Editorial Policies

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American Archivist Editorial Mission and Guidelines
American Archivist is the semi-annual journal of the Society of American Archivists. It seeks to reflect thinking about theoretical and practical developments in the archival profession; about the relationships between archivists and the creators and users of archives; and about cultural, social, legal, and technological developments that affect the nature of recorded information and the need to create and maintain it. The journal also provides a forum for the evaluation of the literature that affects, and is affected by, emerging archival theory and practice. We strive to publish contributions that advance the core organizational values and strategic goals of SAA.

American Archivist is a refereed journal. Each submission will be reviewed by experts in the subject matter of the submission and a final decision for publication will be based on this review. Submissions adhere to a submissions window. For specific guidelines for submissions please see: https://www2.archivists.org/american-archivist/submissions.

JOURNAL CONTENTS
American Archivist features a variety of types and lengths of articles (length requirements can be waived for certain articles in consultation with the editor):

• Research Articles are analytical and critical expositions based on original research or on systematic review of literature. A wide variety of subjects is encouraged. (Suggested length: 8,000 words)
• Case Studies are analytical reports of projects or activities that take place in a specific setting and offer the basis for comparison and application in other settings. (Suggested length: 3,000 words)
• Perspectives are commentaries, reflective or opinion pieces, addressing issues or practices that concern archivists and their constituents. (Suggested length: 3,000 words)
• Professional Resources can be annotated bibliographies, other items designed for practical use within the profession, or essays that review the developments (as opposed to the literature) in specified areas in a way that describes particular initiatives and places them in the context of broader trends. (Length varies)
• Reviews of the archival literature and related resources. Reviews of monographs, digital collections, websites, technologies and other publications that impact and inform our work appear in American Archivist and in The American Archivist Reviews Portal.  Inquiries about submitting material for review, or about becoming a reviewer should be directed to the Reviews Editors:

Rose Buchanan and Stephanie Luke
reviewseditor@archivists.org

• Letters to the Editor comment on recently published articles or topics of interest to the profession. Letters to the Editor are published to share readers’ viewpoints. The letters’ author(s) are responsible for the accuracy and content of their publication. The opinions and information shared in these letters are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Editor, the Society of American Archivists membership, the governance of the SAA, or the staff of the SAA. We welcome constructive criticism of ideas and perspectives expressed in the literature, but ad hominem attacks are not allowed.

American Archivist will not consider a manuscript that is being reviewed by another journal at the same time, nor will it normally consider an article that has been published previously in a similar form. 

If you have questions about an article, or to discuss an article idea, contact:

Editor, American Archivist
AMY COOPER CARY
Head of Archival Collections and Institutional Repository
Raynor Library
Marquette University
(414) 288-5901
AmericanArchivist@archivists.org

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word through the Submissions Manager. Text (including lengthy block quotations) should be 12 pt Times New Roman, double-spaced.
• All articles must be accompanied by a 250-word abstract. Please format citations as endnotes (Chicago Manual of Style). Terms having special meanings for members of the profession should conform to the definitions in the Dictionary of Archives Terminology.
• All pages should be numbered.
• The author is responsible for understanding and following the principles that govern the "fair use" of quotations and illustrations, and for obtaining written permission to publish, where necessary. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of citations, although the editors may occasionally confirm the accuracy of selected citations. 
• Figures and tables are welcome. Please embed figures and tables in the text and include captions for each. Captions should be short descriptors of the content rather than full sentences. Reference each figure or table within the body of your text. Digital images (300 dpi; .tif or .jpg) will be required if the article is accepted for publication.Submissions must include a title page; the submissions manager is able to extract several elements from the front matter of your submission automatically if you follow specific formatting conventions. If you would like to take advantage of this feature, see Best Practices for Preparing Submission Files for LiXuid Manuscript Extraction. 
• American Archivist follows a double blind peer review system. The author's name and contact information should appear only in relevant text boxes in Submissions Manager, not on any submitted documents. It is essential that author names do not appear anywhere in the content or metadata of submitted files. Please search within the document and check the file name to ensure that author names do not appear. In addition, Microsoft provides instructions for stripping any author information from the document's metadata. Selecting File > Info > Related People within the document should reveal whether any document authors are still listed. 

To submit an article, please see the Submissions page here: https://www2.archivists.org/american-archivist/submissions

PEER REVIEW, EDITORIAL REVIEW, AND PRODUCTION PROCEDURES                        The minimum editorial and production cycle—which includes receipt of a manuscript, review, acceptance, revision, page makeup, publication online—is approximately twelve months; various factors can affect that time period. Blinded manuscripts are sent out by the Editor for peer review by three readers (including one member of the Editorial Board). Reviewers evaluate them and recommend acceptance, rejection, or revision.  Acceptance for publication is usually on the condition that specified revisions be made. Following a revision process, authors are given the opportunity to approve all editorial changes and to review page proofs for corrections. 

COPYRIGHT
Each author retains copyright of their work but licenses its publication to American Archivist. Authors can freely share their own article upon publication and may post that article in their institutional repository or on a personal website. Click here to download License to Publish form.

In addition, except where otherwise noted, article content in American Archivist is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 United States License. This means that others may share and adapt the content so long as appropriate attribution is given, a link to the CC license is provided, and any changes indicated.

  OPEN ACCESS

With the exception of select articles in the three most recent volumes, content in American Archivist is open access. 

Address additional inquiries about American Archivist to Hannah Stryker, SAA Editorial and Program Specialist, hstryker@archivists.org                                                 

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