Focus and scope
The sections of the journal and the types of work that will be included in each are described below.
Editor's Note
It will collect expressions from the editor about the contents and organization of the journal, outstanding collaborations, short-term events or any other matter on which it is considered useful to get the reader's attention.
Articles (peer review) (with Section Editor)
It may include:
1. Articles resulting from research (from scientific research projects financed with public or private funds) or original studies that provide a contribution to the disciplines of the journal.
2. Articles whose objective is to solve practical problems, contribute to technological progress and also communicate new knowledge. They can be works of applied research or that present new teaching methods, without necessarily being unpublished results.
Essays (peer review) (with Section Editor)
It may include preferably academic works (although the literary essay or photo essay is not excluded) in which the author freely exposes his arguments to support his opinions on a subject related to the studies of information and communication.
Common space (with Section Editor)
It may include collaborations of different professional associations, national or international (or their chapters in Puerto Rico) and communities of active practice.
Praise the conversation (with Section Editor)
It will include interviews or exchanges on topics related to the studies of information and communication, with the participation of professionals and students of library and information science or related disciplines (i.e. Communication, Education, Computer Science, History, Linguistics among others). Interviews will be published in audio or video (not transcripts).
Special Collections (with Section Editor)
It may include works describing documents belonging to rare and valuable book funds, historical archives or museums of national or international institutions.
Reviews (with Section Editor)
It may include reviews of all types of documents, programs and applications, events, exhibitions, as well as information resources and services.
Books published in Puerto Rico (with Section Editor)
It will include a list of books published in Puerto Rico during the year prior to the most recent number.
Acceso is an annual publication of the Sociedad de Bibliotecarios de Puerto Rico (SBPR). It was founded in 1998 by Dr. Haydeé Muñoz Solá, coordinator of the Editorial Board, on behalf of the then president of the SBPR, Dr. Víctor Federico Torres. The founding Editorial Board was made up of Professor Ramón Arroyo Carrión, librarian Antonio Rivera Torres and Dr. Torres himself as an ex-officio member in his capacity as president. Its objective is to disseminate the results of the research effort and creative work, in the field of library and information science, archival science and museum studies, although they also consider works in the broader context of the information and communication studies for publication. Acceso is for professionals, researchers, students and the general public interested in the information field and related topics. The journal adopts the open access modality and does not charge any fees related to the evaluation and publication of its contents (article processing charges).
Description and section policyThe sections of the journal and the types of work that will be included in each are described below.
Editor's Note
It will collect expressions from the editor about the contents and organization of the journal, outstanding collaborations, short-term events or any other matter on which it is considered useful to get the reader's attention.
Articles (peer review) (with Section Editor)
It may include:
1. Articles resulting from research (from scientific research projects financed with public or private funds) or original studies that provide a contribution to the disciplines of the journal.
2. Articles whose objective is to solve practical problems, contribute to technological progress and also communicate new knowledge. They can be works of applied research or that present new teaching methods, without necessarily being unpublished results.
Essays (peer review) (with Section Editor)
It may include preferably academic works (although the literary essay or photo essay is not excluded) in which the author freely exposes his arguments to support his opinions on a subject related to the studies of information and communication.
Common space (with Section Editor)
It may include collaborations of different professional associations, national or international (or their chapters in Puerto Rico) and communities of active practice.
Praise the conversation (with Section Editor)
It will include interviews or exchanges on topics related to the studies of information and communication, with the participation of professionals and students of library and information science or related disciplines (i.e. Communication, Education, Computer Science, History, Linguistics among others). Interviews will be published in audio or video (not transcripts).
Special Collections (with Section Editor)
It may include works describing documents belonging to rare and valuable book funds, historical archives or museums of national or international institutions.
Reviews (with Section Editor)
It may include reviews of all types of documents, programs and applications, events, exhibitions, as well as information resources and services.
Books published in Puerto Rico (with Section Editor)
It will include a list of books published in Puerto Rico during the year prior to the most recent number.
