The European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) seeks a publisher to publish, distribute and promote its journal, the European Journal of Archaeology (EJA).
The target date for the finalization of the selection process and
contract is 15 March 2022 with the commencement of the new arrangements
to occur in time for the new publisher to publish EJA 26.1 by 1
February 2023. Proposals are sought specifically for digital-only
publication, but options for continued print publication will be
considered.
PROPOSALS/EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST DUE BY 31 JANUARY 2022
Please email all correspondence to administrator@e-a-a.org
DESCRIPTION OF JOURNAL
The European Journal of Archaeology is the main publication of
the European Association of Archaeologists – the only continental-wide
organisation promoting the interests of archaeologists.
The EJA was published as the Journal of European Archaeology
(vols 1-5) by Cruithne Press from 1993 to 1996, then by SAGE in 1997,
and as the EJA by SAGE between 1998 and 2010, including online from
2000, followed by the EAA in 2011. Maney published EJA from 2012-2015, when it was acquired by Taylor and Francis who published EJA in
2016. It has been published by Cambridge University Press since 2017.
The European Association of Archaeologists is owner of the title.
The EJA
seeks to promote open debate and the highest quality scholarship into
the archaeology and heritage of Europe, broadly conceived. The journal
publishes all periods, from the deepest past up to the present day; all
sub-disciplines, including archaeological science and heritage studies;
and is geographically and methodologically diverse. EJA
occasionally publishes special themed issues or multi-authored Forums.
These usually originated as sessions at the annual EAA conference and
are overseen by one of the editors and/or an editorial board member.
Alongside new research, each issue includes a number of scholarly
reviews of archaeological books and other media commissioned by the
journal’s reviews editors. All material in EJA—editorials, research articles, Forums, and reviews—is published with a DOI.
The EJA is
produced by an Editorial Board. The Editorial Board consists of the
General Editor, Deputy Editor, Reviews Editor, Assistant Reviews Editor
and the Ordinary Editorial Board Members. The Editors are appointed by
the EAA’s Executive Board after advertisement. Editors are appointed
for a term of three years, renewable without limit. The Editorial Board,
chaired by the General Editor, meets once a year before the Annual
Meeting of the EAA. The EAA has an advisory board comprising senior
academics, professional archaeologists, and former editors. Since 2019,
the journal and its editorial team have operated within the framework of
the EJA Publication Ethics Policy: https://www.e-a-a.org/EAACodes#EJAethics .
EJA
currently publishes four print issues per year, each of which typically
includes five or six peer-reviewed research articles and ca. seven
scholarly reviews and a short editorial. All articles are published
digitally as soon as proofs are approved, currently these are hosted on
the “First View” page on EJA’s Cambridge University Press platform.
With CUP, the
journal has been working to be Plan S compliant and is currently
published as a hybrid journal under a Plan-S-approved “transformational
agreement”. Articles are published under a license to publish model, and
open access publication is welcome. Nine research articles were
published Gold Open Access since 1 Aug 2020. This represents just over
25 per cent of the 34 total Gold OA articles the EJA has published to
date. This is also 47 per cent of the 19 articles published online since
1 August 2020. The EAA executive board feels strongly that Open
Research is a key value both the society and journal should encourage
and embody and ideally the journal should be 100% Open Access.
The EJA is
a highly regarded journal that publishes research of international
significance. The 2021 Google Scholar ranking places it 18th amongst all
archaeology journals based on citations since 2016. Scimago Journal
Rank places it 16th amongst all archaeology journals based on citations
since 2018.
Our aims for the
future of the journal are to maintain and enhance the high quality and
excellent reputation of research published in the journal; to continue
to attract a diverse author-base, including students, professionals and
researchers in all sub-disciplines of European archaeology; and to do so
while promoting best practice and Open Research principles. We are open
to moving to digital-only publication to promote sustainability and
ease the transition to open publishing, but would like options for EAA
Members who wish to retain a print subscription.
Subscription price categories for institutional subscription
DESCRIPTION OF ORGANISATION
The EAA is a membership-based association open to all archaeologists and
other related or interested individuals or bodies. The EAA currently
has over fifteen thousand members on its database from 70 countries
world-wide working in prehistory, classical, medieval and later
archaeology. They include academics, aerial archaeologists,
environmental archaeologists, field archaeologists, heritage managers,
historians, museum curators, researchers, scientists, teachers,
conservators, underwater archaeologists, and students of archaeology.
The aims of the EAA
are: 1) to promote the development of archaeological research and the
exchange of archaeological information; 2) to promote the management and
interpretation of the European archaeological heritage; 3) to promote
proper ethical and scientific standards for archaeological work; 4) to
promote the interests of professional archaeologists in Europe; 5) to
promote archaeology to the public, and to raise awareness of archaeology
in Europe; 6) to promote co-operation with other organisations with
similar aims; 7) to promote interest in archaeological remains as
evidence of the human past and contributing to our knowledge of human
culture and to discourage a focus upon any commercial value that may
attach to such material; 8) to work for the elimination of any form of
illegal detection and collection and the damage it causes to the
archaeological heritage.
