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If you have a paper that you would like considered for inclusion in British Mining Memoirs or for publication as a British Mining Monograph, please send it to the editor. The editor will also be pleased to hear from authors who have not published before and who would appreciate advice on the suitability of their work. The editor can be contacted via our contact form.
Papers are welcome on archaeological, historical and technical subjects which are within the range of interests of the Northern Mine Research Society.
It is the policy of British Mining to publish material which will be of interest to its readers and to encourage new authors. The editor will work together with the author, where necessary to produce a publication of a high standard. However, it is extremely time-consuming to produce a final text which is standardised throughout and free from errors; the author can help to achieve this by adhering to the following guidelines.
Length of articles
The ideal length for Memoirs papers is between 1,500 and 6,000 words. This is a broad guide only, however, and does not preclude longer (possibly multi-part) papers, nor should it discourage shorter papers on, say, an aspect of recent fieldwork, as these may stimulate debate.
The ideal length for Monographs is either 128 or 160 pages of A5, including title pages and contents etc. This is because the books are assembled in 32 page booklet sections. The postage weight and printing cost of a publication containing more than 160 pages can potentially make it ‘uneconomic’ in terms of the ability of the Society to recover all its costs in a reasonable period of time (which usually lasts several years) to help finance further publications and other projects. As an approximate guide, 160 pages will usually accommodate 55,000 – 60,000 words, together with a couple of dozen figures and plates etc.
Submissions
Texts should be submitted as MS Word files submitted on CD disc or by e-mail. If you cannot send your contribution in any of these formats, please contact the editor.
Layout
Front cover
Authors of Monographs should provide a suitable coloured illustration for the front cover. An illustration will be needed for the Memoirs and authors are requested to approach the editor if they have one.
Headings
The general layout is not particularly critical; authors should follow the headings format of a recent British Mining Monograph or Memoirs, as appropriate. This will be reset by the editor but is a good guide to the editor of how the publication should appear.
Do not put full stops at the end of headings and capitalise only the first word and proper nouns; anything else will have to be removed by the editor.
Text
Use single line spacing throughout, avoid indents, avoid formatted line spacing, headers, footers and other forms of automatic formatting. Use a single line return to give additional line spaces where these are needed.
Avoid additional spaces at the end of sentences or in text where this is not needed. (In the past all typists were trained to put a double space at the end of a sentence, modern type setting software sorts this out automatically so the double space looks wrong and has to be removed.)
Use tabs to align text rather than multiple spaces.
Text
Spellings
Those used in the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English should be used wherever possible.
Capitals
Capitalise proper names, including geological names, eg Yoredale Series and titles, eg Dr, Sir, Lord. ‘King Richard III’ but ‘Richard became the king in 1483’. Elsewhere use capitals as sparingly as possible, eg North Yorkshire but northern Yorkshire or the north of Yorkshire.
Hyphens
Use hyphens where two words are used adjectivally, eg hammer-welded joint.
Punctuation
Do not put full stops after headings.
Avoid commas before conjunctions, eg do not use: ‘rock, spar, and ore’; instead use ‘rock, spar and ore’. This is archaic but is permissible if it is part of a quotation.
Quotations, technical terms and abbreviations
Quotations should be verbatim and not corrected or written in the standard styles recommended here. Verbatim quotations should be italicised and enclosed within single quotes without additional spaces (eg ‘The mine at present is a promising prospect’). Quotes longer than 2 lines should be set as a separate paragraph in italics.
Use double quotes, eg “round buddle” for a quote within a quote.
Omissions from quotations should be marked by three stops, eg ‘…’. Additions to quotations should be enclosed in square brackets.
Technical terms, local names, foreign terms should be enclosed within single quotes where they first appear in the text (eg the vein material was known locally as ‘gossan’) but should not be in italics.
Abbreviations should be written in full where they first appear in the text. Full stops are not normally required for long abbreviations, eg: Northern Mine Research Society (NMRS).
Units
Use S.I. (metric) units for general use. It is sometimes preferable to use Imperial units where the metric version would be jarring, eg 1 inch is preferable to 25.4mm. Use archaic units such as bings, bushels, fathoms etc where appropriate. Indicate where there may be possible distinctions such as: fothers (Stockton, Newcastle, Hull etc), ounces (troy, avoirdupois), pounds (tower, avoirdupois, troy etc), tons (long, short, metric,). Mixed terms such as troy ozs per metric ton, which are in common use are appropriate.
Where possible, give conversion factors for lesser known units such as bings, centners, pennyweights and for poorly- or variably-defined units such as meers, horseloads, pieces of lead etc.
Numbers
All specific numbers should be indicated as figures, eg 40mm, 10oC, page 12. Otherwise numbers up to ten should be denoted by words eg six fathoms but 25 yards; unless juxtaposition of the two would create a jarring effect; eg four and twenty blackbirds.
