OLH flips innovative archaeology conference proceedings to open access journal
Posted by Martin Paul Eve on 10 May 2017
We are really pleased to announce that in Summer 2017 the OLH will be publishing the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal (TRAJ). Formerly an annual conference proceedings volume published primarily by Oxbow Books (a leading publisher within the fields of archaeology and ancient history), the journal developed out of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC), which has been running annually since 1991. As part of this move, we will be making 22 years of the journal’s published catalogue openly available on the OLH platform.
TRAJ is an innovative journal that promotes the use of new theoretical approaches to the Roman past, facilitating fresh interpretations of datasets rather than solely the presentation of archaeological data (as commonly deployed in archaeology scholarship). The publication will build on this strong foundation to continue attracting submissions within the disciplines of Archaeology, Classics and Ancient History, as well as interdisciplinary work drawing on the Biological Sciences, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Having consistently published innovative and thought-provoking papers derived from annual conferences held across Europe and America since 1991, the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC) has established a reputation as an unorthodox and radical event in the scholarly calendar, which has had a major impact on the theoretical landscape of Roman Archaeology.
Dr Caroline Edwards, co-founder and Editorial Director of the OLH, said of the launch: “The Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal will build on more than two decades of excellent work produced through the annual conference with which the journal is associated. As our external reviewers of the journal’s application to join the OLH confirmed, TRAC is ‘a well established component of the research ecology of Roman archaeology’ that ‘thrives as a space for productive iconoclasm and theoretical experiment [with] contributors now includ[ing] some of the leading figures in the field.’ It’s great to be able to support such important work in theoretical archaeology at OLH.”
Professor Martin Paul Eve, a co-founder and CEO of the OLH, added: “We’re so pleased to be announcing this latest addition to our range of OLH journals. In publishing TRAJ, the OLH will bring the important scholarship of the Roman archaeology community to a wider international audience through full open access to all articles and data.”
As one of the journal editors and Chair of the TRAC Standing Committee, Dr Matthew Mandich, states: “We’re really excited to be joining this dynamic new open access platform, as it will allow us to better disseminate the groundbreaking research of TRAC participants, in addition to filling a longstanding gap within the publication landscape of the wider field of Roman archaeology.” Furthermore, Dr Lisa Lodwick, Vice-Chair of the TRAC Standing Committee and TRAJ Editor-in-Chief, comments: “TRAJ will cut across institutional, disciplinary, and national boundaries, building on the founding principles of accessibility at the centre of TRAC.”
The Open Library of Humanities is an academic-led, gold open-access publisher with no author-facing charges. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the platform covers its costs by payments from an international library consortium, rather than any kind of author fee.
Existing journals wishing to move to the platform should submit an initial enquiry to the Editorial Director, Dr Caroline Edwards at caroline.edwards@openlibhums.org. Libraries outside the US and UK interested in joining the OLH Library Partnership Subsidy model should contact Prof. Martin Paul Eve: martin.eve@openlibhums.org. UK-based libraries can join through Jisc Collections at http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Catalogue/Overview/Index/2120. US-based libraries can join through LYRASIS at https://lyrasis.openlibhums.org. European libraries can join here: http://lps.openlibhums.org/ or send an enquiry to Prof. Martin Paul Eve: martin.eve@openlibhums.org.
Image by Matthew J. Mandich. Used with permission.