The EAA 2021-2024 Strategic Plan (https://www.e-a-a.org/StrategicPlan)
highlights the financial stability, increase in member services, and
high profile of the EAA, and sign-posts future work to maintain and
enhance these, including increasing accessibility through supporting
Open Access publishing.
Membership figures
EAA membership has
grown steadily since the foundation of the Association in 1993. The EAA
has seen a dynamic increase in membership numbers since 2014, including
in the Covid-19 years (2020-21) when the Annual Meetings were held
virtually.
Chart 1: Number of EAA Members 1993 – 2021 (as of 22 July 2021).
Membership categories
EAA membership is
per calendar year and is based on the Member’s country of residence:
Members from economically less advanced countries are eligible for
discounted rates (B category). Discounted membership fees also apply to
students (including PhD students) and retired archaeologists (including
retirement for medical reasons).
Organisations and institutions that undertake to make annual financial
contributions to the work of the Association can become Corporate
Members.
Membership prices
VALUES TO BE REFLECTED IN PUBLISHING OF THE JOURNAL
Openness,
meaning an emphasis on open access publishing guided by best practice
in open research. This must include accessibility to authors from
diverse economic and national backgrounds, including ECRs, professional
archaeologists and the precariously employed who cannot afford the APCs
currently charged by most publishers of hybrid journals. The journal
should be Plan S compliant in practice as well as in principle.
Sustainability,
both in terms of putting the EAA and EJA in the best position to
thrive, even in turbulent times, and with regard to the environmental
impact of publishing and distributing the journal.
Quality, including a commitment to the continued
production of an academic journal of the highest quality, for the
benefit of EAA members, authors, and the wider archaeological and
academic community.
Communication and collaboration, including discussion and agreement of the Editorial Board of any changes to the Journal, and complete financial transparency.
IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE
In the future, the EAA wishes:
- High quality publication of the
Journal, including a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for each article
published electronically in the Journal;
- Secure and easy online access to the electronic version of the journal for all subscribing Members and institutions;
- Provision of data to appropriate digital platforms for continued indexing of the Journal;
- Online publication of all back issues of the EJA and its predecessor JEA, with a link to EAA members via the EAA’s webpage;
- High quality copy-editing and proof checking;
- Hosting support for supplementary material across a range of media;
- Provision of and technical support for a standard online
submissions and article management platform. Currently the Journal uses
Editorial Manager without complaint, though we are open to suggestions
for improvements or changes;
- Institutional support/advice for editors when faced with complex ethical or publication issues;
- An annual Editorial stipend (with rises in line with
inflation), which is passed to the General Editor and Deputy Editor (the
stipend is currently € 5000 per annum);
- Reduced-price copies of the Journal for members of the Association from Category B countries;
- Free online access to the Journal for EAA Members;
- Free offprints of articles in pdf format to contributing authors;
- Marketing of the Journal, including a conference stand/poster at the EAA Annual Meeting;
- In-person presentation of a tailor-made annual report and
recommendations on the on the EJA at the Editorial Board meeting, held
at the same time/European venue as the EAA Annual Meeting;
- Financial transparency and full, timely and accurate
accounting (including provision of a full financial report annually,
with a list of institutional subscribers, electronic and print if
relevant, and related sales and licensing data, to the Executive Board
of the EAA);
- Reasonable and stable pricing (i.e. prices not necessarily linked to the retail price index).
PROPOSALS MUST ADDRESS THESE ISSUES:
- Why you want to publish the EJA;
- Journal publication quality;
- Editorial support;
- Costings/business model(s) (including reasonable pricing, costs
to the EAA, royalties/revenue sharing, editorial stipend, distribution,
etc.), including clear financial modelling regarding sustainability of
the journal, particularly in an OA-only model;
- Marketing to include conference presence (EAA and other), social media and other online activity;
- Contractual arrangements (including initial period of agreement) - an example of the publisher's proposed form of contract should be provided;
- Copyright and permissions management;
- Clear plan to maintain and enhance EJA’s high profile even
through a disruptive period, ie potential switch to OA and online-only;
- Why the EAA should choose you as our publisher;
- We would also welcome a chance to look at samples of your existing journals.
These should be sent to: administrator@e-a-a.org
SELECTION CRITERIA
Indicative selection criteria are:
- Society journal publishing experience;
- Archaeology journal publishing experience and quality;
- Experience of Plan S-compliant Open Access publishing;
- On-line journal platform and provision;
- International distribution;
- Effective marketing;
- Perceived reputation;
- Financial sustainability;
- Accessibility to diverse authors.