Submissions

Author Guidelines

SUBJECT CONTENT / SCOPE

Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL) publishes original material related to all aspects of information technology in all types of libraries. For consideration, articles must be related to both technology AND libraries.

Topic areas include, but are not limited to, library automation, digital libraries, metadata, identity management, distributed systems and networks, computer security, intellectual property rights, technical standards, geographic information systems, desktop applications, information discovery tools, web-scale library services, cloud computing, digital preservation, data curation, virtualization, search-engine optimization, emerging technologies, social networking, open data, the semantic web, mobile services and applications, usability, universal access to technology, library consortia, vendor relations, and digital humanities.

TYPES OF CONTRIBUTIONS

ITAL includes feature articles, communications, tutorials, and letters to the editor.

Feature articles consist of original research or comprehensive and in-depth analyses. Although longer works may be considered, manuscripts of 3,000 to 5,000 words are most common.

Communications consist of original brief research reports, technical findings, and application notes. Generally communications are 1,000 to 3,000 words in length.

Letters to the editor may be submitted to the editor for possible inclusion in the journal.

All submissions to the journal must be in the English language.

CITATION STYLE

All references are to be formatted as endnotes using the notes guidelines of The Chicago Manual of Style Notes and Bibliography system of citation. All citations appropriate for a sentence should be combined into one note, with a reference to that endnote appearing at the end of the sentence.

PUBICATION/REVIEW FEES

There are no fees for submission, or review, or publication.

REVIEW OF MANUSCRIPTS

ITAL is a refereed/peer-reviewed journal. We use a mutually anonymous peer review process, keeping authors and reviewers anonymous from each other. Articles submitted for peer review go through the following steps:

1) Desk Review (2-3 weeks)
The Editor and Assistant Editor read and consider submissions based on how well they fit the journal’s scope (see the “Subject Content / Scope” section above) and to ensure they meet the minimum standards of academic writing in English. Submitted articles are either sent to review, returned to their authors with specific suggestions for revisions before the article can be reconsidered for peer review, or declined for further consideration.

2) Peer Review (6-8 weeks)
Articles that are in scope and ready for full consideration go through a peer review process. Reviewers do not know who wrote the article and article authors do not know who performed the review. Reviewers examine the manuscript considering the following questions:

• Is the article relevant to ITAL's readership?
• Does the article contribute to the literature?
• Is it timely, and will it still be so by publication (normally, 6-9 months from acceptance)?
• Does the article follow the basic conventions of an academic article (e.g., does it have a thesis, evidence, and conclusion; does it follow grammatical conventions; and are spelling and punctuation understandable)?
• Do the authors provide citations to the work of others where such citations are appropriate and necessary for an academic article?

Reviewers conclude their remarks with a recommendation to the editors as to the suitability of the manuscript for publication in ITAL. Recommendations fall into one of the following categories:

• Accept -- the article merits publication.
• Accept pending minor changes—the article needs a small amount of work but is basically ready for publication with only minor changes not substantially affecting the research process or the conclusions.
• Revise and resubmit for an additional round of peer review—there are larger questions or concerns about the article that must be addressed before peer reviewers will reconsider it.
• Reject—the article is not suitable for Information Technology and Libraries.

3) Editorial Board Review (2 weeks)
Members of the Editorial Board read positively reviewed articles to ensure the overall quality of the journal. At the conclusion of the peer review process, editorial board members in a mutually anonymous process will read and share any questions about the articles with the editors. 

4) Communication of Review Decision
At the conclusion of this review process, typically within 3-4 months of the article’s initial submission, the editors communicate the results of the peer review process to the article’s authors and provide specific feedback when revisions are requested.

5) Publication Process
Once an article has been accepted for publication, it is scheduled into an upcoming quarterly issue. Articles are generally published in the order they are received, usually within six months of acceptance, depending on the volume of articles and the timing of acceptance. ITAL's regular publication schedule is the 3rd Monday of March, June, September, and December.

Please contact the editor if you have questions about the review timeframe.