With the coming year, the Lětopis is breaking new ground. From 2023, instead of two printed issues per year, primarily individual publications will appear in electronic form and under open access conditions.
On the one hand, this change takes into account the fact that the scientific publication culture has shifted more and more to the internet in recent years. It also corresponds to the spirit of the "Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities" adopted back in 2003. On the other hand, the new publication method allows us to react to further changes in the german and international scientific landscape. In recent years, it has become apparent that it is becoming increasingly difficult, especially for smaller or highly specialised scientific journals, to regularly acquire a sufficient number of high-quality texts that fit their focus. In a thematic niche such as the Lětopis undoubtedly serves (must and wants to serve), the number of potential authors and reviewers is limited. Moreover, competition for attractive texts is high, which is exacerbated by the practical relevance of the spread of bibliometric procedures (impact factors, etc.). Making the mode of publication more flexible therefore helps to secure the existence of the Lětopis.
We consider it important - at least for a transitional period and also with a view to a continuous representation of research relevant to Sorabism - that the Lětopis continues to appear as a print edition. Therefore, there will be an annual print version summarising all contributions that have already appeared online during the year. This annual issue, which redeems the actual meaning of the journal's name, will, in contrast to previous practice, be published in varying volumes, but will continue to be published by Domowina-Verlag and in proven quality.
Finally, we want to take this opportunity to open up a little more thematic space for the Lětopis: The new subtitle will therefore be Journal for Sorabistics and Comparative Minority Studies. As before, the contributions will show that we understand Sorbian studies in a broad sense. - We ask our readership for a friendly reception of all these changes.
Cottbus and Bautzen, September 2022
Prof. Dr. Hauke Bartels
Director of the Sorbian Institute
for the entire editorial team of the Lětopis