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Guidelines for Book Reviewers

The mission of the Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies is to further awareness of issues and developments in the work of professional archivists, curators, librarians, and historians, and to serve as a locus for graduate students and professionals in library science, archival science, and public history to contribute original works of research and inquiry for peer review and publication. To that end, JCAS strives to publish book and resource reviews that are critical, balanced evaluations of previously published literature or other resources related to archival and special collections practices and professions.

Eligibility Requirements and How to Volunteer

The Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies (JCAS) seeks book reviewers who are looking to engage with the professional literature.

JCAS regularly solicits reviews of select titles via announcements on the listservs of professional archival organizations including the New England Archivists and the Society of American Archivists. These announcements are the primary way that JCAS engages book reviewers, and all are welcome to respond to these announcements. Book reviewers should be able to articulate how their subject expertise or background makes them a good fit for reviewing a given title.

Reviewers are expected to abide by the guidelines laid out in the "Author responsibilities" section of the JCAS Ethics Statement.

How to Suggest a Book or Resource for Review

If you have suggestions for books or electronic resources that JCAS could review, email the journal at: with the title, author/editor, publisher or institution, and ISBN or URL. Include [Book Reviews] in the subject line of your email.

If you would like to review your suggested book or resource for JCAS, please also include a statement of interest detailing how your subject expertise or background makes you a good fit for reviewing the book or resource. Reviewers should not have any conflicts of interest which may compromise the integrity of their review. Conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to, having a close personal or professional relationship with the author(s)/editor(s); being involved with the research, writing, or editorial process; or, if your suggested book is an edited volume, submitting a chapter proposal that was not accepted to the volume.

Timeline for Reviews

Once a reviewer accepts an assignment, completed reviews should be submitted within six weeks of receiving the review copy in the mail.

Content Guidelines

The following are suggested guidelines for book/resource reviews:

  • Briefly discuss the author's or editor's credentials, expertise, and affiliation(s).
  • Note the work's intended audience.
  • Concisely summarize the content of the work and evaluate the work’s structure, as appropriate.
  • Discuss the author’s thesis and argument(s). What are the strengths and weaknesses?
  • Provide evidence in support of your opinions, praise, or criticisms of the work.
  • Discuss the work within an archival context. How does this work relate to archives and how is it significant to the profession? As appropriate, discuss how this work fits into the broader context of the professional literature.

Note that book/resource reviews written for JCAS are peer reviewed. The peer review rubric used to evaluate JCAS book reviews is available here (docx).

For more guidance on how to write a book review, see this handout from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Review Length

Review essays should be no longer than 3 to 4 pages (approximately 1,200-1,600 words). Reviews of differing lengths may be considered in consultation with the Book Review Editor.

Bibliographic Information

Reviewers must include bibliographic information at the beginning of the review. This should include the following (all in bold): Author(s) or Editor(s). Publication title (in italics). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.

Examples:

Scott Cline. Archival Virtue: Relationship, Obligation, and the Just Archives. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2021.

Patrick Keilty, ed. Queer Data Studies. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2023.

Style Guidelines

The latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style is the authority for capitalization, punctuation, footnotes, quotations, and all matters of bibliographical style for the JCAS. International authors should be particularly aware that JCAS uses American-style punctuation and spellings. All writers should refrain from using contractions, passive voice, first or second person viewpoints, incomplete sentences, imprecise terminology, and slang, as well as wordy phrases and excessive quotations. Authors must proofread and copy edit their work prior to submitting.

Citations from the book being reviewed should cite the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Citations to any sources other than the book being reviewed should be formatted in footnotes according to the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style.

Guidelines for Formatting, Language, Grammar

Refer to the JCAS submission guidelines for instructions on appropriate formatting, language, and grammar.

Editing Procedures

All submissions to JCAS are subject to a double-blind peer review process. Peer reviewers read and evaluate content for accuracy and professional or historical significance, then make recommendations to the Editorial Board.

After the editor receives the peer reviewers' recommendations, they are forwarded to the author, who will then perform the necessary revisions and submit a new draft within a time frame determined by the editor. The editor then reviews the final draft to determine whether the manuscript is ready for publication, or if it requires further peer review. Once a review is ready for publication, it is forwarded to the copy editor who will review the manuscript to correct spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors, and to ensure that the text adheres to JCAS's formatting and style guidelines. Once the copy editor’s work is done, the managing editor performs a final review of the manuscript and publishes it.

Editing Procedures

All submissions to JCAS are subject to a double-blind peer review process. Peer reviewers read and evaluate content for accuracy and professional or historical significance, then make recommendations to the Editorial Board.

After the editor receives the peer reviewers’ recommendations, they are forwarded to the author, who will then perform the necessary revisions and submit a new draft within a time frame determined by the editor. The editor then reviews the final draft to determine whether the manuscript is ready for publication, or if it requires further peer review. Once a review is ready for publication, it is forwarded to the copy editor who will review the manuscript to correct spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors, and to ensure that the text adheres to JCAS's formatting and style guidelines. Once the copy editor’s work is done, the managing editor performs a final review of the manuscript and publishes it.

Copyright Policy

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Submission Procedures

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