The main responsibility of the Viewpoint editor is to oversee the publication in February, June, and October of each year of the British Society for the History of Science magazine. This entails deciding on desired content for the 16-page full colour magazine, corresponding with and commissioning potential authors and interviewees, editing material where necessary, obtaining image permissions and formatting image files, typesetting and formatting the page layouts, and liaising with the printers. As such, the workload clusters around the copy deadlines (currently 15th December, April, and August), but there is also a small amount of continuous email correspondence throughout the year. The Viewpoint editor also sits on the Communications Co-ordination Committee of the BSHS, with around three meetings a year and the potential to be allocated additional responsibilities where necessary.
Copy
The editor commissions magazine copy, including feature articles, reviews of museums/exhibitions, BSHS grant reports, conference reports, announcements, the interview, and more, from members of the global history of science community. No fees are paid to contributors, though there is a small budget for colour image reproduction fees and copyright permissions. A great deal of editorial freedom is permitted in determining the content of Viewpoint: in recent years a ‘theme’ has been introduced for each issue, as well as the regular columns on an ‘object of the issue’, and the ‘Viewpoint’ opinion/discussion column, which has led to the inclusion of content as diverse as recipes and sheet music. ‘Instructions for Contributors’ can be found on the BSHS webpage, with further details on the suggested word count, etc., for each type of article (though this is usually determined on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the editor). Occasionally books for review will be sent from publishers, or from the editor of the BJHS as more suitable for a Viewpoint review. Sometimes the copy of an issue is determined by other Society business, or the editor may be approached by potential authors; but more often it is up to the editor and editorial assistant to get in touch with potential authors and decide on what would be of interest to the membership.
Editing and layouts
The editor oversees and may make minor changes to submitted copy, which is usually provided as .doc files. The magazine page layouts are formatted in Adobe InDesign software, and then converted for delivery to the printers as a high-quality .pdf. The house fonts, colours, and main layout used are all pre-set options. Images all need to be standardised as 300 dpi CYMK .tif format files, e.g. in Photoshop.
Printing
The BSHS currently uses Falcon printers in Cambridge, and they provide an excellent service. The printers receive the .pdf file by email, and then send a full-colour proof to the editor for checking (both text/image content and e.g. colours); which I check, sign, and return to them. This confirms the print run (currently c.800); and then the finished copies are sent to the Executive Secretary for posting to BSHS members.
Web
The editor is responsible for updating the Viewpoint page of the BSHS website with a list of contents of the forthcoming issue, once known, and for uploading past issues as .pdf files with brief summaries of the content. The BSHS webmaster will be able to give the editor access to modify these pages, and more generally provides technical assistance.
Assistant
The duties of the Viewpoint editorial assistant are arranged on an ad-hoc manner with the editor, who also deals with their recruitment. At the moment, the editorial assistant provides invaluable help in discussing general ideas for issue content as well as suggesting and liaising with particular contributors. The assistant also proof-reads an entire draft of the issue, and always catches at least some of the inevitable typos! Communication is usually via email, with the occasional in-person meeting, often at e.g. the BSHS conference or in tandem with another academic event. There is scope for expanding this post to two roles.
