AMS special collections are composed of articles on similar topics that appear in one or more journals. Although review papers can also be part of a special collection, it is expected that the majority of articles published as a special collection will consist of new and previously unreviewed material.

Suitable material for special collections include results from field studies, papers from meetings or conferences on specialized topics, or papers on a topic of current interest in the atmospheric, oceanic, and related sciences. Special collection papers will be submitted, reviewed, and published following the same requirements and standards as other papers submitted to AMS publications. Note that a special collection can include papers from more than one AMS journal.

Named Special Collections

A named special collection of the Society’s journals is an honor reserved for only the most outstanding individuals. Named Special Collections should be proposed only for those individuals who are completing a career, or who have recently died having completed a career, of significant achievements in their field and whose contributions would make them worthy of consideration for Honorary Member of the AMS. See this page for more on the criteria for Honorary Membership.

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Special Collection Organizers

Organizers wishing to propose a special collection should fill out and submit the form below. The relevant chief editors and the Publications Commissioner will consider the application for approval.  Note that for Named Special Collections, proposals deemed appropriate by the Publications Commission will be sent to the AMS Council for final decisions.

The organizers of a special collection are encouraged to recruit submissions, suggest reviewers, and recommend whether unsolicited papers are suitable for the collection. Collection organizers do not act as peer review editors. The peer review process for each paper will be handled by a regular journal editor, assigned by the journal's chief editor.

Publication of Special Collection Papers

Once accepted for publication, special collection papers are made available online in the same way as standard journal articles. Special collection papers appear alongside the other papers in the journal, with a graphic logo on their title page that identifies them as part of a particular special collection. All papers in a special collection are linked to that collection's web page.

Print Option for Special Collection Papers

When all papers within a collection have been published, there can be an option to print a hard-copy version of all of the papers in a bound volume. AMS staff can work with collection organizers to determine an estimated cost for hard-copy print volumes.

For more information contact: [email protected]