Special Issues


The Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication occasionally publishes special themed issues in addition to its annual general issues. JLSC welcomes proposals for special issues from individuals interested in serving as editor(s) of the issue they propose.

Proposals should lay out the proposed theme, including any necessary context; position the theme within JLSC's scope; explain why a standalone issue is appropriate for the theme; and provide a list of possible article topics and/or authors. If a proposed special issue would serve as proceedings for a conference or symposium, the proposal must address the connection between the event and the scope of JLSC.

As a rule, all articles for special issues, including issues serving as conference proceedings, are peer reviewed. Desired deviations from JLSC’s standard peer review process should be addressed in the proposal for the issue; any deviations ultimately employed will be noted in the front matter of the published issue.

All articles for special issues must be submitted, reviewed, and edited according to a set timeframe. Unlike JLSC's general issues, which are published on a continuous basis, special issues are published in their entirety. Articles that are not ready by a special issue's publication date cannot be added to the issue after publication. Articles submitted to a special issue that are not ready to publish by the deadline can be considered for inclusion in a general issue. In these cases, the Editors-in-Chief will work with the author and the special issue editor to determine appropriate next steps.

Issue editor responsibilities include: crafting a call for papers, recruiting submissions, identifying reviewers, inviting peer reviews, and making recommendations to the Editors-in-Chief about article acceptance/rejection. The issue editor will also be expected to write an introduction and to promote the published issue. Editing a special issue requires a significant time commitment; the process from proposal to publication generally requires a year or more.

To propose a special issue, contact the Editors-in-Chief at editors@jlsc-pub.org.