Charge

The Journal Committee of the Publications Committee is charged with performing some or all of the following tasks:

• Evaluate and respond quickly to proposals for new journals. Make recommendations on new journal proposals to the Vice President for Publications, SIAM Board, and SIAM Council.
• Analyze the journal program to ensure that subject areas covered adequately reflect the needs of the SIAM membership and the applied mathematics, scientific computing, and computational science communities at large and that the journals remain current with the changes in those and related fields.
• Monitor journal editorial board structures to ensure that the models used best serve the authors and editors.
• Analyze and recommend effective ways to integrate the Internet into the publications program, such as electronic-only supplements to journal articles.
• Monitor free vs. fee-based delivery mechanisms for print and electronic publications.

Questions that the Journal Committee should revisit periodically include:

• What is the mission of the suite of SIAM journals? How can SIAM journals best serve this mission?
• How much control should EICs have over the editorial policy of their journal?
• Should guidelines be established about rejecting papers without review when those papers are perceived to fall outside the scope of the journal?

These are just some of the issues related to the SIAM journal program that could be analyzed and evaluated; others may arise in the course of committee discussions.

Members of the Journal Committee will be appointed by the President in consultation with the Vice President for Publications. Members will serve three-year terms, renewable once with the approval of the President. 

Under normal circumstances the committee Chair will serve a three-year term, renewable once with the approval of the President.

The committee reports to the VP for Publications. The committee will annually present a report to the VP for Publications. The VP for Publications will serve ex officio on the committee but will not chair it. Much of the committee's discussion will take place by phone and email, but one face-to-face meeting per year would be beneficial.