Guidelines for Article Authors and Communications committee Members

The Kansas Association of Mappers (KAM) publishes unique, timely, and pioneering articles that advance knowledge in all aspects of geography and mapping in general, more specifically, in the areas of: GIS, appraisal, local and state government, and private industry. The newsletter is compiled and reviewed by the KAM Communications Committee. KAM publishes four (4) Metes and Bounds Newsletters each calendar year on its website and via email to its members

All attempts are made to publish our newsletters as close as possible to each season change. The newsletters contain articles, artwork, and news about KAM Members, upcoming local conference information, and advertising.

KAM welcomes submissions of student and faculty and research papers, acknowledgments of Member awards, commentaries, peer review articles, forums, and map supplements. Papers submitted for publication should attempt to address industry issues, solutions, new market trends and technology, and be attuned to the receptivity of a diverse audience. Articles in the newsletter also count as points for designations from KAM and others like the GIS Certification Institute's (GISCI) GISP certification.

Articles will only be accepted by the KAM Communications Committee from current members of KAM. If the submission is sent by a non-member, KAM reserves the right to deny inclusion of the article into the Metes and Bounds newsletter at any time.

Articles written by members of private-sector businesses should not resemble a “sales pitch.” We have a separate mechanism for advertising a company’s artwork, and that is where such information should be kept. If at any time a submitted article begins to resemble solicitation or an advertisement for a company’s business, KAM and KAM’s Communications Committee reserves the right to edit and/or reject the submitted article.

File Submission

Articles in PDF format are not acceptable. Supplemental files (graphics, photos) in PDF format are not acceptable. The text of the article should be in text editable format like Microsoft Word, etc.

Construction of Articles

Title: The title serves as the author’s invitation to a diverse audience; it should be chosen with care. Authors must provide identifying information on the first page of the article, including the name(s) of the author(s), his/her/their affiliations and/or contact information, bio sketches, or acknowledgements. Some or all of this information may be moved to the end of the article.

Author references should be cited just after the article’s title: author’s first and last name (including any salutations, i.e. Sr., Dr., or titles/certifications held: PhD, GISP, or any KAM-held designation, i.e. KM, PKM, or KGISD); also include the author’s professional affiliation.

Body: Prepare your articles in the English language using Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format (RTF), or WordPerfect. If submitting from a Macintosh computer, please include the three-letter file extension in the file name of your article. PDF files are not acceptable. Include acknowledgements if necessary.

Tables: All tables must be referenced in the text. Each table must be typed double-spaced on a separate page in the same 12-point font as the text, and numbered sequentially with Arabic numerals. Each table must have a descriptive title as well as informational column and row headings. Decimals appearing in tables should include leading zeros: 0.5148 rather than .5148. Tables or figures are not to be embedded in article files. They should be placed at the end of the document. Reference notes (Figure 1, Figure 2, Table 3, Table 4) should be in the body of the article for an author-preferred placeholder for all tables or figures. Figure files can be sent as .gif, .jpg, .eps, and .tif; table files must be submitted in .xls or similar formats. PDF files are not acceptable.

Articles, with the exception of references, tables, or figures, are generally 1,500 words in length, but should never be longer than 2,500 words. Text must be in a 12-point font with 2.54 cm (1 inch) margins. All parts of the manuscript (abstract, text, notes, references, tables, and figure captions) must be double-spaced, paginated, and justified. An article exceeding the length limit will be returned to the author, requesting that the article be edited or split into multiple parts.

Definitions: Potentially audience-unknown or obscure words or phrases may be amplified by concise definitions. The words or phrases should be italicized in the article, and numbered sequentially in the text (subscript), immediately following the word or phrase defined later in the article. The list of words or phrases and their definitions should appear immediately after the body of the article.

Units of Measure: English system of units; metric units can be noted in parentheses following the English units, if necessary.

Illustrations: Maps, graphs, graphics, and photos should convey ideas efficiently and tastefully. Graphics must be legible, concise, and referenced in the text. Illustrations must be designed to fit the page and column format of the Metes and Bounds digital newsletter: 7.5 × 10-inch page (3.3 × 10 inches for a single column figure). For digital publication purposes, all graphics must be computer-generated and will be accepted in the following formats only: .gif, .jpg, .eps (Encapsulated Postscript) for most illustrations, or .tif/.tiff (Tagged-Image File Format) for raster images. Type font sizes below 6-point should be avoided for purposes of visual clarity. PDF files are not acceptable.

References: All sources in the text of a paper must be listed in the references section and vice versa. List all references alphabetically by the author’s last name and chronologically, and if possible, please include full names for all authors. Provide the full, unabbreviated title of books and periodicals. Personal communications can be cited either in endnotes or in the references section. All newspaper articles and articles from weekly magazines should be fully cited in the references section rather than worked into the text of the paper. For examples of the correct style for various forms of publication, see the MLA-style guidelines provided by the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).

Article Submission

Submission of articles should be e-mailed to the Communications Committee Chair at kamappers@gmail.com. In sending work to Metes and Bounds for publication, the submitter attests that the work is original and that he /she is (or they) are the author(s). If the work is sourced from professional websites or other publications, due credit must be given with the submission, and a ‘Submitted By:” note will be inserted by the Communications Committee in the article, should it be accepted by the Committee. Also, see the ‘Rights and Permission’ section below.

Newsletter Review

After evaluation by the Communications Committee, all articles and artwork are compiled into a rough draft of the Metes and Bounds Newsletter. Compilation of articles and artwork normally takes one to two weeks. The rough drafts of the newsletters are generally reviewed by the KAM Executive Board and other Committee Chairs. The review process normally takes one week. Once the review process has completed, modifications are made and the newsletter is published then disseminated to the current KAM Membership and advertisers via e-mail.

Copyright

In accordance with copyright laws, the articles and artwork submitted must not duplicate substantial portions of previously published material. If articles or artwork incorporate previously published material that is not the property of the submitter or submitting business, company, or corporation, the submitter is responsible for obtaining written permission from the copyright holder and for any costs associated with the use of the copyrighted materials. It is the responsibility of the submitter to obtain permission for the use of any copyrighted material, including images and spreadsheet files. It is preferable to place artwork directly in the body of articles and into the newsletter where space is available, but when permission for copyrighted material is unobtainable, it is acceptable to include a link to the image directly in the advertisement.

Disclaimer

Statements of fact and opinion in the articles and advertising artwork in Metes and Bounds are those of the respective authors and contributors and not of KAM, the sponsors of KAM, or the editors or KAM’s Metes and Bounds newsletters. No representation, express or implied, is made of the accuracy of the material in this journal and Metes and Bounds cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. The reader should make his or her own evaluation of the accuracy and appropriateness of those materials.

KAM’s Communications Committee reserves the right to approve or deny any article, at any time. The decision of the Communications Committee is final. Articles accepted for publication will be copyrighted by Metes and Bounds.