Statute of journal KNIHA regulates the position, mission, principles and main tasks of the journal, the rights and obligations of the publisher, the position and tasks of the editorial board and the editors in order to ensure the proper publication of this journal in the conditions of Slovak National Library.
Article 1
BASIC PROVISIONS
1. Journal KNIHA (hereinafter referred to as the “journal”) is a scientific periodical that deals with the history of book culture in Slovakia and the Central European area. The journal is published twice a year by the Slovak National Library (SNL).
2. The aim of the journal is to bring the latest research results of all aspects of the history of book culture. Also, reports on ongoing and completed scientific research projects and collaborations, whether at the national or international level. At the same time, it provides space for reviews of the latest publications in this field and reports from conferences and scientific events.
3. The Department of Administration and Processing of the Historical Book Documents and Historical Book Collections of SNL is responsible for the publishing of the journal.
4. The journal contains peer-reviewed scientific articles as well as partial outputs and presentations of scientific projects of Slovakian and foreign experts from libraries and other scientific institutions. The journal also contains non peer-reviewed section with reviews of latest works about history of book culture, chronicle etc. The journal is intended to professionals from the fields of history of book culture, history of human society, auxiliary sciences of history and other related scientific fields.
Article 2
EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE JOURNAL
1. The editorial staff consists of an editor-in-chief and an executive editor.
2. The responsible editor is the director of the Department of Administration and Processing of HBD and HBC, who:
a) suggests the members of Editorial Board and submits them to the general director of SNL for nomination;
b) is responsible for the concept, editorial plan and content of the journal;
c) coordinates the work of the executive editor;
d) oversees compliance with the publication deadline.
3. The executive editor is an employee of the named department, who:
a) ensures the implementation of the concept and editorial plan of the journal;
b) adheres to the preparation and production schedule;
c) accepts manuscripts and ensures communication with authors;
d) administers documents for concluding copyright contracts with authors;
e) with the approval of the editorial board, entrusts the reviewers with the preparation of a written review of the submitted scientific article and determines the date of its submission, in case of a manuscript by an internal employee, the reviewer must be from an external environment;
f) in cooperation with the authors and the SNL publishing house, selects and secures image materials;
g) in cooperation with the SNL publishing house ensures language proofreading of manuscripts and technical editing;
h) supervises the completeness of the submitted articles.
4. Editor-in-chief and an executive editor also:
a) decide on the publication/non-publication of contributions, while they are obliged to respect the conclusions of the review process/editorial board;
b) consult and coordinate their activities with the head of the SNL publishing house – the SNL publishing house is in charge of technical editorial within the journal.
Article 3
EDITORIAL BOARD
1. The editorial board (hereinafter EB) is an advisory body of the editors that guarantees the scientific level of the journal.
2. The editorial board consists of:
a) the chairman – employee of SNL appointed by editor-in-chief;
b) members – there must be at least 10 members of EB.
3. The chairman of the EB manages the board’s activities and represents it externally.
4. Membership in the EB is voluntary, free of charge and non-replaceable, it expires upon relinquishing membership in the EB.
5. The EB:
a) helps and advises the editors;
b) supervises the concept of the journal;
c) suggests the selection of relevant topics;
d) recommends suitable authors and reviewers;
e) actively plans the further development of the journal and takes measures to ensure better functioning of editorial staff and the EB.
6. The chairman of the EB:
a) submits manuscripts to members of the EB for reviewing;
b) calls a meeting of the EB and proposes its programme;
c) processes documents for meeting of the EB;
d) is responsible for the activity of the EB;
e) informs members of the EB with the results of the reviewing process and passes them over to the executive editor.
7. Members of the EB:
a) participate in the meetings of the EB;
b) submits proposals for concept of the journal and plans for the further development;
c) decide on the content and scientific contribution of submitted manuscripts;
d) comment on the call for papers and topics of submitted manuscripts;
e) comment on the decision of publishing/non-publishing of the manuscript with regard to the reviewing process.
Article 4
EDITORIAL BOARD – RULES OF PROCEDURE
1. The EB meets at least once a year according to the current needs of the editorial office. The board meeting can also take place online.
2. The EB is convened by the Chairman of the EB by means of a written invitation, which must be delivered to the members of the EB no later than 5 working days before the scheduled meeting, together with the materials intended for the meeting.
3. The EB has a quorum if the majority of its members are present.
4. The meeting of the EB is chaired by the Chairman of EB, while the executive editor of the journal also participates in the meeting of the EB. The General Director of SNL and SNL employees designated by him/her may participate in the EB meeting, and they may comment on the discussed topics.
5. The EB decides by voting, unless one of its members requests a secret vote. In the case of a request for a secret ballot, the proposal is voted on first. A majority of the present members of the EB is required to make a decision, in case of equality of votes, the vote of Chairman of the EB is decisive.
6. Minutes of the EB meeting are prepared, it contains the date and place of the meeting, the names and surnames of the members present, the program of the meeting, a brief recording of the debate, the adopted decision and the signature of the Chairman of the EB.
7. Material costs associated with the activities of the EB are covered from the SNL budget.
Article 5
REVIEW PROCESS
1. All published scientific papers must go through an independent review process.
2. The review process is anonymous (double-blind peer review) – the names of authors and reviewers are not known to each other.
3. The reviewer is obliged to evaluate the manuscript objectively, according to his/her best knowledge and conscience.
4. The reviewer prepares a review according to the review procedure form provided by the editors.
5. The reviewer is entitled to a fee for preparing the review, the amount of which will be specified in more detail in the concluded licence agreement.
Article 6
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF AUTHORS
1. The author is obliged to submit the manuscript by the editorial deadline, edited it according to the requirements of the editors specified in the guidelines for authors.
2. The author has the right to familiarize himself/herself with the result of the review process and to correct his/her manuscript according to the instructions of the reviewers or the EB.
3. The author is obliged to respect the result of the review process and the decision of the editors to publish/not publish the manuscript.
Article 7
PUBLICATION ETHICS
1. The editors have the full right to reject a manuscript that does not correspond to the thematic focus of the journal or does not meet the basic prerequisites of scientific work.
2. The author undertakes that the content of the submitted contribution is original, it is the output of his/her original scientific research. He/She also proclaims that it has not been published so far and that all sources used are properly cited. In case, that the author follows up on his/her previous papers/research, these must be specifically listed among the sources.
3. The author is obliged to disclose all financial resources that supported the research and writing process.
4. In the case of co-authorship, the names of the authors are listed in the order that corresponds to their scope of work on the given manuscript.
5. The reviewer undertakes to avoid personal criticism in the review process. Any criticism should be constructive, supplemented by clear argumentation. At the same time, he/she is obliged to point out any possible conflict of interests (direct cooperation with the author, competition, etc.). It is also his/her duty to keep the review process anonymous.
Article 8
FINAL PROVISIONS
1. The changes of this document are approved by the Director General of.
2. An integral part of this statute is Annex no. 1: Review form for the reviewer.
3. This statute enters into force on the date of signature.
In Martin, on 18th April 2024
Ing. Ivana Kostrabová
general director of SNL