Personal information has been removed if necessary: If the submission is intended for peer review, it has been stripped of personally identifying authorial information in headers/footers, references, or embedded metadata. You must review our guide to anonymizing your document prior to submitting your manuscript.
Any AI generated content has been disclosed to the editor in submission comments according to the Atla Open Press AI policy.
Author Guidelines
Essays
Essays address trends, technologies, and practices affecting libraries and librarianship and discuss matters of significance to the profession.
Essays may take the form of:
opinion pieces on issues relating to theological librarianship and scholarly religious communication
profiles that highlight the life and work of long-time theological librarians who have shown special leadership and/or have made significant contributions to the library profession
descriptions of various library-related features (programs, resources, facilities, management, etc.)
Any length up to 6,000 words.
Research articles
Research articles make an original contribution to research and scholarship in theological librarianship and are subject to peer review.
Research articles may take the form of:
articles based on original research (using any methodology)
bibliographic essays discussing significant bodies of literature of interest to theological librarians and placing these in a broader intellectual and/or bibliographic context
Typically range from 4,000-12,000 words. These limits are not fixed, and authors are encouraged to consult with the editorial board if their articles fall outside this range.
Student Essays
Student Essays are submitted as a response to Theological Librarianship’s Student Essay Contest. Announcements typically go out around the first of every year, and student essays are accepted until June 1st.
Student Essays may take the form of:
an essay on any topic that connects religious/theological studies and librarianship
any length up to 5,000 words
Please submit an entry to the Student Essay Contest under the section: “essays.” In addition, please note in the “comments for the editor field” that this is a submission for the student essay contest. If there are any questions in relation to the Student Essay Contest, please consult with the editorial board.
are reviewed and curated by the editorial board and by the guest editor when there is one
are not subject to formal peer review
do not need abstracts
may take the form of first-person narrative - sharing personal experiences or reflections or reporting of projects or initiatives at the author's institution
may take the form of third-person critique and analysis, theoretical treatments, or other conventional forms
Typically 750–1,000 words. Longer submissions will be accepted at the discretion of the editorial board or guest editor.
Critical reviews
Critical reviews primarily cover reference material in theology/religious studies (both print and electronic), electronic databases, professional library literature at the intersection of librarianship and theology/religious studies, and other items deemed appropriate by the editorial board of the journal.
Reviews typically range from 1,200-1,600 words.
Critical reviews instructions
The review should:
begin with a brief description of the book or online resource
describe the intended audience of the resource
discuss its strengths and weaknesses
assess whether the author's aims are achieved
provide an analysis of the author's style and presentation
identify whether the work has a particular perspective or presents all sides of an issue objectively
note whether you would recommend it for purchase
Include at the end the reviewer’s name and institutional affiliation
Include the citation information at the beginning of the review in the following form:
For a book Author. Full title of the book. Place: Publisher, Date. Number of pages, Price. ISBN. (Example: Michael McClymond, ed. Encyclopedia of Religious Revivals in America. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007. 2 vols: 1178 pp. $225.00. Hardcover. ISBN: 0313328285 (set).)
For an electronic resource Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Full title of the website. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site. Date of resource creation (if available). URL, DOI or permalink. Date accessed. (Example: Cooperative Digital Resources Initiative. American Theological Library Association and Association of Theological Schools. 2003-2015. https://www2.atla.com/digitalresources/. Accessed June 2, 2017.)
Reviews must be submitted within two months of receiving the book or the book must be returned.
Deadlines
Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. However, we offer the following deadlines for consideration of publication in a specific issue. Receipt of a submission by the below deadlines does not guarantee publication in a particular issue but will ensure consideration for a particularl issue.
For the April issue, submissions must be received by:
November 1 - research articles, essays, and forum submissions
January 4 - book reviews
For the October issue, submissions must be received by:
June 1 - research articles, essays, and forum submissions
July 1 - book reviews
Submission Instructions
To submit a manuscript:
Register and log into our Open Journal Systems (OJS) submission system.
On the Submissions page click “Make a New Submission” in the blue box.
In the Submission form that opens:
select the type of submission you are making from the "Section" dropdown
review and acknowledge the submission checklist
upload your files
add details about your submission
NOTE:
If there are multiple authors, only one needs to complete the submission process.
Please be sure to include:
the complete author, presenter, or submitter name
the institutional affiliation for this person
the role for this person where appropriate
Accurate and complete information is the responsibility of the submitter. Atla is not responsible for any spelling errors or for the omission of names of presenters or authors.
Presentation slides, posters, and similar materials cannot be accepted for direct publication, but are encouraged to be linked in the submitted manuscript if available online.
Costs
Atla Open Press is committed to a peer-reviewed open access publication model without article processing charges, article submission charges, or other author fees.
Copyright Notice
Authors grant Atla an exclusive right of first publication, display, and distribution, while retaining all other rights. All Atla Open Press publications are released under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license.
