Open Library of Humanities journal (OLHJ) Special Collections are collections of articles published within OLHJ, dedicated to focused research topics (see the full list of OLHJ Special Collections). These function in a similar way to special issues of 'traditional' journals, with two key differences:
In addition, OLHJ Special Collections are flexible with regards to the number of articles published within a particular collection. There is no upper limit to the number of articles that may be published within each collection and Special Collection editors have full autonomy to make their own editorial decisions regarding which articles to accept. For a behind the scenes peek at what it is like to edit a Special Collection with OLH, see 'Choosing the Open Library of Humanities journal (OLHJ) as the Publisher for your Special Collection'.
There are two routes to publishing a Special Collection in OLHJ:
Once an application to edit a Special Collection has been accepted, editors will work closely with the OLH editorial team to develop their 'Call for Articles' and publicise it via the relevant disciplinary professional networks. Editors are then assigned OLHJ editorial accounts and can use the online manuscript submissions system, Janeway, to access articles submitted to the collection. Special Collection editors are responsible for organising double-anonymous peer review for all of the articles submitted to the collection, and for making editorial decisions based on the peer reviewers’ feedback. The OLH editorial team manages the production process for all articles, including part of the copyediting process, the typesetting and proofreading processes (in liaison with authors), and prepublication checks.
All articles within the Special Collection will receive the benefits of the OLH’s unique publishing model, including:
The OLH editorial team is open to receiving applications to guest edit Special Collections on an ongoing basis. If you are interested in applying to edit a collection on a topic that is relevant to your own research, please complete the OLHJ Special Collection Application Form and email it to OLHJ's Managing Editor, Dr Simon Everett.