Guide to submit collaborations
The Editorial Board may make the decision to publish works related to other disciplines, as long as they have some connection with the aforementioned fields. Works that have been previously published will not be accepted for what it presupposes, in addition, that the author will not simultaneously submit it to the consideration of other similar publications, be they printed or electronic. Acceso does not undertake to publish all the works it receives. The Editorial Board may reject works or decide the date for publication in future issues, which will be communicated directly to the authors. If the author wishes to have his article returned, if it is not accepted for publication, he must notify so to the Editorial Board. Works written in Spanish or English will be accepted.
The Editorial Board may make the decision to publish works related to other disciplines, as long as they have some connection with the aforementioned fields. Works that have been previously published will not be accepted for what it presupposes, in addition, that the author will not simultaneously submit it to the consideration of other similar publications, be they printed or electronic. Acceso does not undertake to publish all the works it receives. The Editorial Board may reject works or decide the date for publication in future issues, which will be communicated directly to the authors. If the author wishes to have his article returned, if it is not accepted for publication, he must notify so to the Editorial Board. Works written in Spanish or English will be accepted.
Rules for manuscripts
The author must observe the grammar correction rules corresponding to the language in which he is writing. The Editorial Board reserves the right to introduce grammar corrections and recommend revisions in the writings, if necessary, including notes and bibliographic records. The proper names, titles and subtitles of the work must observe the correction rules regarding the use of capital letters. If you want to highlight any concept, the italics will be used, never underlining. The extension of the works must not exceed 30 pages, including the summary and the references list. The annexes should be sent as complementary files. The abstract should not exceed 500 words.
The citations, notes and bibliographic records must contain all the elements that allow, with ease, the location of the cited documents, and will be organized according to the rules established in the seventh edition of the American Psychological Association manual (http://www.apastyle.org/). Authors must include persistent links (i.e. DOI) to all resources in the reference list. when it is possible. Authors should send tables, graphs or other types of figures in files separated from the main text of the work. In all cases, the originals of these figures will be perfectly clear and precise. If the work includes photographs, they must be sent optimized in JPEG or PNG format. If audio or video is included, they must be in MP3 and MPEG4 format, respectively. The annexes, graphic or audiovisual material that accompanies the work, must be sent as complementary files.
The author must observe the grammar correction rules corresponding to the language in which he is writing. The Editorial Board reserves the right to introduce grammar corrections and recommend revisions in the writings, if necessary, including notes and bibliographic records. The proper names, titles and subtitles of the work must observe the correction rules regarding the use of capital letters. If you want to highlight any concept, the italics will be used, never underlining. The extension of the works must not exceed 30 pages, including the summary and the references list. The annexes should be sent as complementary files. The abstract should not exceed 500 words.
The citations, notes and bibliographic records must contain all the elements that allow, with ease, the location of the cited documents, and will be organized according to the rules established in the seventh edition of the American Psychological Association manual (http://www.apastyle.org/). Authors must include persistent links (i.e. DOI) to all resources in the reference list. when it is possible. Authors should send tables, graphs or other types of figures in files separated from the main text of the work. In all cases, the originals of these figures will be perfectly clear and precise. If the work includes photographs, they must be sent optimized in JPEG or PNG format. If audio or video is included, they must be in MP3 and MPEG4 format, respectively. The annexes, graphic or audiovisual material that accompanies the work, must be sent as complementary files.
Peer Review Policy
All work submitted for publication will be subject to a peer review process, under the double-blind mode. Initially, the work will be evaluated by two experts in the field. If the reviewers do not match your assessment of the work, it will be submitted to a third evaluator. Based on the opinion of the evaluators, the Editorial Board will decide whether to accept the work as submitted by the author; if you accept it conditionally, subject to the author's attention to the recommendations of the reviewers, or if it is rejected. It is the author's decision to address the reasons why his writing was rejected and submit it again for publication in an upcoming edition. If so, the work will go through a new arbitration process. The evaluators will be professionals considered specialists in the field. The anonymity of both the author and the reviewers will be maintained. The authors will be notified of the definitive acceptance or rejection of the work. In each published work the dates of reception and approval of the same will be indicated.
