Certification

In her recent comments re. Certification (posted on Cons DistList
16:38), Alison Luxner  said, "The American Institute for
Conservation does not have a juried publication. The research and
articles we publish do not pass a formal peer review." In fact,
articles contributed to JAIC are subjected to peer review.

Earlier this year I sent JAIC an article that underwent such review.
It was accepted for publication provided that I revise it
extensively in specific ways. The editor who notified me of this
decision enclosed a page of typed comments from my peer reviewer,
someone who chose to be anonymous (to the author, but of course not
to JAIC's editors). Rewriting my article to comply with the
requirements of both an editor and a peer reviewer is an arduous
task, but the experience convinces me that it can vastly improve an
article that is intended to help other conservators in their own
work. I am proud of AIC and grateful to JAIC's volunteer editors for
supporting a peer-reviewed journal.

Evidently Ms. Luxner considers it important that conservation
articles and research be published in a trustworthy form. So do I!
The more that we acknowledge our field's peer-reviewed journals and
contribute to them, the more we will all benefit.

Jean D. Portell
13 Garden Place
Brooklyn, NY 11201


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:39
                Distributed: Tuesday, December 10, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-16-39-013
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