The group met 2-3 times this quarter.
Recent Activities
First Activity
Published the March and June quarterly issue of ITAL, the latter despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meets LITA’s strategic goals for Education and Professional Development, Member Engagement
Second Activity
Reviewed Editorial Board membership and vacancies; we had only one current member who opted out of a second term, so decided with the Core vote on the horizon not to advertise for new ITAL editorial board members pending the outcome. We are comfortable with the moving forward with the remaining editorial board for the coming year as things become clear about journals under Core.
Meets LITA’s strategic goals for Organizational Stability and Sustainability
Third Activity
Continued our work to understand the scope of topics that we publish in relation to short and long-term popularity (downloads and citations). Originally intended to more clearly define ITAL's niche in the library literature, this research and eventual reporting will be significant in understanding overlaps and distinctions between ITAL, LL&M, and LRTS.
Meets LITA’s strategic goals for Education and Professional Development, Organizational Stability and Sustainability
Fourth Activity
The routine work of reviewing incoming submissions for broad fit with ITAL's scope, peer review of submissions, and generating journal content continues.
Meets LITA’s strategic goals for Education and Professional Development, Organizational Stability and Sustainability
What will your group be working on for the next three months?
The September 2020 issue's peer-reviewed content has been copyedited and will soon be sent to ALA Publication Services for proofreading. Columns receive only copy editing and are not due until late August. We have accepted 5 of 7 articles for the December issue and will soon begin populating March 2021.
I expect the ITAL Editorial Board will be deeply engaging with the recommendations of the Core Publications Working Group as we move to transition into one unified publication strategy.
Is there anything LITA could have provided during this time that would have helped your group with its work?
No
Submitted by Ken Varnum on 07/27/2020