Dear CoCHO (the organization formerly known as ADHO),
here is the publication report.
Yours,
Geoffrey Rockwell
________________________________
Consortium for Computing in the Humanities Organizations (CoCHO)
Acting Join Publications Committee Report
May, 2004
The following is a report of the joint committee on publications for
CoCHO that includes the ACH, the ALLC, and COCH/COSH with the TEI,
NINCH and STS. This report proposes two activities; first, the
formation of a Standing Joint Publications Committee, and second the
commissioning of an online journal for the associations.
Creation of a Standing Committee
We propose that the CoCHO group create a Standing Joint Committee on
Publications (SJCP).
The SJCP will be initially comprised according to the same formula
used to determine membership on the CoCHO steering committee, with
each foundational organisation (of ACH, ALLC, and COCH/COSH)
receiving a minimum of one seat, plus the editor of LLC (currently
the only extant CoCHO publication) and a representative of the TEI
Consortium (if the consortium is represented in no other way). After
the first two-year term, the committee will be comprised of a chair,
appointed by the steering committee, and one representative
(typically the editor) from each extant CoCHO-affiliated publication.
In the event that a CoCHO member organisation does not see
representation on the committee in this way, or a new organization
joins CoCHO, the steering committee of CoCHO can allocate an
additional seat on the committee for that organisation. Appointment
method and term would be determined by the organizations represented.
The SJCP works with the CoCHO steering committee to carry out the
following activities:
1. to oversee CoCHO publication relationships with the following
affiliated publications, some of which will require creation by the
committee:
a. LLC (whose ownership will reside with ALLC);
b. an online journal (to be created, and whose ownership will reside
with ACH) - see below; and
c. a monograph series (to be developed by the committee);
2. to continue to foster CoCHO relationships with other publication
venues that have enjoyed affiliation with founding member
organisations in the past (such as HUMANIST, CHWP, Text Technology,
&c.) in the best interest of all constituent members of CoCHO;
3. to apprise CoCHO of new publication opportunities, and new
publication and communicative forms, that would have pertinence to
its membership;
4. to consult with the COCHO steering committee and individual
affiliated publications on important strategic, operational, and
management issues - including processes associated with the creation,
and new affiliation, of any publication mechanisms associated with
CoCHO; and
5. to receive reports from affiliated publications, and present those
reports plus its own to the CoCHO steering committee. Reporting will
take place annually, in time for the reports to be distributed at
each constituent society's AGM, and CoCHO's AGM.
The larger mandate of the CoCHO standing committee on publications is
to provide a framework within which related groups in the general
CoCHO domain can share publication resources to the greatest extent
possible and initiate new publications. Its chief goals are:
1. to create intellectual synergies and increase opportunities for
interdisciplinary interaction through shared publications;
2. to avoid conflicts or competition and proliferation of essentially
similar, unsustainable publications;
3. to achieve economies of scale in publications and reduce drain on
the administrative resources of each group;
4. to improve the quality of the publications in this domain by
increasing their international breadth (for instance, by addressing
the problems of translation and multilingualism); and
5. to explore the possibilities for electronic publication and
exploit appropriate publication technologies, and to present the
larger community with examples of best practices in electronic
publication.
Creation of a Online Journal
We propose that the CoCHO steering committee empower the proposed
Standing Joint Committee on Publications (SJCP) to tender a Request
for Proposals (RFP) for an online journal that would have the
following features:
1. It would be the official online journal of the participating
organizations, but owned by the ACH.
2. It would make exemplary use of technologies like the TEI that have
been developing in our community.
3. It would provide a venue for innovative works to be published and
innovative publication programs online.
We propose that the following process be followed:
1. Upon approval of the CoCHO steering committee and the creation of
a Standing Joint Publications Committee, a Request for Proposals
would be issued (see below).
2. Responses to the RFP would be reviewed by the joint committee and
a recommendation forwarded to the Presidents of the participating
associations.
3. The President of the ACH would, upon consultation with the other
Presidents and executive boards, make the final choice on the
proposal to choose.
4. The Presidents would empower the joint committee to work with the
successful proposal to implement the journal, advertise it, and
review it on an ongoing basis.
5. The chair of the joint committee (along with the Editor of the
online journal) would be expected to report on the online journal at
the annual meetings of the two executives.
The following is the proposed language for the Request for Proposals:
Request for Proposals for an Online Journal
The CoCHO initiative (Consortium for Computing in the Humanities
Organizations), which includes the ACH, the ALLC, and COCH/COSH,
invites proposals for the development and delivery of an innovative
online journal to serve the humanities computing community and to be
owned by the ACH. We invite interested parties to contact us or
submit proposals in writing that will meet the publication needs of
the community. We are committed to working with one or more parties
to help develop the proposals so that they meet our objectives.
What sorts of proposals will be considered?
While we invite interested parties to enter into a conversation with
us, the following are some of the features expected of complete
proposals that need to be addressed before the ACH will endorse the
proposal.
1. Audience. The proposal should make clear what is the audience
targeted by the online journal. In particular the proposal should
consider how this journal could reach a multi-lingual audience.
2. Articles and Activities. The proposal should identify the types of
articles that would be published online and the types of related
online activities that would be included in the journal. We are
looking for proposals that make innovative use of the online venue.
3. Capacity. The proposal should discuss the resources of the
proposing group and their capacity to maintain such a journal over
the long term.
4. Technology. The proposal should discuss the technologies to be
employed in delivering such a journal. The technologies should fit
the activities and should be an example of the appropriate use of
information technology in the humanities and arts.
5. Peer Review. The proposal should discuss how the peer review of
the submissions would be carried out.
6. Schedule. The proposal should discuss the timing of online issues
or other activities.
7. Financing. The proposal should discuss the support needed from the
CoCHO group, financial and/or otherwise.
8. Evaluation. How will the journal be assessed on an ongoing basis.
The proposal should address how the journal could be periodically
reviewed.
9. Intellectual Property. Who will own submissions to the journal?
How will the proposing group handle intellectual property issues?
Why submit a proposal?
This is an opportunity for an organization involved in Humanities
Computing to get the support to mount an innovative publication that
would be of interest to the larger community. We expect that this
journal would be a major venue for new research in humanities
computing and literary and linguistic computing. We are committed to
working with a suitable organization to make this work.
Where should proposals be sent?
Inquiries should be addressed to members of the Standing Joint
Committee on Publications (see address below). Proposals should be
sent to the acting chair, Geoffrey Rockwell at grockwel (at) mcmaster
(dot) ca. The Joint Committee reserves the right to negotiate details
with particular proposing organizations if their proposals are
acceptable.
Proposals should be submitted by December 1st 2004.
Report prepared by Geoffrey Rockwell and Ray Siemens on behalf of the
Acting Joint Publications Committee.
May, 2004
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