Overview

The goal of this series is to foster ongoing conversation between new voices in the archives profession and authors whose work shaped the professional literature years ago.

The inaugural year of the series focused on the work of archives scholar, practitioner, Society of American Archivists (SAA) Fellow, and former SAA President John Fleckner.

The second year of the series will revisit select SAA Presidential addresses.

Editorial Review Process

Reviews Editors assign articles to authors based on the authors’ interests and areas of expertise. Reviews Editors then work with authors to set a deadline for their first draft. Before you submit a review, familiarize yourself with American Archivist‘s Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statement.

Reviews Editors may recommend edits and revisions to authors’ drafts. Authors will be notified of suggested revisions and edits within approximately four weeks following submission. Acceptance for publication is usually on the condition that specified revisions are made.

Authors will be given the opportunity to approve all editorial changes and to review page proofs for correction of printer’s errors only.

Content

Commentaries should provide a critical evaluation of the article or essay that reflects on the article’s major themes and their relevance to the archival profession today.

As you draft your commentary, we ask that you consider the following questions:

• What are the major themes of the article? How are these themes relevant to your experience and practice? How are they relevant to the archives profession as a whole?

• How have archival theory and practice changed since the article was written? What new developments have occurred in the areas that the article discusses and what impact have these developments had on the archives profession?

• Based on your experience, how would you expand on the topics explored in the article? What issues, themes, or perspectives are missing?

You are not limited to exploring only these questions—we welcome your ideas of other directions to take your commentary!

Length

Commentaries should be between 7 and 10 double-spaced pages, excluding notes.

Style and Grammar

American Archivist follows the style guidelines and guiding principles of The Chicago Manual of Style. For general spelling and usage, refer to the latest edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Terms having special meanings for members of the archives profession should conform to the definitions in the Dictionary of Archives Terminology. Variations from these standards should be minimal and purposeful.

Publication Timeline

Commentaries will be published on a rolling basis in a special section of the American Archivist Reviews Portal.

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact Reviews Editors Rose Buchanan and Stephanie Luke at reviewseditor@archivists.org.