Archives and Manuscripts is the peer-reviewed journal for the Australian Society of Archivists (ASA). Recently transferred to open access publication, the Journal is put together by the General Editor and supported by the Managing Editor, Assistant Editor and the Editorial Board.

Terms of reference

The Editorial Board is expected to:

• Contribute ideas for articles and identify possible authors, or write articles themselves,
• Act as referees, if approached and the topic is of relevance, or nominate others as referees,
• Suggest topics for special issues, or act as Guest Editor for a special issue,
• Undertake book reviews, if approached and the topic is of relevance, or suggest others to review,
• Promote the Journal and articles through their networks,
• Encourage practitioner archivists to write reflections,
• Act as mentors / provide support for emerging authors,
• Read the relevant articles and provide commentary for the Sigrid McCausland Emerging Writers Award, and
• Attend Editorial Board Meetings where possible.

Membership of the Board

The Editorial Board will consist of the Editorial Team with at least an additional seven members and a limit of 12 overall. The Editorial Team are expected to be current financial professional members of the ASA. Other Editorial Board members, if not already ASA members, should be encouraged to join the ASA.

The Editorial Team consists of:

• The General Editor who will act as Chair of the Board,
• The Managing Editor who is also a member of the ASA Council, and
• The Assistant Editor who will act as Secretary for the Board.

Additional members of the Board should represent a wide range of archival experience from large to small archives, government, business, educational and collecting archives, experts from different aspects of the archival profession and from a variety of geographic locations.

Joining the Board

Members of the Editorial Board will be appointed for a three-year term. 

To join the Board:

• Calls for volunteers will be put out through ASA promotional channels such as the regular newsletter Archive Matters, and/or
• Suggestions can be provided by the General Editor, Assistant Editor, or other Board members.

When a call goes out, those interested will be asked to provide a current resume and a short paragraph on why they are interested in joining the Editorial Board, including any ideas they might have for the journal and experience with other journals and/or publishing, or what experience they hope to achieve.

The recommendations for the Board will be compiled by the Assistant Editor and reported to the ASA Council for approval. The ASA Council will have final say in the members of the Editorial Board.

It is expected that a broad range of people will be appointed to the Editorial Board.

Experience with other journals will be taken into account, or if the applicant is a new professional, that they have identified an interest in working with the Journal. It is expected that the applicant reads Archives and Manuscripts, or at least browses the articles, and has ideas for developing the Journal.

At the end of their term, the contributions of the member will be reviewed. To be offered the opportunity to continue on the Board, it is expected that members:

• Have responded to contact by the Editorial Team,
• Undertaken at least one review when offered and/or relevant,
• Attended one meeting where possible, and
• Provided commentary on articles for the Sigrid McCausland Emerging Writers Award.

For members that have showed regular engagement with the Journal (at the least as per the above), the member will be contacted to determine if they are interested and / or able to stay on. This response will guide reappointment of members. Reappointment can occur with the agreement of the Editorial Team and approval by the ASA Council. Members who have not shown regular engagement with the Journal will be advised that they will not be considered for reappointment.

A member of the Editorial Board may be asked to leave if their interests no longer coincide with the direction of the Journal or if they are in conflict with the values of the ASA.

A limit of three terms is placed on renewal of membership of the Editorial Board. 

Operation of the Board

The Editorial Board will meet twice a year through a video conference meeting on the platform in use by the ASA at the time. One of these meetings will aim to coincide with the ASA Conference to allow for the possibility of meeting in person.

Additional shorter catch ups may take place at the discretion of the Editorial Team and where possible the Editorial Board are expected to make the effort to attend at least one of these per year. These more informal meetings are expected to encourage engagement with the Journal, discuss manuscript progress, and provide ideas for future articles, special issues, etc.

In between meetings, the Editorial Board is expected to respond to emails that may be sent to seek the support of the Board in the work of the Journal.