About the Journal

Table of Contents

     Focus and Scope
     Publication Frequency
     Open Access Policy
     Publication Ethics Policy
     Indexing
     Journal History

Focus and Scope

The Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association / Journal de l’Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada (JCHLA / JABSC), formerly known as Bibliotheca Medica Canadiana (BMC), is a triannual, peer-reviewed publication dedicated to providing a voice for issues and interests shared by Canadian health science librarians and health libraries. Submissions on a wide range of topics will be considered.

Suggested topics for JCHLA/JABSC (not an exhaustive list):

  • Racial injustice and topics of equity, diversity, and inclusion pertaining to health sciences librarianship
  • Health information and library services
  • Health system integration, health information networks, etc.
  • Consumer health information services
  • Provincial health information networks – role of librarians in these, role of consumer health information
  • Evidence-based medicine/practice, evidence-based librarianship
  • New and changing roles for librarians, digital libraries, intranet information delivery
  • Distance services
  • Library management, consortia, partnerships, collaboration with other sectors
  • Databases, apps, and other information products
  • Accreditation (Library – CCHSA, JCAHO and AHIP through MLA)
  • Management and mentoring
  • Education (continuing education, health sciences curricula of library schools, etc.)
  • Grants (identifying, writing, and obtaining)
  • Working in remote/rural environments (e.g., role of the Internet and national consortia, and impact on libraries/librarians in these settings)
  • Health literacy
  • Emerging technologies and social media as they pertain to the library environment, or to the users we serve

Publication Frequency

JCHLA/JABSC is published three times a year in April, August, and December. Submissions will be accepted throughout the year. Timing of publication will depend on the length of time it takes to make any requested revisions, as well as time for copy and production editing.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. There are no fees associated with submitting to, or publishing in, JCHLA/JABSC.

Publication Ethics Policy

  • Authorship for articles in this journal are based on substantial contribution to the work as well has an agreement to be accountable for all aspects of it; all authors will ensure the journal's Author Guidelines are respected and that the rights of any research participants are protected. Authors are not charged fees for submission or publication of manuscripts but are obliged to participate in a review process.
  • Authors are responsible for receiving approval from their institution's research ethics board and for protecting research participants.
  • Conflicts of interest should be clearly identified in submissions and will be flagged in publication.
  • Please refer to our Privacy Statement for matters concerning privacy and confidentiality for both authors and reviewers.
  • We strive to ensure submissions are dealt with in a timely manner while ensuring a robust review process, and thank our authors and reviewers for assisting with that goal.
  • The editorial team is the ultimate authority on the editorial content of the journal and will take reasonable steps to prevent publications where research misconduct has occurred, and to retract or correct publications as needed to address such issues. Editorial decisions are based on an assessment of the manuscript relative to the journal's scope and the manuscript's quality and contribution, and not on any commercial or personal agendas.

Please refer to ICMJE’s Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals for additional best practices around publication ethics.

Journal History

Formerly Bibliotheca Medica Canadiana (BMC), JCHLA/JABSC is a triannual, electronic publication, starting with Volume 25, Issue 1, 2004. JCHLA/JABSC became an open access journal in May 2006. Peer-reviewed content began to be published in 2008.