About

The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada publishes original articles and notes in the field of bibliography and/or the history of the book, a field encompassing not only printed works, but also studies on authorship, digital humanities, copyright, reading, textual studies, etc.   

Editorial policy and ethics

Focus and Scope

The purpose of the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada is to publish original articles and notes in the field of bibliography and/or the history of the book, a field broadly construed to include printing and publishing history, studies of authorship, print culture studies, digital humanities, copyright history, the history of reading, textual studies, scholarly editing, library history, historical bibliography, descriptive/analytic bibliography, communications studies, media history, and any literary or historical research that takes particular account of the material forms of texts. The journal does not publish enumerative bibliographies (lists of publications on specialized topics). It is open to research on any time period or geographical region.

Peer Review Process

Every article and note published in the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada undergoes rigorous double-blind evaluation by two experts. In the case of extreme disagreement, the editor solicits a third opinion. Evaluators assess the submission on (i) the originality of its contribution to the field, (ii) the soundness of its scholarly method, and (iii) the clarity of its writing (organization, style, diction, and grammar) and make one of the following recommendations: (a) accept, (b) accept with minor revisions, (c) accept with major revisions, or (d) reject. Poor writing alone is sufficient grounds for rejection. Detailed indications of ways in which the submission could be improved are welcome. In all cases, evaluators are encouraged to limit themselves to remarks that the author will find constructive; unnecessarily harsh commentary will not be forwarded. The editor then chooses whether to accept or reject the submission and communicates this decision to the author along with the evaluations. In the former case, the author is given a deadline for submission of the revised text. The editor works with the author to ensure that all points raised by the evaluators are sufficiently addressed before publication. In some cases, rejected articles may be suitable for revision and resubmission as a note.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides open access to all of its electronic content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. There are no article processing charges for publishing in Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada.

Author Self-Archiving Policy

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work 

Publication Frequency

The Papers/Cahiers is published once a year. Special editions are published on an occasional basis.

See also our Journal site at https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/bsc/about 

Editorial board

Editor, Papers/Cahiers: Dr. Chris J. Young, University of Toronto Mississauga
Review Editor (English) Papers/Cahiers: Rachel Harris, Concordia University 
Review Editor (French) Papers/Cahiers: Marie Chartrand-Caulet, McGill University 
Journal Manager: Sarah Severson, University of Alberta

Layout Editor: Sarah Shaughnessy, University of Alberta

Publications Committee, Chair: Dr. Ruth Panofsky, Toronto Metropolitan University 

Editorial Board / Comité de redaction

Cecily Devereux, University of Alberta
Brendan Edwards, Queen’s University
Carole Gerson, Simon Fraser University
Agnes Juhasz-Ormsby, Memorial University
Val Lem, Toronto Metropolitan University
Adrien Rannaud, University of Toronto Mississauga
Ruth-Ellen St. Onge, McMaster University
Josée Vincent, Université de Sherbrooke

2019-2022

Nathalie Cooke, McGill University
Janet Friskney, Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, York University
Erik Kwakkel, University of British Columbia

2018-2021

Robert Desmarais, University of Alberta
Myra J. Tawfik, University of Windsor
Jocelyne Thompson, University of New Brunswick

2017-2020

Dr. Claire Battershill, University of Toronto
Fiona Black, Dalhousie University
Cecily Devereux, University of Alberta
Marie Korey
Isabelle Robitaille, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec