Documents Related to the Preparation of Online State Encyclopedias

In August 2001, NEH hosted a meeting of representatives from projects that received planning grants to develop online state encyclopedias. At the meeting, participants discussed the range of issues that should be considered in the planning stages, including how to develop the content of a state encyclopedia, establish editorial procedures, and determine the appropriate staffing patterns for such a project.

At the conclusion of the meeting, participants asked that the NEH post on its website a series of documents developed by other encyclopedia projects--guidelines for authors, procedures for review and verification, contracts with authors, and other administrative materials--that would help new projects design their own procedures.

The Division of Preservation and Access has collected a series of documents contributed by encyclopedia projects funded by the Endowment. These documents are the property of the individual projects and should be used only for reference. They may not be reproduced or disseminated without the expressed consent of their creators. We hope to add other resource materials in the future.

The Endowment appreciates the contributions of the following projects: The Encyclopedia of New York State, The Encyclopedia of New Jersey, The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History, The Encyclopedia of Chicago History, The Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, The Encyclopedia of the Midwest, and The Encyclopedia of New England Culture.

We also thank the Indiana Humanities Council and the Polis Center for sharing a document that outlines the process and schedule of work required to develop a viable plan for the creation of an online encyclopedia of Indiana.

For more information about the Online State Encyclopedia Initiative, please contact Helen C. Agüera and Joseph Herring or contact NEH's Division of Preservation and Access, Room 411, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20506, Telephone 202-606-8570, Fax 202-606-8639, Email: preservation@neh.gov.

Unless otherwise noted, all documents are rich text format (.rtf).

Encyclopedia of Chicago History

• Basic Guide
  
• Contributor Contract
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Date Pages
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Neighborhood and Community Entries

Encyclopedia of the Great Plains

• Acceptance Card
  
• Contributor Contract
  
• Contributor Invitation Letter
  
• Contributor Information Card
  
• Revision Follow-up Letter
  
• Delinquent Submission Letter
  
• Overdue Submission Letter
  
• Contributor Instruction Letter

Encyclopedia of the Midwest

• Assistant Editor Job Description
  
• Author's Guide to Manuscript Preparation
  
• Author Agreement
  
• Guide for Illustrations
  
• General Editors' Responsibilties
  
• Manuscript Preparation Guide
  
• Managing Editor's Responsibilities
  
• Senior Consulting Editor's Responsibilities
  
• Style Sheet

Encyclopedia of New England Culture

• Guidelines for Authors of City Entries
  
• Contributor's Agreement/Contract
  
• Guidelines for Contributors
  
• Invitation Letter
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Literature Entries
  
• Precis/Philosophy
  
• Senior Consultant Instruction Letter
  
• Senior Consultant Editing Sheet

Encyclopedia of New Jersey

• Author Guidelines

Encyclopedia of New York State

• Content and Copy Editing Manual
  
• Project Manual

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History

• Guidelines for Authors of Articles on American Indian Tribal Groups
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Entries on Artistic/Literary Works/Objects
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Biographical Sketches
  
• Publication Agreement
  
• Contribution Form
  
• Guidelines for Authors of County Entries
  
• Criteria for Inclusion
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Articles on Economic Activities/Commodities
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Articles on Racial, Cultural, and Ethnic Groups
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Entries on Historical Events
  
• Guidelines for Contributors
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Entries on Geographical Features
  
• House Style Sheet
  
• How To Set Up and Conduct Regional History Program
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Entries on Institutions/Organizations
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Entries on Legislative Acts/Laws/Legal Cases
  
• Lifecycle of an Entry
  
• Master Topic List (Excel)
  
• Overdue
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Place Entries
  
• Plagiarism Letter
  
• Policies and Procedures for Staff and Consultants
  
• Prospectus
  
• Manual for Community Organizations
  
• Review Verification
  
• Reminder Letter
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Articles on Social/Cultural Topics
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Town Entries
  
• Correspondence Checklist
  
• Guidelines for Authors of Entries on "Words and Phrases" (as definitions)
  

Encyclopedia of Indiana

• Planning Indiana Online

Other Materials

• Presentation by Dan Greenstein--August 10, 2001 (Text version)
• Presentation by Dan Greenstein--August 10, 2001 (Power Point Presentation)