The Board of Regents established the Florida State University Press (see FSU Press) in 1968. The Press continues the program of scholarly publications begun by the FSU Studies in 1949. In 1973, the Press became a member of the State University System publishing consortium, University Presses of Florida, established by the Board of Regents as a Type I Institute. Under this arrangement, the University continues to select manuscripts for its won imprint and maintains its own publishing budget. Manufacturing, advertising, and vending services are provided by a central production facility located at the University of Florida. Publications of the Florida State University Press are selected by the University's Academic Press and Publications Board (see Section 6.7.2 below). The Director of the Florida State University Press serves as Director of the Board. Manuscripts and inquiries should be addressed to the Director.
The quality of the publications issued under a university imprimatur is one of the prime determinants of its intellectual stature. A strong and vital university requires excellence in its publications. To promote such excellence, policies establishing standards for publications in the name of The Florida State University are necessary. In addition, it is necessary to assure that only the most intellectually (academically) qualified claimants receive the limited resources available for Florida State University publications.
l. Purposes
To monitor publications and promote high standards for all publications that are to bear an FSU imprint, an Academic Press and Publications Board is established. Its organization shall be as follows:
2. The responsibilities and evaluations procedures of the APPB are as follows:
(1) The Academic Press and Publications Board selects all books for publication by the Florida State University Press. Manuscripts submitted to the Press are subjected to the standard critical evaluation procedures used by academic presses in the United States, i.e., peer reviews by scholars outside the University and usually outside the University System. Prior to outside peer review, manuscripts receive initial evaluations by members of the Board and/or FSU faculty members specializing in the subject matter of the manuscript. The Board may decline a given manuscript at any point in the review process. The Board votes publication of books solely on the basis of their merit (given reasonable expectation that their production costs can be recovered through sales). The Board will consider manuscripts in any academic discipline but has established the following general statement of policy for the Press: "The Florida State University Press does not ordinarily publish fiction, poetry, memoirs, symposia, festschriften, textbooks, reprints, or unrevised doctoral dissertations unless these are of exceptional quality." The current editorial program of the Press emphasizes history, literary theory and criticism, philosophy, social theory, policy sciences, ecology, and books from various disciplines, including the natural sciences, relating to environmental questions and public policy for the State of Florida and the southeastern United States.
(2) Copy-editing services are provided by University Presses of Florida; substantive editing or rewriting required before copy-editing is the responsibility of the Florida State University Press. The Florida State University Press assumes the costs of publication. Manufacturing, promotion, and distribution are ordinarily handled by University Presses of Florida.
(3) The Academic Press and Publications Board is responsible for broad policies governing all scholarly publications--books, monographs, and journals--bearing the FSU imprint.
(1) Proposals for the establishment of scholarly journals to bear the FSU imprint should include detailed analysis of the economic prospects of the journal, the size of the group to which it is addressed, the nature and expected number of subscribers, as well as its impact on the University. Moreover, it must specify editorial board members who have agreed to participate in evaluating manuscripts, the majority of whom ordinarily must be from off campus. In addition, the proposal must include budget and expected growth pattern to assure a minimum return of 50 percent of the journal's cost by the end of the third year and financial self-sufficiency by the end of the fifth year.
(2) The proposals must be submitted to and approved by the appropriate departmental, area, and college committees. If the initial screening for the proposed journal indicates that the foregoing requirements can be met, the complete proposal, evaluation, and recommendations will be sent by the School or College Dean to the Director of the Board, who will refer it to the Board.
(3) Once the proposal for the creation of a new journal has been received by the Board, it will normally be forwarded to appropriate outside consultants for review. In particular, the consultants should address the need for the journal and the likelihood that it will make a significant long-term contribution to the given area of study. Moreover, the particular contribution it is expected to make must be noted along with the stature and objectivity of the editor and editorial board, and a prognosis of its likely success. When the consultants' reports are received they will be reviewed by the Board along with other substantiating material. The Board, through its Director, shall forward its recommendations to the Dean, Graduate Studies, for appropriate action.
(4) The Board shall review the progress, quality, and economic status of the given journal after three years and thereafter on a five-year basis. It shall determine whether the journal has a balanced point of view, assuring that it has not become a house organ for FSU faculty. It shall then recommend either continuance, perhaps with modifications, or termination.
(1) Single monographs of the various FSU institutes and departments, not to include technical reports, pre- prints, working papers, etc., if offered to the Florida State University Press for publication, shall be considered according to the procedures followed by the Board for regular book-length manuscripts. In addition, the Board may offer to publish approved monographs prepared by FSU departments and institutes. In either case, the department or institute sponsoring the monograph is expected to supply full funding.
(2) A proposal for establishing a monograph series shall follow the same procedures as those for the establishment of a journal. (These policies in effect June 1984)