Provenance: SNAP Special Issue

I’m pleased to share that the online SNAP Special Issue of Provenance is now available: http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/provenance/.

In the nearly four years I’ve been Provenance Editor, I’ve had many conversations with authors and potential authors about the different facets of journal publishing. I contacted SAA’s SNAP (Students and New Archives Professionals) Roundtable, and they were enthusiastic about this opportunity. As students and new professionals learn the profession, they are exposed to numerous books and other literature. The publishing process can be daunting, and engaging new authors helps demystify the submission, peer-review, and editorial processes.

SNAP members participated in the submission and editing process from start to finish. This was an opportunity for SNAP members to be responsible for the content of an entire issue, including soliciting articles, being the peer-reviewers, and editing. I provided guidance and direction to the editors, Jennifer Welch coordinated with the guest Reviews Editor, and Erin Lawrimore served as Managing Editor, but the issue represents the voices of students and new professionals. Caitlin Wells and Roxanne Dunn did an excellent job as guest Editors. They worked extensively with authors, made decisions, and asked questions.

It was my pleasure to work with SNAP on this issue. I hope that this experience encourages these new authors and editors to continue to contribute to archival scholarship for years to come.

New Issue: JCAS

reposted from the A&A listserv:

I am pleased to share the recent publication of a special issue of the Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies (JCAS) entitled, “Exploring the Eye of History-19th Century Photography and the Archives,” <http://elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol2/iss2/> produced with the symposium, “Exploring the Eye of History” held at the fall 2015 meeting of New England Archivists <http://www.newenglandarchivists.org/Fall-2015>.

The symposium provided attendees with new ways to experience nineteenth century photographs and encouraged archivists to make these materials more accessible to researchers and contemporary artists. For a review of the symposium happenings via the twitterverse, please direct your favorite web browser to a “storified” version of the proceedings at <https://storify.com/NEarchivists/nea-fall-2015-meeting>.

Articles in the special issue of JCAS include:

Jeffrey Mifflin, “Faded but Not Forgotten: Thinking about the Records and Relics of America’s Earliest Forays in Photography” <http://elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol2/iss2/1>

James A. Eason, “When Narrative Fails: Context and Physical Evidence as Means of Understanding the Northwest Boundary Survey Photographs of 1857–1862” <http://elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol2/iss2/2>

Nancy Austin, “The Half-Life & After-Life of New Media” <http://elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol2/iss2/3>

Melissa Banta and Elena Bulat, “Salted Paper Prints and The Harvard Class Albums” <http://elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol2/iss2/4>

The JCAS editorial board expresses its thanks to the contributors who submitted their work for peer review and publication as well as to the governing board of New England Archivists for its support and encouragement. Special thanks also goes to Gale Publishing for their generous sponsorship of the special issue of JCAS.

Very truly yours,
Matt

Matthew Daniel Mason, Ph.D.
Editor-at-Large, Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies
Immediate Past Chair, Visual Materials Section, Society of American Archivists
Archivist, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
P.O. Box 208330
New Haven, CT  06520-8330
Telephone: (203) 432-1078
Fax: (203) 432-4047
E-mail: matthew.mason@yale.edu
Website: linkedin.com/in/matthewdanielmason

New Issue: Archive Journal

Archive Journal just released their fifth issue. They focus on “the use and theory of archives and special collections in higher education.” This journal is great because it is open access and also bridges traditional and interdisciplinary content.

The first feature is a Q&A about defining “radical archives.” One response notes it as “quite broadly, as any practice, record, documentation, or collection that challenges archival traditions or standards.” The archivists participating in this feature manage collections such as documenting Ferguson, transgender, DPLA, and others.

I was particularly interested in the introduction “Radical Archives” by Lisa Darms and Kate Eichhorn. I reviewed Eichhorn’s book The Archival Turn in Feminism: Outrage in Order for the upcoming issue of Provenance. It was a great book, and I appreciate the journal bringing in a non-archivist to guest edit the issue. We need to do more to truly be cross-disciplinary and this is one way to further engage researchers and scholars in our profession.

Other content includes a review of a Rare Book School course, teaching American archives internationally, cooking archives, and a review of CNI (Coalition for Networked Information) Annual Meeting.

I appreciate their efforts to not have a narrow focus on the archival profession. Hope you check it out!

Profile: VIEW, Journal of European Television History and Culture

Prompted by a question to include this journal on my list, I thought perhaps I’d start featuring various journals, especially the lesser-known ones. I hadn’t heard of this journal and as my bachelor’s degree was in media studies, the content is interesting to me.

