Every journal starts at a different place, but below is an outline of the steps you'll take when launching a new journal with us.
The University of Alberta Library accepts proposals for new or already-publishing titles at set times throughout the year. To find out when our next intake is scheduled, you can check out the publishing website. Before submitting a journal proposal, we expect you to:
If you're a student-led team, before starting a new journal consider joining or reviving a journal that already exists. Gaining traction for a brand-new title can take time and effort: encouraging submissions, recruiting reviewers, and finding volunteer editors can be difficult if the scope is oversaturated. Additionally, a continuous publication record can help with visibility and indexing, which will help your journals grow and find new audiences. Discovery tools, such as bibliographic indexes, prefer to boost journals that have a proven record of sustainability.
Once a journal proposal is submitted, you can expect a response within approximately 2-3 weeks. If your journal is successful, we will ask you to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and set up your OJS website in the next 2 to 3 weeks.
When you first get your OJS site, it will be private to you and whomever you register to give you time to set it up. During this setup phase, editorial teams are expected to:
When you are ready to make your site live, email us at library.publishing@ualberta.ca. At this stage, we'll review your site to make sure proper policies and copyright statements are in place. We can advise you in each step, help with policy development, make any recommendations as you set up.