Objective 1 (Content):
Attract and publish the best scholarship on education of interest to those teaching subject matter in library and information science.

The content of JELIS needs to reflect accurately the high quality research being conducted in the area of LIS education. To do this, JELIS needs to draw attention to the high-quality scholarship that is being conducted within LIS. To ensure JELIS is attracting and publishing this work necessitates aggressively seeking high-quality manuscripts through individual contact with potential authors; an active editorial board performing similar outreach to potential authors; conscientious selection of peer reviewers for articles; careful monitoring of the peer review process; and active editorial intervention to work with authors through multiple revisions to assist authors in developing their work.

The content of JELIS needs to reflect the full spectrum of “education for library and information science,” from library science, through library-and-information-science, to information science. In addition, it needs to include education at the undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and continuing/lifelong levels. In the above paragraph, we noted the need to reach out aggressively to individual authors within our field; here we conclude that outreach is also needed to other communities that perform research in these subject areas and at these levels.

In addition to research articles, JELIS needs to include content aligned with the logical and functional needs of a community of educators. This means not only including reviews of books that are closely focused toward the content of the journal, but also thinking about expanding to include alerts about and evaluations of other tools of LIS education including course materials, pedagogical tools and techniques, and technologies for course delivery both inside the physical classroom and out.

Objective 2 (Publicity):
Enhance the reputation of the journal by expanding its readership and the scope and quality of its contributors.

JELIS should be publicized to all the potential audience and contributor groups listed above across the publication spectrum with the goal of expanding the readership of the journal. Expanding the readership is an effective strategy to increase citability of the articles published in the journal. As readership and citation improve, the reputation of the journal will be enhanced. A first step in this direction is to make the contents of the journal widely known when new issues are made available. It is key that e-mail table-of-contents (TOC) alerts are available and widely circulated beyond the association’s mailing lists to the mailing lists of cognate educational, professional and multi-disciplinary organizations. While mailing lists are currently the predominant dissemination channels for this type of information, planning needs to begin to accommodate emerging systems that change as the Web environment changes (e.g., RSS feeds, social networking, and social bookmarking sites). We will also explore the concept of limited electronic release of a selected feature article from each issue for open electronic access prior to the publication of the issue itself. Pre-publication is an effective strategy for promoting readership and demonstrating the progress made in quality enhancement that may encourage non-subscribers to become regular readers.

Attracting a broad range of high-quality contributors with appropriate expertise and interests also requires a concerted effort at publicity. The social networks that have supported JELIS in the past represent a true strength of the journal as it approaches change and transformation. These networks need to be expanded to include new membership representing the expanding expertise and interests of LIS education. Publicity will be necessary to recruit scholars who have not previously authored, reviewed, or otherwise contributed to the journal. E-mail lists and other electronic dissemination channels can be used to support this goal to some extent, but active participation at educational, professional, and disciplinary conferences is also necessary to convince the best scholars to become engaged in this effort.

Objective 3 (Indexing):
Enhance the reputation of the journal through establishing a recognized impact-factor.

In 2008, JELIS was indexed by H.W. Wilson (via Library Literature and Information Science Fulltext and via Education Fulltext) and by EBSCO (via the Academic Search products), Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts and INSPEC. This is an excellent base from which to work in terms of publicizing the journal and enhancing its readership, but it leaves open the job of establishing its impact. ISI has not included JELIS in its impact-factor computations. As the new editors of JELIS, we will need to consider whether to aggressively pursue ISI representation or to focus our efforts on taking foresightful advantage of the opportunities that are emerging as the Open Access Journal movement grows. GoogleScholar is just one of many resources that are providing alternatives to measuring the readership and impact of journal publication. In all likelihood, we will want to have a foot in both camps during the transition, but always with an eye to the future.

Objective 4 (Access):
Explore the opportunities and threats of the Open Access Journal movement.

JELIS is currently a print publication with electronic full text availability limited to post-publication. In addition to the expense, print publication increases the time to publication, which has a negative affect on the willingness of scholars seeking tenure and promotion to contribute. Increased time to publication may also affect the relevance of a publication, and therefore negatively affect an article’s readership and citability potential. JASIST has recently moved to simultaneous print and electronic publication, and other LIS print journals are likely to follow suit. There is little evidence of participation of the major LIS journals in the Open Access Journal movement, but this movement is certainly gaining in influence in many fields, particularly those in which establishing claims to knowledge and time to publication are important. It may not be economically feasible for JELIS to move to simultaneous print and electronic publication, but skipping this intermediate stage may afford the journal with the opportunity for leadership in the field as regards participation in the Open Access Journal movement. The threats and opportunities of participation in the Open Access Journal movement need to be explored, and editorial practices aligned now so that JELIS will be positioned to make the appropriate move at the appropriate time.