Started in 2012, “Journal of European Television History and Culture is the first peer-reviewed, multi-media and open access e-journal in the field of European television history and culture. It offers an international platform for outstanding academic research and archival reflection on television as an important part of our European cultural heritage. With its interdisciplinary profile, the journal is open to many disciplinary perspectives on European television – including television history, media studies, media sociology, cultural studies and television studies.” (copied from the website)

I know little about European television, but because there’s a journal dedicated to it emphasizes that it’s an important initiative. A brief review of the articles shows that, as anticipated, they address similar issues found in the US. The first issue has the article “Why Digitise Historical Television?” discusses copyright, studying historical events through media, and that “old” programs “can still inform, educate, and entertain.” This issue also discusses television archives in France, Italy, and Romania.

Other issues discuss transnational television, post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine, the BBC, Poland, Spain, (post)Socialist television, and other countries. One issue is dedicated to European television researchers. As we all know, understanding how our researchers use collections helps us with access, description, selection, and other facets of our duties. Issues also contain articles about types of television shows, collective memory, what happened “behind the scenes” and the television profession, specific stations, audience participation, and numerous others.

I only briefly reviewed the tables of contents of the issues and skimmed a few articles. I’m very impressed with the depth and breadth of the content provided in this great open-access journal. As it is written all in English, it will be a great resource for archivists writing about audiovisual digitization and should be recommended to researchers in history, media studies, communication, European studies, and others. We are moving to more global resources and research, and we can learn much from our colleagues across the ocean.

Thank you Erwin for sharing this journal!

Reminder: CFP Provenance Audiovisual Special Issue

Provenance recognizes the evolving needs within the profession and is working to address those changes when possible. For example, we published a special issue on advocacy in September 2013 (http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/provenance/).

Provenance would like to create a special issue dedicated to audiovisual archives and archivists. Despite two journals dedicated to archival audiovisual topics (http://www.iasa-web.org/iasa-journal and http://www.arsc-audio.org/journal.html), Provenance will take a different approach. What we propose is to create an issue where there may be written content, but the bulk of it would be original audio and visual “articles.” Submissions should be specifically about processes, procedures, projects, collecting, digitizing, providing access, or other aspects about managing audiovisual collections.

Following the model of innovative projects such as “More Podcast, Less Process,” we are seeking alternative means of disseminating research and ideas. Audio and video are powerful tools for demonstrating practices, projects, policies, or other content. We invite you to be creative in how you utilize these formats.

Proposals should be up to 750 words and include an abstract of the project, why an audiovisual/written format is ideal to present the topic, and the type/format of the proposed submission. As this is a new format for Provenance, proposals will be reviewed by the Editors for creativity, clarity of thesis/topic, and appropriateness to audiovisual formats. Editors will provide guidance and additional specifications to accepted authors to ensure a high-quality end product.

Suggested submissions include but are not limited to:

  • virtual tour or review of tool or procedure
  • podcasts
  • video tutorial
  • written article combined with audio or video or procedures

Submissions should not be:

  • recordings of conference presentations
  • entire oral histories or digitally reformatted materials

This will be published as an online-only issue, openly available to everyone, in fall of 2016. We recognize that because this process is new, we want to provide enough time for submission, review, and edits to produce an issue. The suggested timeline is as follows:

September 2015 – send out call for proposals
November 15, 2015 – proposals due
December 2015 – editors select proposals and notify all submitters
May 15, 2016 – deadline for final submissions
May-June 2016 – editorial review of submissions
July 2016 – minor revisions of submissions (if needed)
August 2016 – final review by authors/editors
September 2016 – published online (http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/provenance/)

Written submissions can be submitted via the online system: http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/provenance/. Audiovisual submissions can be emailed or shared through Google Drive/Dropbox to the Editor at provenance@soga.org.

Formats:

  • Audio files should be in .mp3 format; video files in .mp4 format.
  • Contributors can also provide embed codes from YouTube, Kaltura, or others if his/her institution utilizes other platforms.
  • All submissions should include a transcript of the audio or video to increase discoverability.
  • No minimum nor maximum word length for traditional article submissions.
  • Consult with Editors for other options.

Written submissions should adhere to established guidelines: http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/provenance/policies.html. Audiovisual submissions will not be peer-reviewed in the traditional sense. Because there are no standard guidelines for reviewing audiovisual content, the focus will be on quality of viewing and content. This process will be flexible and is subject to change.

Provenance looks forward to working with you!

Thank you,

Cheryl Oestreicher
Editor, Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists
provenance@soga.org

Heather Oswald
Associate Editor, Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists
hoswald@kennesaw.edu

Jennifer Welch
Reviews Editor, Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists
jwelch30@uthsc.edu   

Guest Post: Starting an OA journal: The Reading Room

Starting an OA journal: The Reading Room
by Amy Vilz and Molly Poremski

The Reading Room: A Journal of Special Collections is a peer-reviewed, open access journal focusing on special collections. At the time of our launch, there was a lack of comprehensive, open access journals for special collections at large, and our journal helps to fill this niche. Furthermore, we believe academic libraries are currently, and for the foreseeable future, focusing on the resources that make them unique: namely, their special collections. Given this environment, we have a large, identified community of readers, authors and peer-reviewers.