All work submitted for publication will be subject to a peer review process, under the double-blind mode. Initially, the work will be evaluated by two experts in the field. If the reviewers do not match your assessment of the work, it will be submitted to a third evaluator. Based on the opinion of the evaluators, the Editorial Board will decide whether to accept the work as submitted by the author; if you accept it conditionally, subject to the author's attention to the recommendations of the reviewers, or if it is rejected. It is the author's decision to address the reasons why his writing was rejected and submit it again for publication in an upcoming edition. If so, the work will go through a new arbitration process. The evaluators will be professionals considered specialists in the field. The anonymity of both the author and the reviewers will be maintained. The authors will be notified of the definitive acceptance or rejection of the work. In each published work the dates of reception and approval of the same will be indicated.
Publication Ethics
The publication of articles in peer-reviewed journals is an essential aspect in the process of production and communication of scientific knowledge. Acceso journal is committed to complying with ethical standards at all stages of the publication process. The main responsibilities of the editors, authors and reviewers that serve to guarantee transparency, fairness and reliability in the publication of articles are set out below.
Publisher Responsibilities
Decision making: The editor is responsible for deciding which articles will be published. The decision to accept or reject an article should be based solely on its intellectual content and its thematic relevance for the journal. Under no circumstances may the editor discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, citizenship or ideological positions of the authors. The editor must be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and be subject to legal requirements in relation to issues such as defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor can consult with other editors or reviewers during the decision-making process.
Peer review: The editor must ensure that the peer review process is impartial and fair. Articles will be evaluated by at least two experts in the field. The editor must deal with cases of possible conflicts of interest. The peer review process must be independent of the editor and the authors.
Confidentiality: The editor makes sure to maintain confidentiality regarding the manuscripts submitted for publication during the review process. Information related to manuscripts under review will be shared only with authors, reviewers or editorial advisors and will not be disclosed to third parties unless otherwise agreed with the authors and reviewers. In cases where suspicions of research misconduct arise, the editor may share limited information with editors of other journals. The editor must also protect the identity of the reviewers, unless an open review process is carried out or if the reviewers have decided to disclose their names. All information obtained from unpublished manuscripts must be confidential and may not be used for the personal benefit of the editor.
Declaration of conflicts of interest: Any possible conflict of interest must be declared in writing before the appointment of an editor. The editor must also declare if new conflicts arise.
Metrics: The editor should not influence the ranking of the journals by manipulating the metrics.
Responsibilities of the evaluators
Editorial contributions: Evaluators contribute to maintaining the quality of academic journals and help authors improve their work. If the evaluator does not feel qualified to review a manuscript or if he cannot complete his work, he must notify the editor as soon as possible.
Confidentiality: All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. The evaluators will not share information about the manuscript to third parties and the authors will not be contacted without the permission of the editor. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript should not be used in the research of an evaluator without the express written consent of the author. Inside information or ideas obtained through peer review must be confidential and should not be used for personal gain.
Standards of objectivity and dissemination of conflicts of interest: Manuscript evaluations should be carried out objectively. Personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate. The evaluators must take into account any personal bias and prevent it from influencing the review process. All opinions must be expressed with supporting arguments. The evaluators will consult the editor before agreeing to review a manuscript in which they have potential conflicts of interest as a result of competitive relationships, collaboration or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies or institutions related to the manuscripts.
Recognition of sources and ethical issues: Evaluators must identify published works that have not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation or argument has been previously reported must be accompanied by an appointment. Evaluators should notify the editor if substantial similarities are detected between the manuscript under review and other work published previously.
Responsibilities of the authors
Authorship: Authorship is limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution or interpretation of the work. All those who have made significant contributions must present themselves as co-authors.
Standards: The authors must present an accurate description of their work and an objective discussion of its importance. The data collected must be adequately represented in the work. Papers should include detailed information and references to allow others to replicate the results. Any fraudulent or inaccurate statement is considered unacceptable and constitutes a lack of ethics.
Originality and recognition of sources: The authors are responsible for the content, language and originality of the work. Authors should ensure that they have written a completely original work and have correctly cited the works of others. Plagiarism in all its forms is considered a lack of ethics and is unacceptable.
Grant recognition: All funds obtained for the conduct of an investigation must be properly recognized at the end of the article.
Declaration of conflicts of interest: Authors must disclose any conflict of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their work. All sources of financial support should be disclosed. Some examples of conflicts of interest that should be disclosed with those related to employment, consulting, fees, purchase of shares, paid testimonials, patents or grants. Any potential conflict of interest should be disclosed as soon as possible.
