked the world's largest open-access repository in January 2013 by Ranking Web of Repositories.
• This ranking was based on the number of PDF files, backlinks, and Google Scholar results.
• After Elsevier's acquisition in May 2016, SSRN founder Michael C. Jensen highlighted new opportunities from the merger, such as a broader global network and enhanced data resources.
• Despite predicting potential conflicts of interest, he considered them manageable.

NDLTD:

• The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) is a global organization that supports the creation, sharing, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs).
• Established in 1996, NDLTD began with an informal steering committee.
• As the organization grew internationally, it became formally known as the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
• In 1998, NDLTD began organizing annual symposia to help universities launch ETD projects, starting with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
• These events have since been held globally, including at Humboldt University in Berlin in 2003.

DOAJ:​

• Established in 2003 with an initial 300 open-access journals, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a website that houses a community-curated list of open-access journals. It is maintained by Infrastructure Services for Open Access (IS4OA).
• DOAJ is dedicated to enhancing the visibility, accessibility, reputation, usage, and impact of high-quality, peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly research journals on a global scale, without any restrictions based on discipline, geography, or language.
• DOAJ is a founding member of Think. Check. Submit. and actively contribute to this initiative as a longstanding committee member.
• Launched in 2015, Think. Check. Submit. emerged in response to concerns about predatory publishing and the increasing array of unfamiliar publishing avenues confronting researchers in scholarly communications.
• In 2023, DOAJ marked its 20th anniversary with a year-long campaign, featuring three distinct events themed around 'Open,' 'Global,' and 'Trusted.'

​Hathi Trust:

• ​The HathiTrust Digital Library, established in October 2008, serves as a collaborative repository for digital content from various research libraries.
• It includes digitized material from initiatives such as Google Books and the Internet Archive, along with locally digitized content by libraries.
• Initially founded by twelve universities of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation and eleven libraries of the University of California, the partnership has grown to encompass over 60 research libraries in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
• The governance structure is collaborative, and the costs are shared among participating libraries and consortia.
• Administered by the University of Michigan, HathiTrust's executive director is Mike Furlough, succeeding founding director John Wilkin in 2013. 

ScienceOpen:

• ScienceOpen is a web-based platform that hosts open-access journals, offering free access for readers, authors, and publishers.
• ScienceOpen was founded in 2013 by Alexander Grossmann.
• It generates revenue through promotional services for publishers and authors' institutions.
• Based in Berlin with a technical office in Boston, ScienceOpen is a member of CrossRef, ORCID, the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association, STM Association, and the Directory of Open Access Journals.
• It was recognized as one of “10 to Watch” by Outsell in 2015.