Editorial Policy

Editorial Policy

Editorial Policy

  1. Aim
  2. Focus
  3. Formats
  4. Scientific Board
  5. Series Editors
  6. Publishing process
  7. Publication agreement, rights and licenses
  8. Costs

 ad 1. Aim
Graz University aims to develop and expand open digital infrastructures in terms of Open Science (cf. Digitaler Wandel - Strategische Entwicklung (uni-graz.at)). The publishing service of Graz University Library enables members of the university to publish their research results as monographs or edited volumes in open access and, if required, to provide the research data on which they are based. In addition, persistent identifiers (ISBN and DOI) are assigned. This ensures optimum dissemination, visibility and citation. Graz University Library Publishing thus offers disciplines with predominantly monographic publications the opportunity to make their scholarly output openly accessible to a global community. However, the aim is also to establish this service across all disciplines and thus make the results of the University of Graz visible on a single platform.

ad 2. Focus
The focus of this publication service is to make visible the research carried out in the six faculties of the University, with an emphasis on the five Fields of Excellence. The portfolio is rounded off by other socio-politically relevant/current issues and the mapping of key future issues. Monographs, edited volumes, series and innovative publication formats are the vehicles for this strategy. On the one hand, these publications stand for excellence in terms of content due to their experienced and internationally well-connected editorial boards, and on the other hand, we enable the promotion of the careers of young scientists and scholars.
Regarding recipients, both science-to-science and science-to-public publications are covered.

ad 3. Formats
There are three main types of publication: Monographs, anthologies and innovative publications such as the so-called living anthology "Wortschatz Bibel". We specialize in electronic publishing, with open licensing allowing authors and editors to produce printed copies themselves. Our ePDFs are 17 x 24 cm, which is also cost effective in terms of printing. We provide templates in Word and LaTeX. These are optimized for both accessibility and XML processing. The use of these templates is mandatory in order to achieve a high quality of output. The PDFs provided by the author(s) or editor(s) is used as the basis for publishing on our platform. They should make sure that all characters (particularly special characters), line breaks, page breaks, illustrations, etc. are correctly reproduced. It is also important to ensure that all links are working to improve usability. They should also check the print specifications (image size, color management, etc.) if printing is planned. PDFs submitted for publication will be randomly checked by the LP team, but the responsibility for correct presentation lies with the author(s)/editor(s).
The cover is designed by the LP team according to the specifications (image, logo, etc.) given by the author(s)/editor(s).

The author(s)/editor(s) will also provide the advertising text for the U4 (back cover).

ad 4. Scientific Board
In order to support the strategic development of Graz University Library Publishing and to guarantee the scientific quality of the books published on the platform, the Vice Rectorate for Research has set up a Scientific Board:

  1. The Board consists of
    1. Vice Rector for Research: Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Joachim Reidl
    2. Deans of the faculties located at the University of Graz
      Humanities: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Arne Ziegler
      Catholic theology: Univ.-Prof. DDr. Pablo Argárate
      Natural Sciences: Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Klemens Fellner
      Law: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gabriele Schmölzer
      Social and economic sciences: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Foscht
      Environmental, regional and educational sciences: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Andrea Steiner
    3. Director of the University Library: Mag. Pamela Stückler
  2. Tasks:
    1. Quality assurance: Proposals are reviewed by at least two members of the board.
    2. Strategic development
  3. In assessing proposals, the Scientific Board follows the editorial policy and review guidelines of Graz University Library Publishing.
  4. The guidelines for peer review have been prepared and made available by the team of Graz University Library Publishing. The evaluation forms on our website are based on these guidelines.

ad 5. Series editors
The prerequisite for starting a series is the acceptance of a series proposal by the Scientific Board. It is also important that at least one of the editors of the series is affiliated to the University of Graz. Furthermore, series volumes should be published regularly. The individual volumes of a series that has been positively reviewed will be reviewed by the editors of the series and the Library Publishing Team. This review is also in line with the editorial policy and the guidelines for peer review.

ad 6. Publishing process
Publishing with Graz University Library Publishing requires the submission of a proposal. Please use our templates “Proposaleinreichung Einzelpublikation” respectively “Proposaleinreichung Reihe” (the latter also applies to the new submission for innovative publication formats). Submitted proposals are checked formally for compliance with the requirements of the editorial policy. If all formal requirements are met, the proposal will be forwarded to the Scientific Board to be reviewed in terms of scientific quality.

Summarized evaluation based on a given scale as a final recommendation:

  1. Acceptance recommended without revision
  2. Acceptance recommended with minor revision
  3. Acceptance recommended, but extensive revisions required
  4. Major revision and resubmission recommended
  5. Rejection recommended

The authors or editors are informed of the decision via OMP. If accepted, they will also learn about the next steps to take (templates and guidelines, timeline, etc.). Once the Scientific Board has approved the publication of a monograph or edited volume, we enter into a publication agreement with the author(s)/editor(s) and assign an ISBN and a DOI. Further information and materials can be found in the Submissions section.

Before uploading your publication-ready PDF, please check the following points:

  • Correct use of the template
  • Are all special characters displayed correctly?
  • Correct line and page handling.
  • Correct position of the images
  • Ensure that all links work to improve usability.
  • If a printed version of the book is to be produced, the printing specifications (image size, color management, etc.) will also need to be checked.

The PDFs provided by the author(s) or editor(s) is used as the basis for publishing on our platform. Please upload the PDF of the core of the book ready for publication to OMP.

The cover is designed by the LP team according to the specifications (image, logo, etc.) given by the author(s)/editor(s).

The author(s)/editor(s) will also provide the advertising text for the U4 (back cover).

ad 7. Publication agreement, rights and licenses
The publication agreement states that publications of Graz University Library Publishing are subject to the Creative Commons Licence Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), although other open CC licences may be accepted in exceptional cases.

Authors and editors retain the rights of use and exploitation of their publications. They may share, publish, reproduce and redistribute their work without restriction at any time and in any version.

ad 8. Costs
Our publishing service is compliant with the Diamond Open Access standards, i. e. the services we offer are free of charge to both author(s)/editor(s) and recipients. This is in line with the University’s Open Access policy and the Requirements of the BMBWF for university governance.