Download this note as a pdf here AAQ34(4)Danely_notefromeditor
As Editor-in-Chief of Anthropology & Aging Quarterly, I am proud to announce that our journal has finally completed preparation to take the bold step into the world of open-access digital publishing. Beginning with Volume 35 (the next issue), Anthropology & Aging Quarterly will be published by University Library Systems (a non-profit corporation) through the University of Pittsburgh. It will join other ejournals that our readership may be already familiar with in the D-Scribe Digital Publishing Program such as Ethnology and Health Culture and Society. We will work with the ULS and Pitt to partner with abstracting, indexing, and discovery service providers to increase our visibility.
Our contributors, peer reviewers, and staff all put a great deal of effort into the content of AAQ, and I am impressed with the quality of the results with every issue. One need only look at this current issue, featuring new contributions from three prominent anthropologists on three continents to find and example of the kind of rigor and dedication we value. This is work that can inspire anthropologists, social gerontologists, and others in related fields to engage as a community to expand our base of empirical knowledge on global aging, and explore new theoretical frames and concepts. We do this work because we believe it is important, and our new digital format will make this work freely available and readily accessible to the world. For more on open-access in social science research, I highly suggest the Society for Cultural Anthropology’s free podcast “Can Scholarship Be Free to Read.”
As we make our transition to this new format, many things will remain the same: our mission to create a global forum for the exchange of knowledge, our rigorous double-blind peer-review process, our commitment to publishing work that is original, diverse and engaging. Contributions will be protected under the Creative Commons Copyright attribution 3.0, and neither AAGE nor the University of Pittsburgh will have publication or reprint rights without author agreement. There will be no hefty publication fee as there are with many other open-access journals, but we will require all contributors to be members of AAGE.
Other things will change, beginning with the number of issues published per annum, and consequently the journal’s name. Beginning with Volume 35, the journal will be published twice per annum, and will drop “Quarterly” from its title. In an informal poll of members, “Anthropology & Aging” was the most preferred new title. Other changes will include a streamlined review system, search functions, ability to include new forms of media, and greater interactivity. We have also expanded our editorial advisory board by seven members, including scholars based in Japan, Demark, Canada, and the US.
Finally, AAQ would like to encourage student readers to submit essays for the revived Margaret Clark Award. Anthropology & Aging will have the right of first refusal for the winners of this award, which, together with workshops and conference events, is a key way that the journal remains intertwined with the ongoing activities of AAGE.
To be sure, this new step means new challenges and a lot of work to be sustainable. AAGE members will remain key, but keeping the journal vibrant will depend on growing our network and building relationships. We hope that the journal will present new opportunities to meet our challenges and build our strengths.
Thank you to all who have helped AAQ reach this point. Looking forward to your submissions.
Jason Danely, Editor-in-Chief Anthropology & Aging Quarterly