Traditionally, a special collections librarian would present research findings or a case study at regional and national conferences before the results were published in a journal, with many times a year or more lapsing between project completion and dissemination via publication. While there’s nothing wrong with print-based journals and the present and publish system per se, we wanted to offer an open-access, online, and free peer-reviewed journal, to hopefully be a bit more accessible and publish articles quickly to increase responsiveness to challenges and successes in our field.

We use Scholastica as our back-end journal platform. It’s cloud-based, there’s nothing to install, the interface is intuitive and easy to use, and it’s cost-effective. You can publish your journal on Scholastica, but we chose to have our Libraries’ Web Management team create a front-end website to showcase each issue. For metrics, Scholastica has a built-in analytics program to gauge information regarding editor performance, acceptance rate, average days to decision, manuscript progress, etc. We use Google Analytics to measure traffic on the in-house public interface.

We applied for funding for Scholastica through our institution, the University at Buffalo. In 2014, UB Libraries offered innovation grants to faculty and staff. Fees for Scholastica are limited to a small cost per unique journal submission. Our grant funding will support the submission of articles and serve as bridge money until the journal can become self-sustaining from database royalties. Current criteria for inclusion in database directories are two to three years of established publication. This seed money gives us the opportunity to test the Scholastica platform and create a back catalog of journal issues enabling us to meet the requirements of disciplinary journal indexes (i.e. Library Literature & Information Science Index) and periodical directories such as the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). A successful transition from Innovation Funding to a self-sustaining income within three years is our goal.

We created the journal for many reasons, one of which was somewhat selfish! We each had articles in mind regarding our special collections, but felt there was no appropriate journal for publication. Our ideas related to the stories our collections tell; this was the impetus for our Narrative Features. Our Narrative Features provide a unique outlet in a peer-reviewed environment. Collections tell stories, stories that are revealed by librarians, curators, and researchers within the reading room. Yet there are limited outlets for these types of articles in a peer-reviewed environment. Examples include unique circumstances relating to the donor or acquisition of materials, significance of documentation within a collection or an institution’s collecting area, or how the format of materials in a collection enhances or inhibits understanding of the collection. We also welcome and encourage interpretive works on collections. Feature articles are meant to offer insight into a collection’s significance (either a discrete collection or collection holdings at large) and address the context within its applicable field or within institutional holdings. We think this sets The Reading Room apart, and indeed, just over half of our article queries and submissions are for these types of articles.

At The Reading Room, we made a conscious effort to expand our submission base, and include articles from those using special collections (researchers) as well as students working with special collections. We did this not only to increase our readership, but the conversation in our field about how our collections are being accessed and used, and broaden the measure of scholarly impact. For example, if a researcher has used unique collection material for their research article, why not publish that article for a special collections audience in a special collections journal? We want to showcase not just how professional librarians, archivists, and curators work with special collections, but how our users and researchers work with special collections. In that way, we believe it gives a better context and measure of the impact of cultural collections.

CFP: American Archivist

reposted from A&A listserv:

Dear Colleagues,

When I became Editor of The American Archivist, I set the goal of making peer review decisions within 90 days of article submission.  I have maintained this goal while expanding the number of peer reviewers for each article from two to three.

While I have not yet been able to meet the goal for all articles, I am close enough to the goal for most articles that I am writing to encourage faculty and students to submit articles for possible publication.  We also have moved the online version of the journal to an attractive new platform hosted by Allen Press.

http://americanarchivist.org/

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.  I look forward to receiving your manuscripts!

Greg

***************
Gregory S. Hunter, Ph.D., CA, CRM, FSAA
Professor
Director, Ph.D. in Information Studies
Director, Certificate of Advanced Study in Archives and Records Management
Palmer School of Library and Information Science
LIU Post
720 Northern Boulevard
Brookville, NY 11548
516-299-2171
516-299-4168 (fax)
ghunter@liu.edu

Certified Archivist
Certified Records Manager
Distinguished Fellow, Society of American Archivists
Editor, The American Archivist

What Does a Journal Editor Do?

I assumed the role of Provenance editor in January 2012. My only experience was peer-reviewing a few articles, but I had expressed my interest in doing more. A friend/colleague was on the SGA Board, and recommended me for the position. I met with the then-Editor and then-SGA President, alerting them to the fact that I most likely wasn’t going to be in Georgia much longer (only a few months away from my project position ending). Because most everything is done over email now, they agreed.