Use 87% rather than 87 per cent.
Currency
Financial amounts should be written as £1,245 8s 10d not £1245/8/10. Amounts within the text may have a more pleasing appearance if written in full, eg ‘three shillings and six pence’.
Dates
Use the convention 11 April 1642, not 11th April 1642 or April 11th 1642 etc.
Express periods without capitalising as: in the 17th century, on a mid-17th century map.
Old and new style dates
New style calendar dates require no further description, they are the ones used at present. Old style calendar dates should either be corrected to new style dates or written as, eg: February 1685/6 or better as February 1685/6 (old style). Use a slash not a hyphen as this may be confused with a range.
[Old style dates used the Feast of the Annunciation, 25th March as the start of the calendar year. This convention started in parts of southern Europe in the ninth century, became fairly widespread in the eleventh century and was used in England from the late twelfth. The 1st January became the start of the calendar year in England in 1752 and in Scotland in 1600. Before this dates such as 12 February 1642 would have been written either as 12 February 1641/2 or even as 12 February 1641].
Compass points
Compass points should be abbreviated, eg NNW or SE, unless used to begin a sentence. Avoid jarring juxtapositions, eg use ‘North and south of the road…’ rather than ‘North and S of the road…’.
Hyphenate adjectival use, eg the north-western islands
Grid references
Grid references should be formatted as ‘NY 1234 1234’, vein directions as ‘N 45o E’, with spaces as shown.
Tables
Submissions
Supply numbered tables separately as a MS Word table or MS Excel spreadsheet. Lotus 123 spreadsheets can be processed in most cases. Use landscape format for very wide tables.
In some cases it is helpful to provide captions for tables.
Placing in text
Tables should be referred to in the text and will be placed near the first point of reference. Authors should their preferred mark position for the table using bracketed, centred capitals on a single line, eg:
[TABLE 3 HERE]
Embedded tables
Avoid using tables which are embedded in the text as this causes difficulty with page breaks .
Illustrations
Submissions
These can either be supplied as photographs or drawings for scanning by the editor or in electronic format as .jpg, .pcx, .bmp, .tiff files. Other formats may be acceptable. AUTOCAD .drg files cannot be processed. Illustrations should be submitted at 300 dpi or higher. Electronic versions are preferred. If hard copy is submitted the figure number should be written lightly on the back in pencil.
Illustrations should be ideally about half of an A5 page in size. This will allow the editor to adjust the dimensions to suit the page. Very large drawings do not reduce well and fine lines can disappear on reduction. No illustration should require reduction to less than 25% linear dimension. Large magnifications of small figures are generally unsatisfactory as edges become rough and the pixels of digital photographs become apparent.
If you have photographs which need enhancement, it may be possible for the editor to do this.
Placing in text
Do not embed illustrations in the text. It is helpful to indicate the position of an illustration using bracketed, centred capitals on a single line, eg:
[FIGURE 2 HERE]
Maps and surveys
Scales and north points should be marked unless they are photographs of historical records and not part of the frame. Where OS grid lines are clearly shown these will generally be adequate indication of scale and north.
Captions
These should be supplied as a separate list after the text. They should not be embedded in the text.
List illustrations numerically without distinction between ‘plates’ and ‘figures’. Refer to all as ‘Figure’ without abbreviation. Each Figure should normally be referred to in the text.
References
References require close attention. They should be numbered sequentially in order of first appearance in the text and should appear as superscripts.
Modern conventions italicise the name of the published work rather than the article within it. Book titles, conference proceedings and journal names are therefore italicised and capitalised; titles of articles are not italicised and have only the first word and any proper nouns in capitals. Titles of articles and books are placed in single quotes. For simplicity, commas are used throughout as separators.
Styles
Use the following styles for references:
Articles in journals:
Gill M.C., 1992, ‘Yorkshire smelting mills – part I’, British Mining, 45, pp. 111-150.
Mining Journal, 1858, Vol. XXVIII, 4 December, p. 807.
Books and monographs:
Percy J., 1870, ‘Metallurgy of Lead’, London, Murray, p. 281.
Multi-authored works:
Cranstone D., 1992, ‘Conclusion: the way forward’, in Cranstone D. and Willies L. (eds.), Boles and Smeltmills, Historical Metallurgy Society, p. 2. (NB there is no need to reference the conference).
Patents:
Jenkin A., 1858, ‘Improvements in furnaces for the reduction and calcination of lead, tin and copper ores’, Patent No.901, 23rd April.
Archival sources:
Central Library Leeds, Backhouse MSS, Microfilms (MIC 622.344 B127).
North Yorkshire County Record Office, ZAL 33/3.
Or NYCRO, ZAL 33/3. (In this case NYCRO must be explained elsewhere).
