Editor’s note: A previous version of this story referred to the journal as “Victorians: A Journal of Culture and Literature.” The correct version is “Victorians. A Journal of Culture and Literature.” Additionally, Logan has been a professor at WKU for 21 years, not 20, and has been in charge of the journal for 10 years, not 11. The Herald regrets the errors and makes strides to amend all factual errors. 

After 11 years of running “Victorians. A Journal of Culture and Literature,” Deborah Logan, a professor in the English department, has created a partnership with Ohio State University to expand the reach of the publication.

The publication began in 1952 under the leadership of Ohio State University. Throughout the years, the editorship has bounced around between different professors at different universities before being taken over by Logan in 2007.

Emily Taylor, journals manager of Ohio State University, said discussions of a partnership have been taking place since 2016 and the universities officially began publishing together in 2017.

“We learned about ‘Victorians: A Journal of Culture and Literature’ in late 2015 when researching journals that might be a good fit for our press as we try to expand our journals division,” Taylor said. “We had been publishing books in Victorian studies for a long time, and it was exciting to find a journal that we might partner with in that field of study, which is so rich and perennially engaging.”

According to its website, the journal features interdisciplinary articles that look at Victorian era and culture. It runs twice a year, once in the summer and once in the winter.

“The goal of Victorians is the same as almost any other academic journal and that is to build on the scholarship of the past and to use that research for new discoveries about the field, and to apply new ways of looking at those discoveries,” Tony Sanfilippo, director of The Ohio State University Press, said. 

Featured articles are contributed by scholars, professors and students alike. Logan then begins peer reviewing and editing the articles, which are then selected for issues.

Ohio State University Press then takes the selected articles and handles the management side of things and the publishing process. They coordinate between the print and online publication and take care of details like typesetting and digital alerts, Taylor said.

“Dr. Logan made an excellent move to create this partnership between WKU and Ohio State University Press,” Robert C. Hale, head of the English department, said.

With this new partnership, “Victorians: A Journal of Culture and Literature”can reach a greater audience and be more easily accessible to the public. The journal can now be found on online sources, opening up readership to a larger audience and putting it on the radar of more technologically-suited generations.

One such digital platform is Project MUSE, for which the journal was selected to be featured in its 2018 premium collection.

“Few journals are selected each year, so this was a great honor and speaks volumes,” Taylor said.

Project MUSE has subscribers in 70 countries around the world and is supported by numerous educational institutions. With the support from Project MUSE, the journal can be seen around the world.

This is the exact goal of the partnership between WKU and OSU.

“What we really hope to do is find a wider audience for the journal, particularly in the digital realm,” Sanfilippo said. “Our ability to include the journal on platforms like JSTOR and Project MUSE help the journal get into more libraries and reach more scholars than a print journal can do on its own.”

Ohio State University Press has high hopes for the future of the journal. Those working on the journal intend to continue working with other platforms and publishers in order to spread the reach of the journal.

“Because of Dr. Logan’s efforts, the important essays in Victorians will be more widely accessible to scholars around the world,” Hale said.

For more information on “Victorians: A Journal of Culture and Literature,”including its history and how to subscribe, go to https://www.wku.edu/victorian/index.php.

Features reporter Julie Sisler can be reached at 270-745-6291 and [email protected]. Follow Julie on Twitter at @julie_sisler.