Minnesota Memo Editorial Policies

Last Modified: 22 November 2007

Article 1.

The submission deadline for Memo articles shall be the 15th of the month prior to the month that contains a quarterly membership meeting. Based on our current calendar, Memo submission deadlines are 15 December, 15 March, 15 June, and 15 September.

RATIONALE: The Editorial Committee needs some amount of time for editing, collation, review, production, and distribution of the Memo. Since The Memo also constitutes notification to the membership of upcoming general membership meetings as required by our bylaws, Article 4, Section 4, the audio tape, large print, and Braille copies of the Memo must be mailed in time to reach members by the 10-day minimum notification date.

Article 1a.

If an article author knows that an article will not be submitted by the submission deadlines specified in Article 1, the article author shall communicate with the Editorial Committee in any format and request a submission extension.

RATIONALE: Some circumstances may occur that will cause an article author to exceed the submission deadline. Communication with the Editorial Committee will allow the committee to assess the impact of the late submission.

Article 2.

Submissions received after the deadline defined in Article 1shall be included in or excluded from the Memo at the discretion of the Editorial Committee.

RATIONALE: See item 1 above.

Article 3.

Multiple submissions by a single author for a specific edition of the Memo may or may not be included in the current edition of the Memo at the discretion of the Editorial Committee.

RATIONALE: Multiple submissions by a single author may provide a specific slant or bias on a subject or subjects so that the overall tenor of the Memo may appear slanted or biased. Submissions that are not used in a specific edition of the Memo will be retained for consideration in subsequent editions of the Memo.

Article 4.

It is the responsibility of the submitter to retain a copy of the submission for her or his records.

RATIONALE: The Editorial Committee does not provide a storage service for the article submitter.

Article 5.

Memo submissions should be no more than 500 words. The Editorial Committee reserves the right to edit any Memo submissions for length, clarity, and content.

RATIONALE: Some submissions may be of such length or content that judicious editing by the Editorial Committee is required to remove specific slants and biases or limit length based on Memo publication constraints. Also, where the intent of the submitter is not clear, the Editorial Committee will contact the submitter to seek clarification rather than guessing as to the submitter’s intent.

Article 6.

Article submitters will be notified when any of the following actions occur as it relates to the current edition of the Memo.

1. Receipt of the article from the submitter
2. Acceptance of the article for the current edition of the Memo by the Editorial Committee
3. Rejection of the article - a reason for rejection will be provided
4. Retention of the article for a future edition of the Memo

RATIONALE: Any article submitted for publication in the Memo must be acknowledged, as a matter of courtesy, by the Editorial Committee.

Article 7.

Any article submitted for Memo publication consideration must be approved for publication by the Editorial Committee.

RATIONALE: The Editorial Committee must work in concert and reach a consensus decision regarding article inclusion, editing, and length in any edition of the Memo.