[Lingtyp] Call for nominations and applications: Editor of Linguistic Typology

Wed Apr 26 09:54:59 UTC 2017

I agree with Bernhard and Susanne that there is every reason to have 
full trust in those active for ALT and LT, and I actually think that a 
two-week deadline is quite reasonable. It has been known for some time 
that the present solution for LT is only an interim solution, so 
interested colleagues have had ample time to think about it.

What has not been discussed, and maybe should be discussed in one way or 
another, is whether ALT needs to continue its close association with LT.

In 1997, the idea was that De Gruyter would publish a journal for the 
community of typologists – in a sense, for ALT. But in the meantime, the 
publishing landscape has changed quite drastically. Increasingly, 
publishers' incomes do not come from individual subscriptions, but from 
owning prestigious journal brands, which are parts of big packages that 
are sold in  intransparent ways to big consortia of libraries.

There seems to be no doubt that LT would survive even if ALT members no 
longer had a compulsory subscription, and with new services such as 
Unpaywall.org, there would not be a real danger that people would not 
have access to LT articles even if their institutions did not have 
access to LT.

Thus, I think that by now, the roles are reversed: Rather than De 
Gruyter publishing LT for ALT, ALT is helping De Gruyter find an editor 
for a journal that is owned by De Gruyter. And is this really part of 
ALT's mission?

(Note that ALT does not own the title LT, i.e. we do not have the legal 
option of choosing a different publisher.)

These are difficult issues, and there are no easy solutions. But I 
seriously think that ALT might consider letting LT go, trusting that De 
Gruyter will find a suitable editor even without us. ALT might want to 
focus on other things such as organizing conferences, and maybe 
supporting non-commercial, scholar-owned publication efforts such as 
Language Science Press.

Best,
Martin

On 26.04.17 11:35, Bernhard Waelchli wrote:
>
> Dear all,
>
> I would like to write some words in support of the president of the 
> association and all the other people working for Linguistic Typology 
> behind the curtains. Without knowing exactly what they are doing and 
> why, but assuming that it must be a lot they have to deal with, I have 
> full confidence in their intentions to work for the best of this 
> journal, which is very important for our community. I am also 
> confident that the people who are in change and whom we have elected 
> are capable of dealing with these issues.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Bernhard
>
>>
>>     -----Original Message-----
>>     From: "Good, Jeff" <jcgood at buffalo.edu <mailto:jcgood at buffalo.edu>>
>>     To: "LINGTYP at listserv.linguistlist.org
>>     <mailto:LINGTYP at listserv.linguistlist.org>"
>>     <LINGTYP at listserv.linguistlist.org
>>     <mailto:LINGTYP at listserv.linguistlist.org>>
>>     Sent: Tue, 25 Apr 2017 23:00
>>     Subject: [Lingtyp] Call for nominations and applications: Editor
>>     of Linguistic Typology
>>
>>     Dear all,
>>
>>     ALT is currently soliciting nominations, including
>>     self-nominations, for the position of Editor of Linguistic
>>     Typology, beginning January 2018 <tel:2018>. The Editor is
>>     probably the most important officer in the ALT. They organize the
>>     work of the Editorial Board, oversee the work of the editorial
>>     assistant, make final decisions about acceptance or
>>     non-acceptance of papers, set journal policy (consulting with the
>>     ALT Executive Committee as necessary), and work closely with the
>>     publisher to maintain the high quality of the journal. Support
>>     for editorial work is generally made available through the
>>     journal publisher, de Gruyter Mouton.
>>
>>     Candidates should be established scholars with good publication
>>     records, relevant editorial experience (such as service on one or
>>     more editorial boards), and/or other relevant organizational
>>     experience, and a history of prompt and efficient handling of
>>     email and other communications.
>>
>>     Nominees and applicants can be individuals or pairs or teams of
>>     co-editors. The nomination or application should include a brief
>>     CV (about 2-3 pages), or link to a website if it provides the
>>     relevant information, and a brief cover letter mentioning the
>>     individual's qualifications (for both self-nominations and
>>     regular nominations).
>>
>>     In view of the importance of the Editor position, the President
>>     has appointed a special Editor Search Committee led by the Chair
>>     of the Nominating Committee (Claire Bowern).
>>
>>     The Search Committee will also make nominations of their own. In
>>     addition, all members of ALT are urged to think of qualified
>>     people and urge them to apply.
>>
>>     Please send nominations, applications, and inquiries to the
>>     Editorial Search Committee at this email account:
>>     lt.editor2 at gmail.com <mailto:lt.editor2 at gmail.com>. The deadline
>>     is May 10, 2017 <tel:2017>.
>>
>>     Claire Bowern
>>     Chair, Editorial Search Committee and Nominating Committee
>>
>>     Jeff Good
>>     President, ALT
>>
> -- 
> Bernhard Wälchli
> Stockholms universitet
> Institutionen för lingvistik
> SE - 106 91 Stockholm
> Tel +46 8 16 23 44
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Lingtyp mailing list
> Lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp

-- 
Martin Haspelmath (haspelmath at shh.mpg.de)
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Kahlaische Strasse 10	
D-07745 Jena
&
Leipzig University
IPF 141199
Nikolaistrasse 6-10
D-04109 Leipzig

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