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SUGGESTIONS FOR CONTRIBUTORS TO
THE CHICAGO ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MAMLUK STUDIES
Contributions should be definitive in the sense that they reflect completely and accurately the current state of our knowledge of a particular topic. Where significant differences of interpretation exist, they should be indicated.
Writers must be mindful that this is an encyclopedia focusing on Mamluk studies. All articles should be cast within the context of Mamluk studies. In the beginning, we will concentrate on topics not covered sufficiently or, in some cases, not covered at all in the Encyclopaedia of Islam. When there is a definitive article in the EI, we will not replicate it, but will reference it, until the time when new information is available.
While authors should strive to make articles succinct in conventional “encyclopedia” style, the length of an article will be left to the judgment of the author. Because the Encyclopedia is an electronic as opposed to a print publication, the issue of constraints on space is less important. The editors reserve the right to edit and shorten contributions if they deem it necessary.
Each article should begin with a lead paragraph or two defining the topic and placing it in an appropriate context. Keep in mind the journalist’s mantra: who, what, when, where, why, how.
At the end of each article, the author should fully cite a bibliography of the basic primary and secondary sources. Primary sources and secondary literature should be listed separately, not mixed together. There are, of course, limits, and a "full" bibliography will not be practical for all topics. Bibliography entries should follow the formats outlined in the Mamluk Studies Review editorial and style guidelines. The editors of the Encyclopedia are hoping a method can be devised so that a link inserted at the end of each article will produce all the appropriate citations from the Chicago On-Line Bibliography of Mamluk Studies. In this case, it will only be necessary for the editors to verify that the bibliographical citations at the end of the article also appear in the Bibliography. They can then be eliminated from the text of the Encyclopedia. This is a future development, and does not affect authors at this time.
Arabic names and terms must be romanized in accordance with the system employed by the Library of Congress. Turkish names present particular problems. Our practice will be to use the Arabicized version. Reference can also be made to the Turkish form, if the author believes it is useful. When there is a question about vocalization that cannot be resolved, the editors will make an arbitrary decision. This is necessary so that the Encyclopedia can be fully searchable. Questions of style and usage will follow the practice of Mamluk Studies Review. A romanization table appears on the last page of all issues of MSR and can also be found in the MSR editorial and style guidelines, (a PDF file).
The editors encourage the inclusion of graphs, maps, photos, or other illustrations, when useful or necessary. If the author of an article wants to submit graphics with the article, he or she must make the case to the editors for inclusion of such material. Special instructions will then be given in order to make this possible. Submitted graphics files which do not conform to the requirements will not be considered. In general, no graphics file should be less than 300dpi in resolution, and tiff is the preferred file type (jpg files are strongly discouraged). Scans or photos of printed material or existing photos should (if possible) make use of an original, not a copy or previous scan, as each generation adds defects to the image. Authors must include captions for all graphics, including identification of the image's content, information about the image's origin, and credit to the source, photographer, or artist. The editors can not be responsible for obtaining permission to use copyrighted materials: it is the responsibility of the author to secure such permission.
Each article should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document on a labeled CD accompanied by a printed copy (or PDF file). The printed copy (or PDF) should have full and correct diacritical marks (which may be written in by hand if necessary). If Unicode is not used, two versions of the file should be included on the disk: one with diacritics and one without.
NOTE: If Unicode is used, the file may be submitted as an .rtf file (Rich Text Format), rather than Word. This is a more versatile format, and can be created by a number of programs, including Word, TextEdit (Mac), and others.
As the Encyclopedia is being published using Unicode encoding, authors are STRONGLY encouraged to do so as well. This is easily done in current operating systems and software. Further information is given here.
© The University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street Chicago Illinois 60637
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