Library Trends

The guest editor is responsible for adhering to the deadlines and page limits established by Library Trends editorial staff.  They will notify the Library Trends managing editor, Natasha Sims (librarytrends@illinois.edu), regarding progress in the development of the issue, issues that may occur with securing manuscripts, and problems with the content of manuscripts.

Throughout the entire production process, the managing editor will remain in close contact with the guest editor. If at any point in the process the guest editor and authors have questions, they should immediately contact the managing editor.

The Production Process

1.The guest editor(s) will provide an ordered table of contents to the editor-in-chief as well as a list of all contributing authors, including for each an email address and daytime telephone number.

2.Having completed the review process and confirmed that the article manuscripts follow the “Author Instruction for the Preparation of Articles,” the guest editor(s) will provide the articles to the journal’s general editor for review and approval.

3.All articles will be reviewed and approved by the journal’s editor-in-chief. For articles that are approved, revisions may be requested on occasion.

4.The journal’s managing editor will review for completeness all material submitted— including abstracts, author biographies, tables, figures, etc.—to be included in the respective articles. Any questions at that time will be referred to the issue editor.

5.The managing editor will send publishing agreements to authors and may need assistance from the issue editor in obtaining the authors’ signatures. Government employees may need to sign a separate publishing agreement (articles provided under governmental auspices need to be accessible in the public domain, and copyright cannot be transferred). Translation permission forms also will be required if the issue includes articles that have been translated into the English language.

6.The managing editor will assist authors with the process required to obtain written permission to reprint any copyrighted material (photos, illustrations, etc.), whether previously published or not, that falls outside the bounds of fair use. Production cannot proceed until all forms are signed and on file.

7.Manuscripts will be submitted by the managing editor to the journal’s publisher, The Johns Hopkins University Press, for production of the issue: copy editing, typesetting, proofreading, and preparing files for printing. 

8.Copy editing consists of reviewing the manuscripts for style, format, organization, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and reference consistency; this process takes 6-8 weeks. It does not include substantial content editing, which is the responsibility of the guest editor prior to submission. During the copy-editing stage, authors will be given an opportunity to review their manuscripts and asked to answer any questions (articles authored by more than one person will be sent to the lead author). If the author(s) cannot review the article, the guest editor will need to answer any outstanding editorial queries. 

9.When copyedits have been reviewed and approved, the issue will be typeset. A complete set of page proofs will then be sent to a proofreader, who will closely read the issue; this process takes 2-3 weeks. Thereafter, the managing editor will review the proofs and resolve with the authors any queries raised by the proofreader (which also takes 2-3 weeks). The guest editor’s role at this stage is to review any article they have authored, as well as to assist the managing editor in resolving queries if the authors are not available to review their articles.

10.Finally, the issue will be sent to the printer; approximately 4 weeks later, advance copies will be available. Complimentary digital copies for the guest editor(s) and all authors will be emailed shortly thereafter. PDF files of individual articles will be available upon request by contacting the managing editor, Natasha Sims, at librarytrends@illinois.edu.