Access and retention of data: Authors may be requested to provide raw data of their research for the review process or to meet open access requirements. Authors should be prepared to provide public access to such data, if possible, and be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable number of years after publication.
Multiple or concurrent publications: Manuscripts submitted for review should not have been submitted to other journals. Submitting the same work to more than one journal is considered a lack of ethics. Authors should ensure that the work has not been previously published in other journals.
Error notification: If the authors discover significant errors in their work, they must immediately notify the editor.
The publication of articles in peer-reviewed journals is an essential aspect in the process of production and communication of scientific knowledge. Acceso journal is committed to complying with ethical standards at all stages of the publication process. The main responsibilities of the editors, authors and reviewers that serve to guarantee transparency, fairness and reliability in the publication of articles are set out below.
Publisher Responsibilities
Decision making: The editor is responsible for deciding which articles will be published. The decision to accept or reject an article should be based solely on its intellectual content and its thematic relevance for the journal. Under no circumstances may the editor discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, citizenship or ideological positions of the authors. The editor must be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and be subject to legal requirements in relation to issues such as defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor can consult with other editors or reviewers during the decision-making process.
Peer review: The editor must ensure that the peer review process is impartial and fair. Articles will be evaluated by at least two experts in the field. The editor must deal with cases of possible conflicts of interest. The peer review process must be independent of the editor and the authors.
Confidentiality: The editor makes sure to maintain confidentiality regarding the manuscripts submitted for publication during the review process. Information related to manuscripts under review will be shared only with authors, reviewers or editorial advisors and will not be disclosed to third parties unless otherwise agreed with the authors and reviewers. In cases where suspicions of research misconduct arise, the editor may share limited information with editors of other journals. The editor must also protect the identity of the reviewers, unless an open review process is carried out or if the reviewers have decided to disclose their names. All information obtained from unpublished manuscripts must be confidential and may not be used for the personal benefit of the editor.
Declaration of conflicts of interest: Any possible conflict of interest must be declared in writing before the appointment of an editor. The editor must also declare if new conflicts arise.
Metrics: The editor should not influence the ranking of the journals by manipulating the metrics.
Responsibilities of the evaluators
Editorial contributions: Evaluators contribute to maintaining the quality of academic journals and help authors improve their work. If the evaluator does not feel qualified to review a manuscript or if he cannot complete his work, he must notify the editor as soon as possible.
Confidentiality: All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. The evaluators will not share information about the manuscript to third parties and the authors will not be contacted without the permission of the editor. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript should not be used in the research of an evaluator without the express written consent of the author. Inside information or ideas obtained through peer review must be confidential and should not be used for personal gain.
Standards of objectivity and dissemination of conflicts of interest: Manuscript evaluations should be carried out objectively. Personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate. The evaluators must take into account any personal bias and prevent it from influencing the review process. All opinions must be expressed with supporting arguments. The evaluators will consult the editor before agreeing to review a manuscript in which they have potential conflicts of interest as a result of competitive relationships, collaboration or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies or institutions related to the manuscripts.
Recognition of sources and ethical issues: Evaluators must identify published works that have not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation or argument has been previously reported must be accompanied by an appointment. Evaluators should notify the editor if substantial similarities are detected between the manuscript under review and other work published previously.
Responsibilities of the authors
Authorship: Authorship is limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution or interpretation of the work. All those who have made significant contributions must present themselves as co-authors.
Standards: The authors must present an accurate description of their work and an objective discussion of its importance. The data collected must be adequately represented in the work. Papers should include detailed information and references to allow others to replicate the results. Any fraudulent or inaccurate statement is considered unacceptable and constitutes a lack of ethics.
Originality and recognition of sources: The authors are responsible for the content, language and originality of the work. Authors should ensure that they have written a completely original work and have correctly cited the works of others. Plagiarism in all its forms is considered a lack of ethics and is unacceptable.
Grant recognition: All funds obtained for the conduct of an investigation must be properly recognized at the end of the article.
Declaration of conflicts of interest: Authors must disclose any conflict of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their work. All sources of financial support should be disclosed. Some examples of conflicts of interest that should be disclosed with those related to employment, consulting, fees, purchase of shares, paid testimonials, patents or grants. Any potential conflict of interest should be disclosed as soon as possible.
