Journal of Map & Geography Libraries

The Journal of Map & Geography Libraries invites articles highlighting professional practice, case studies, and research-based approaches on the role of map and geospatial library professionals in creating, collecting, and curating born digital resources. The purpose of this special issue is to share best practices, perspectives, opportunities, challenges, and emerging trends related to born digital resources to inform and advance the work of map and geospatial library professionals.

We encourage a broad range of contributions including original research articles, literature review articles, case studies, and critical reflection papers supported by literature and/or professional practice. We welcome submissions from library professionals with perspectives from beyond map and geospatial information librarianship, such as special collections and archives, cataloging/technical services, government documents, digital scholarship, and research data management.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• Considerations for common geospatial information formats, including born digital map images, geospatial data, and interactive maps and GIS applications
• Contextualizing born digital geospatial information resources within archival policies or best practices, guiding principles for research data management, or lessons learned from other areas of librarianship
• Collaborations with content creators, including university researchers and external entities such as local governments, state agencies, etc.
• Opportunities for new types of collection development
• Technical infrastructure needs for discovery, access, and preservation
• Implications of evolving open access and open data policies on library systems and services

Article abstracts of up to 200 words are due on June 16, 2023, and authors will be notified by June 23, 2023 of an invitation to submit a full manuscript. Send article abstracts to [email protected] with the subject: Born Digital Special Issue.

Completed manuscripts will be due by September 29, 2023, and authors should indicate the paper is associated with the “Born Digital Collections in Map and Geography Libraries” special issue when submitting. Submissions should be 3,000 – 7,000 words, though exceptions will be considered. This word count does not include the abstract, references section, or table/figure captions. Manuscripts will go through a double-anonymous peer review process. The earlier a submission is received before the due date, the earlier the peer review process will begin.

Instructions for AuthorsSubmit an Article