I had some guidance from the previous editor, but he also encouraged me to do what I wanted. It took me about 2 years before I believed I had a handle on everything. That’s not to say that I knew (or know) everything, but the process became smoother. I truly enjoy it, but know there is still much to learn. I consider myself very lucky and am grateful to have this opportunity.

When I started, we weren’t yet using the online system. I used spreadsheets and email folders for tracking, and it was tricky. Just before leaving Atlanta, Kennesaw State University agreed to include Provenance in their digital commons. It helps tremendously, though it still takes a lot of checking and paying attention to details.

My role as editor includes: sending out CFP to various listservs; reviewing all submissions; assigning submissions to peer-reviewers; assessing reviewer feedback; communicating with authors; overseeing a nine member board plus managing editor, reviews editor, and indexer; soliciting articles; keeping up with recent publications for book reviews; creating the final order of content; and copyediting final publication.

Being an editor is not a solo activity. I rely on my board, as they and others peer-review all articles. The associate editor is a peer-reviewer and helps with CFPs and other administrative tasks. The reviews editor coordinates acquiring books, assigning them to reviewers, and editing the reviews. The managing editor formats the journal for publication, works with the printer, coordinates the mailing, and creates the final PDFs. It’s a collaborative activity. And, of course, none of this is possible without the authors.

The bulk of what I do is communicating with authors or potential authors. I receive emails asking if a topic or article is appropriate and I try to be encouraging. As I noted in an earlier post, I believe everyone should have an opportunity to write if they want to. I enjoy working with authors, whether prior to submission or for revisions to accepted articles.

Although it’s a lot of work, I get great satisfaction seeing the final product. Sharing ideas, practices, theories, and anything archival helps archivists learn. We all have so much to share and this is only one outlet to facilitate the exchange of ideas.

CFP: RBM

reposted from the A&A listserv:

Greetings, All!

I hope the start of the fall [semester] has been kind to everyone. Here I am, sending out yet another call for tidbits for the Spring 2016 issue of RBM…

We’re interested in getting some samples of successful social media approaches to cultural heritage collections. I know it’s hard to define “successful”, and I know that many of you are probably doing fabulous things that have yet to be discovered. However, I’m afraid we have to cut it off somewhere!

So if you, your institution, or someone/somewhere you know has received recognition for your activities on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc., please share it with us. We might be able to feature some tidbits of your work in the spring issue. And since we’re trying to do an online supplement to this issue, we might have the opportunity to link to things that wouldn’t function in print.

Please tell us: what you’ve been doing (including hyperlinks and/or screenshots as appropriate), the type of recognition it has received, and what (if any) tangible impact it has made on a specific collection or the cultural heritage/special collections field overall.

Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn. Flaunt your social media savvy!

Since this is smaller stuff, and won’t require much time to review, I’ll set the deadline as February 1, 2016.

As always, please email me at jsheehan@grolierclub.org with questions, comments, or your submissions. I look forward to seeing what fabulous, innovative things you’ve been doing.

All the best,

Jennifer
Jennifer K. Sheehan, Ph.D.
Editor, RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, & Cultural Heritage
Exhibitions Manager
The Grolier Club
47 East 60th Street
New York, NY  10022
phone: 212/838-6690 ext. 2

Inaugural Issue: The Reading Room, A Journal of Special Collections

Reposted from the Archives & Archivists listserv:

My colleague and I are pleased to announce the inaugural issue of The Reading Room: A Journal of Special Collections.  The issue is free to view/download at http://readingroom.lib.buffalo.edu/readingroom/PDF/vol1-issue1/reading-room-vol1-issue1.pdf .

This first issue includes 6 articles that represent the scope and depth of special collections at large:

  • Elizabeth N. Call and Matthew Baker assess the impact of American Protestant missionaries during the Armenian Genocide as documented in The Burke Library at Columbia and other repositories.
  • Elizabeth Knazook illuminates why 19th century books with original photographs are under-represented in special collections.
  • In celebration of our first issue, we include a roundtable discussion of five poets and their interpretation of the art and function of curation: Michael Basinski, Marie Elia, Nancy Kuhl, James Maynard, and Edric Mesmer.
  • Anne S.K. Turkos, Jason G. Speck, and Amanda K. Hawk share their successes and challenges in initiating the digitization of hundreds of football films at the University of Maryland.
  • The influence of political and historical events in Uruguay on the creation of the Simón Lucuix Río de la Plata Library and the circumstances of its accession by the University of Texas at Austin is investigated by María E. González.
  • Rose Sliger Krause’s case study describes efforts at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical Society to offer researchers unified intellectual and physical access to archives and museum materials.

Enjoy the issue!
Amy and Molly

Amy Vilz
University Archivist
University at Buffalo

Molly D. Poremski
International Languages and Literatures Librarian