About the Journal

Submissions/manuscripts: What we publish

Information Technology and Libraries publishes material related to all aspects of information technology in all types of libraries. For consideration, articles must be related to both technology AND libraries.

Topic areas include, but are not limited to, library automation, digital libraries, metadata, identity management, distributed systems and networks, computer security, intellectual property rights, technical standards, geographic information systems, desktop applications, information discovery tools, web-scale library services, cloud computing, digital preservation, data curation, virtualization, search-engine optimization, emerging technologies, social networking, open data, the semantic web, mobile services and applications, usability, universal access to technology, library consortia, vendor relations, and digital humanities.

We welcome submissions from individuals of all ethnicities, races, countries of origin, gender identities and expressions, ages, abilities, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, economic backgrounds, scholarly and professional backgrounds and experiences, types and sizes of institutions, neurodiversity, technical skills/experience, years in profession, and other characteristics. We are committed to amplifying and highlighting lived experiences from these perspectives as they relate to technology in libraries. (Adapted with permission from https://llm-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/llm/about/submissions.)

Editorial process

We are actively building an editorial board and reviewer pool that reflects the desired diversity of potential authors. We also engage in periodic review of editorial processes and policies to identify potential barriers to publishing in ITAL.

Copy-editing process

ITAL journal editors do a first round of editing followed by a second review by ALA Production Services. Both reviews adhere to the policies, standards, and competencies put forth by the American Library Association.

An evolving process

We the ITAL Editorial Board recognize the importance of committing to a DEIA statement and we take this commitment very seriously. As we continue to learn and make progress towards improved diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, we welcome your feedback and suggestions as to how we can improve via email sent to varnum@umich.edu or submissions to our anonymous virtual suggestion box.

Submitting for peer review: What to expect

Submissions are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

The editors provide a preliminary review for suitability for the journal’s scope and mission. You will hear from the editors within 2-3 weeks.

Submissions that are within the journal’s scope are advanced to a double-blind peer review process and read by at least two reviewers. The results of the peer review process are typically communicated to the article’s authors within 6-8 weeks. These are the possible outcomes:

Accept for publication: The article is ready to move to copyediting and is basically ready for publication.
Accept pending minor revisions: The article is basically ready for acceptance, pending minor edits or changes. The editors will make the final decision to accept for publication.
Needs revisions and another peer review round: The article has merit but needs additional research, literature review, and/or significant work. The revised version will have an additional round of peer review.
Decline: The article is not accepted for publication.

Once articles are fully accepted for publication, they are scheduled for the next available quarterly issue. We publish on the 3rd Monday of March, June, September, and December. Articles accepted by the 1st of January, April, July, and October are typically included in the next quarterly issue.

Policies

Open access policy: This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. ITAL does not charge any submission fees or article processing charges (APCs).
Name change policy: See the ITAL Policy to Support Name Changes on an Author’s Prior Publications.
Changes to published articles: In rare cases, the Editor may make a change to a previously-published article to correct citation information that is no longer valid. For example, a reference to a website that is no longer active or a URL location that has moved. In such cases, the Editor may correct the reference to point to the new location or suppress the reference if no equivalent replacement exists. Changes of this nature will be noted as a “Correction” at the end of the published article and include the date, a description of the change made, and at whose request the change was made.

Journal History

Information Technologies and Libraries (ITAL, ISSN 0730-9295) began publication with volume 1 in 1982. It moved to an open-access, electronic-only publishing model (ISSN 2163-5226) with Volume 31 (2012). ITAL is the successor to the Journal of Library Automation (JOLA, ISSN 0022-2240), published from 1968-1981.