Access and retention of data: Authors may be requested to provide raw data of their research for the review process or to meet open access requirements. Authors should be prepared to provide public access to such data, if possible, and be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable number of years after publication.
Multiple or concurrent publications: Manuscripts submitted for review should not have been submitted to other journals. Submitting the same work to more than one journal is considered a lack of ethics. Authors should ensure that the work has not been previously published in other journals.
Error notification: If the authors discover significant errors in their work, they must immediately notify the editor.
Open Access Policy
The journal supports open access to academic production, according to the principles established by the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI). This means that all content is available for free from the date of publication, without charge to the user or his institution. Users can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search or link the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other legal purpose, without requesting prior permission from the publisher or the author. The authors retain the copyright on their works in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. This license allows the distribution and use of publications, as long as the contents are not altered, plagiarism is not committed and used for non-commercial purposes. Users can share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform and build on the material), provided that the following terms are met: Recognition: grant appropriate credit, provide a license link and indicate if changes were made. Non-commercial: You cannot use the material for commercial purposes. It is allowed to obtain and reuse, in any medium and without the need for permits, the metadata of all published documents. OAI-PMH URL: https://revistas.upr.edu/index.php/acceso/oai
Self Archiving Policy
The journal recognizes the importance, in the context of digital culture, of the early availability of published research results, as part of the process of scientific communication and dissemination of knowledge; therefore, it allows and encourages authors to publish the works sent to the journal, both before and after publication, as long as it provides the bibliographic details that accredit their publication in Acceso.
The author can archive the preprint version, until the article is accepted for publication. The author can archive the postprint version, until the article is published. The author can archive the editor's version on his website, institutional repositories, thematic repositories, academic profiles and social networks for scientists and researchers: (1) after the online publication of the article in Access; (2) on non-profit servers; and (3) with a link to (or the URL of) the publisher's version.
Research ethics policy
The Acceso journal adheres to the code of conduct and good practices established by the Publications Ethics Committee (COPE). In addition, it will be governed by the ethical principles and canons of librarians and information professionals as established by the American Library Association.
Plagiarism Detection Policy
The manuscripts submitted to the Acceso journal will be examined to detect the possibility of plagiarism using electronic plagiarism detection tools. The journal will immediately reject articles that represent any kind of plagiarism. If irrefutable evidence of plagiarism is found, an explanation will be required from the person who submitted the article. In case you do not respond in the stipulated time or provide an unsatisfactory explanation, the plagiarist will be unable to submit an article to the journal, for a minimum of five years. In the event that the Editorial Board or the Acceso editor are aware of any possible lack of ethics in the investigation related to an article submitted to (or published in) the journal, COPE guidelines will be followed to address these allegations.
Digital file preservation policy
The journal is part of the Public Knowledge Project's Private LOCKSS Network (PKP-PLN), which generates a decentralized archiving system, distributed among collaborating libraries, in order to create permanent archives of the journal for the conservation of content originals and their restoration if necessary. In turn, additional measures are taken to preserve the files as detailed below.
How will digital content be preserved in case of problems with hardware or software? Several storage options are used to preserve digital content. Publishers keep copies of journal numbers on the institutional server, either in Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive of Microsoft Office 365. The revistas.upr.edu server is backed up daily using a Differential/Incremental policy and on weekends a full backup is executed. In turn, these are replicated to another team located in the Medical Sciences Campus.
The journal is part of the Public Knowledge Project's Private LOCKSS Network (PKP-PLN), which generates a decentralized archiving system, distributed among collaborating libraries, in order to create permanent archives of the journal for the conservation of content originals and their restoration if necessary. In turn, additional measures are taken to preserve the files as detailed below.
How will digital content be preserved in case of problems with hardware or software? Several storage options are used to preserve digital content. Publishers keep copies of journal numbers on the institutional server, either in Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive of Microsoft Office 365. The revistas.upr.edu server is backed up daily using a Differential/Incremental policy and on weekends a full backup is executed. In turn, these are replicated to another team located in the Medical Sciences Campus.
What happens to the published numbers if a magazine decides to stop publishing? Magazines that stop publishing remain in perpetuity on the Portal and remain accessible to users. The description of each journal indicates whether it is no longer published.