Guidelines for Contributors

Notes for Contributors to Publications or Journal

The Forum welcomes articles on any aspect of Renfrewshire’s history, archaeology or heritage for consideration for publication in the annual Journal, or in pamphlet, book or digital form. Disks and articles will be returned if requested. Content and References  The Forum is committed to maintaining a high standard of publication.

While articles do not need to be serious or scholarly, they do require to consist of new research or new discoveries (whether in written sources or fieldwork) and should be referenced where appropriate. A list of references should be placed as endnotes to the typescript, corresponding to numbers in the text. It would be helpful if they could take the following form: author, title, date, publisher, place of publication – e.g. Wilson, J. General View of the Agriculture of Renfrewshire (Paisley 1816). Newspapers should be titled and dated and the author’s name given if available. Please note that accuracy of references is the responsibility of the author. Submitting articles  In the first instance articles should be submitted in hard copy form (ie typed on A4 paper).

It would also be helpful if typescript is accompanied by a 3.5 inch disk (A USB Memory Stick or on CD is now prefered) in a common word processing formats. Please indicate on a disk label your name, address, title of article, date of preparation and name of the word processing package used.

Text versions may alternatively be e-mailed and a current Forum e-mail address can be provided on request.

Presentation

Your article should be typed on one side of A4 paper, double spaced. It would be helpful if you could check your typescript carefully before sending it off, both for content and typographical errors. It should also contain the following: Title of the article/ work Name of the author(s), with brief autobiography – any publications, membership of societies, research undertaken, and current post if relevant. Name, address, telephone number (and e-mail if relevant).

Copyright

An article is accepted for publication on the understanding that it has not previously been published elsewhere or submitted simultaneously to another journal.  Copyright remains with the authors and with Renfrewshire Local History Forum. The usual restrictions on copying apply, by which multiple copying is illegal. No part of the publication may be reproduced (except for educational purposes) without the permission of the author of the article and the Forum.

Past and future Journals will shortly be published on the Forum’s website and authors should state clearly if by any chance they do not wish their article to be made available in this form.

Illustrations and Quality

Illustrations will add to your article and at least one illustration, table or map is recommended for any article. It would be helpful if suggested captions could be included. Photographs and other illustrations may also be acceptable. However reproduction of illustrations depends upon the form and quality of the final publication, and the funds available. For the Journal, black and white line drawings are preferable. The Forum reserves the right to refuse illustrations if sufficient quality of reproduction is unlikely to be achieved in the intended media. The final published form will be agreed in consultation with the author(s) and will depend upon the content and funds available. The cover, lettering and design of publications should as far as possible conform to a uniform pattern so that they can be readily identified as Renfrewshire Local History Forum publications. Details can be provided on request.

Reproduction of borrowed illustrations

Permission to reproduce materials (illustrations and tables) where copyright still exists must be obtained from the original publishers and authors, and should accompany the submission. Borrowed material should be acknowledged in this style: ‘Reproduced by kind permission of … publishers or holders of copyright)’.