Focus and Scope
JERL strives to find a balance between original, scholarly research, and practical communications about relevant topics in electronic resources librarianship.
Examples of topics appropriate for the Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship include but are not limited to:
Collecting electronic resources
• Assessment/evaluation of e-resources
• Collection planning
• Balancing Electronic with print
• Determining value of e-resources
• Policies and procedures in maintenance of digital resources and collections
Managing digital collections
• Licensing, negotiation, and alternatives
• Stewardship and Preservation of e-resources
• Standards
• Digital repositories within the larger collection
• Cross-functional work/workflow
• Library-vendor relations
Making digital collections accessible to users
• User preferences and expectations
• Digital Rights Management
• E-resources delivery/promotion
• Information needs and behavior of users
• Marketing and promotion of e-resources
• Search & Locate Tools
Scholarly Communication issues
• Intellectual Property, Copyright and Fair Use
• History of publishing
• Changing nature of research in digital environment
• Economics of e-resources in libraries
Changing environment and the effects on libraries
• Planning the digital future
• Changing nature of librarianship
• Organizational change
• Collaboration/collaborative work environments
Section Policies
Editorial
The journals editor or guest editor(s) write the lead editorial.
 Open Submissions |
 Indexed |
Peer Reviewed |
Research Articles
Manuscripts reporting original research or in depth analysis of the literature, typically 10-40 double-spaced pages (including references and abstract).
| Open Submissions |
Indexed |
Peer Reviewed |
Professional Communications
Shorter communications detailing original research, case studies, interviews, and descriptions of practical solutions to common problems. These will vary by topic but should be at least 6 double-spaced pages.
| Open Submissions |
Indexed |
Peer Reviewed |
Columns
| Open Submissions |
Indexed |
Peer Reviewed |
Reviews
The Review Section is designed to present readers with brief evaluations of published materials on topics related to electronic resources and libraries. Materials selected for review are consistent with the above scope of the JERL.
| Open Submissions |
Indexed |
Peer Reviewed |
Peer Review Process
Each manuscript will be reviewed by the editorial staff, who will decide if the it should undergo further review. For each manuscript that is selected to undergo external peer review, we rely on our list of volunteer reviewers, including some editorial board members. We select two to three reviewers, based on their subject expertise and general knowledge of the field. The external peer review process is double-blind. Upon completing their review, reviewers will make one of the following recommendations to the editor:
• Acceptable with few or no editorial revisions.
• Acceptable but requires some rewriting by the author.
• Not acceptable in its present condition, but author should be encouraged to revise and resubmit.
• Does not warrant further consideration by the Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship
Authors will be informed of the reviewers' comments. The process usually takes four to six weeks.
Reviewers will use the following criteria
• Is the topic of the article relevant to researchers and/or practitioners of electronic resources librarianship?
• Is the content of the article useful to researchers and/or practitioners of electronic resources librarianship?
• Does the content of the article provide current and up-to-date information?
• Is the article organized and well-written?
• If the article presents original research, has the author done a complete and thorough literature review, and presented it in an appropriate fashion?
• Has the author cited sources completely and accurately?
• Did you enjoy reading this article?
Publication Frequency
The journal is published quarterly.