3.3 Journals as portals of electronic publication  (Page 2/4)

This recommendation is in part a tactical response to the realities of university promotion and tenure. Booksare required for tenure in art history; depending on the institution, one or two books are expected. But the universityimperative to publish books is at odds with the dynamics of publishing. The problem is not that publishers are abandoning arthistory, but their search for larger, cross-over audiences has disadvantaged monographs that primarily address a subfield andfavored wider-ranging books typically by seasoned scholars. The widespread perception by art historians of a publishing "crisis" isconnected specifically to the declining interest of publishers in scholarly monographs, which is the pertinent, tenure-makinggenre.

The current situation satisfies none of the stakeholders. Junior scholars experience a disconnect between thetypes of scholarly monographs required to demonstrate their expertise and considered appropriate for tenure, and the types ofbooks editors are looking to publish. Publishers insist on the distinction between editorial decisions and judgments of academicquality, which is what tenure is about. They say it is wrong to use publishing choices as a surrogate for tenure review. The universitypress, in other words, should not be the tenure gatekeeper. Senior scholars are caught in the middle. Eager to support juniorcolleagues and former students, they may push for premature publication of manuscripts. Even so, they lament the rush topublish work before it has fully matured, expecting books to meet a high standard of intellectual argument and depth of research.

Despite different perspectives and an unwavering devotion to books, scholars and publishers agree onseveral basic points: not all scholarship is suitable for publication as a book; credentialing considerations are unnecessarily fixated on the format of the book; an expanded rangeof publications, including long articles, would enrich the discipline and benefit scholars; and electronic publications, ifproperly vetted and produced well, ought to be recognized by tenure committees as well as authors as outlets for serious scholarship.These considerations point to the journals of record as viable portals of electronic publication with an expanded range of typesof publication.

The journals rely on a proven, well-respected peer review system that upholds rigorous standards of scholarship.The system involves a large network of scholars that distributes the burden of reviewing and responsibility of enforcingprofessional and scholarly standards across the field.