PRO, BT31/216/13. (NB most Public Record Office references have this 3 part format).
CCROC, D/Lons., 234/3. (here the reference specifies the Cumbria County Record Office at Carlisle as there are three other record offices in Cumbria)
Theses:
Smith R., 1967, ‘Solution spectrofluorimetry of metal chelate complexes’, PhD Thesis, London, p.34. (It is not necessary to distinguish between published and unpublished theses).
End notes:
The condensing engine is still often referred to as a ‘Savery’, (Galloway, R., 1898, Annals of Coal Mining, reprinted 1971, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, p. 23.).
Others:
Hunter J., personal communication.
If the same work is referenced several times in the same list then it is permissible to use the term op. cit. but full references are preferred. However, any op. cit. references must be distinguished by different page numbers. For example from above: Percy J., op. cit, p. 35. It is not permissible to have several identical op.cit in the same list; as this serves no useful purpose.
Avoid other forms of repeat referencing such as idem and ibid. which are considered to be outmoded.
In Monographs, references should be given at the end of each chapter.
Acknowledgements, dedications and author notes
Authors should acknowledge assistance, permissions etc. Brief dedications in Monographs will be placed in an appropriate place by the editor. Acknowledegements should be placed at the start of Monographs and at the end of Memoirs papers.
A submission date and contact address should be included at the end of the paper.
Editorial procedure
Receipt of contributions will be acknowledged by the editor as soon as possible.
Contributions may be sent to one or more referees for peer review. Comments will be returned to the author for consideration and may be discussed further with the editor. Manuscripts which deviate considerably from the guidelines given here or have many obvious errors may be returned to the author for correction.
While many submitted manuscripts are almost entirely acceptable when received, in some cases the editor may make suggestions to an author for improvement of the text, eg by adding words to explain the context of a subject, contraction of unnecessarily long descriptions, clarification of meaning or elimination of repetition. Occasionally, condensing of text may be required to squeeze the manuscript into the maximum page limit. The editor also reserves the right to correct wobbly spellings and grammatical misdemeanours.
During the preparation of the memoirs or a monograph, a proof copy of each manuscript will be supplied as a low-resolution .pdf file by email to its author to review for errors. If necessary, a printed proof copy will be sent by post to authors who do not use email.
Copyright
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish extensive extracts or illustrations from copyright holders. Permission must be sought for the use of maps and data derived from Ordnance Survey and British Geological Survey sources. Although first edition OS maps are out of copyright, permission to reproduce will be required if they have been obtained from record offices. The reproduction of maps on the Landmark/Old Maps website is expressly prohibited, although authors may be able to negotiate permission.
Offprints
Non-members will receive a copy of their Monograph or the Memoirs, in which their article appears. Members will receive their copy as part of their subscription. Additional copies can be supplied to authors at trade terms.
Terms of publication
The Northern Mine Research Society (NMRS) is a charitable organisation whose aims, as stated in its constitution, are to advance the education of the public in, and encourage the study of, all historical, technical, social and economic aspects of mining in Britain.
All issues of British Mining are the result of a joint venture between the author(s) and the Society with the purpose of furthering the latter’s charitable aims. Because both parties contribute to the publication, they both have rights, obligations and expectations, but their relationship is slightly different from the conventional one between an author and a commercial publisher and can be summarised as follows:-
Provided by the author (from which the Society benefits):
- A copy of the results of their research (the ‘work’) for publication by the Society.
- Licensing of publication rights for the work to the NMRS under terms described in a separate publishing agreement.
- A warranty to the society that the work is original and that the Society will not be held responsible for any inaccurate or libellous statements.
Provided by the Society (from which the author benefits):
- The costs of editing, typesetting, layout, printing, packaging, distribution and marketing the publication are borne by the society at no risk to the author. The work is originated in an electronic format which is accepted directly by the printer. These services are provided by experienced voluntary staff who freely donate their time.
- Printing and binding of the work to a high standard.
- Allocation of a sequence number for the publication in a well established series of similar works. Individual monographs are also allocated an ISBN number.
- Distribution of the printed work to its members, together with extended access to a specialised market through a variety of commercial sales outlets.
- Non-members will receive a free copy of their Monograph or the Memoirs, in which their article appears. Members will receive their copy as part of their subscription. Ten free copies of a Monograph will be provided to its author or for distribution among co-authors. Additional copies can be supplied to authors at trade terms.
- Retention of copyright to the work by the author (note: the Society retains the copyright to the typographical arrangement and design of the publication but may be amenable to releasing this when a work is out of print and there is no intention to reprint it).
- Recovery of the licensing rights from the Society after its expiry, as described in the publication agreement.
Authors of Monographs are required to acknowledge their understanding and acceptance of these terms and conditions by signing a brief publication agreement.
© Northern Mine Research Society.
