Online occupational therapy journal taking shape

KALAMAZOO--Plans for an occupational therapy online journal are shaping up at Western Michigan University, and scholars of all kinds are invited to submit material for publication.

The inaugural issue of the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, the first open-access, online journal in the profession, is set for fall 2012. Manuscripts are now being accepted for review at the OJOT website at ojot.org.

The publication is made possible with the help of a recent $2 million gift from Kalamazoo residents Frederic (Fred) W. Sammons and Dr. Barbara A. Rider to the WMU Department of Occupational Therapy, part of which was set aside for innovative projects.

The journal will be available to readers and researchers worldwide, regardless of affiliation with a subscribing library or institution. New scholarly work will be published in a timely fashion and available to a large audience that includes researchers, clinicians, therapists, students and the general public. This access to the most recent, relevant occupational therapy research will benefit authors, researchers, practitioners and, most importantly, clients and their families.

Dr. Diane Dirette, professor of occupational therapy, is editor in chief. The journal will be published four times each year.

Emerging OT scholars are encouraged to submit, and an annual award will be given to the best article by a student or first-time publisher.

For more information and to submit a manuscript, visit ojot.org.