Author Reception: Guidelines for Setup and Operation

IT Setup Only

A simple "rule of thumb" -- per 250 participants:

• 1 computer for the counter
• 1 staff member for counter duty (Author Reception Staff)
• 1 computer and 1 staff member who has answerability to make editorial decisions. It is important to have this second machine set up, keeping the counter machine free for author reception.
• 1-2 staff for filing

[Note: The task of filing and counter relief is shared between all staff.]

• SPMS system: the Author Reception staff require the Sort/File/Edit privilege in Roles and Responsibilities.
• The computer on the counter has a single use, the only software requirement is that of a browser window to access the SPMS system.
• Opening hours: approx. 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. [?]

As the amount of participants increase, dedicated tasks need to be introduced.

• small conference = <250 participants
  • 2 computers (1 for counter, 1 for Room Coordinator)
  • 1 Author Reception staff
  • 1-2 staff members for filing
  • 1 Room Coordinator - It isn't necessary for them to sit in the room but they must be available for assistance.
• medium conference = 250-500 participants
  • 3 computers (2 for counter, 1 for Room Coordinator)
  • 2 Author Reception staff
  • 2-3 staff members for filing
  • 1 Room Coordinator - stays in room
• medium/large conference = 500-1000 participants
  • 3-5 computers (3-4 on counter, 1 for Room Coordinator)
  • 3-4 Author Reception staff
  • 1 Room Coordinator - stays in room
  • 3-4 filing staff
• large conference = >1000 participants
  • 5 computers (4 on counter, 1 for Room Coordinator)
  • 4 Author Reception staff
  • 1 Room Coordinator - stays in room
  • 4-5 filing staff

Filing Staff Duties

Glossary of terms:

• Green: everything was okay. Indicates no further action required--paper can proceed to QA
• Yellow: the source file was opened to fix a small problem. The author should proofread the paper in case things have inadvertently been changed.
• Red: there are problems too complicated or time-consuming for the editor to fix. Author must come to the proceedings office.
• QA: Quality Assurance
• Room Coordinator: Someone who has answerability with regard to the proceedings, i.e. Conference Editor or someone with publishing experience.

Filing:

• Two baskets in the Proceedings Room, two in the Author Reception Room (one for green papers, one for yellow papers).
• One basket at each Editor's work station for their red dot papers.
• Binders are kept in the back of the Proceedings Room and are in numerical order by day of the week, within the binder by paper#
• During the day collect the papers from the baskets in the Proceedings Room, and file in the correct binder or basket.
• Every morning, using the Dot Reassignment report, re-dot the yellow papers to green and put in the QAing basket.

Filing when QA begins

• The green papers in the 'ready for QA" basket are bought to the Proceedings Office for the Editors to collect and QA.
• Any QA failed papers found in the pile go into “needing QA” basket for QAing again by another Editor back in the Editor room.

Binders

• Yellow binder
• all green papers go into a basket now, not filed in order
• Red papers are sorted in a dedicated binder, after collecting them from the Editor's workstation at the end of the week.
• QAed papers done - simply put into a box.

Reception Desk Duties:

• Access SPMS system using Paper#;
• Check the log for information on the paper submitted by the Editor;
• Look up who is the Editor;
• If the request is to make a change to a paper that has passed QA, or is complete, this request will need to go to the Editor-in-Chief for decision;
• Information in the log for the paper may need to be conveyed to the author. Often they can not read it on their mobile device;
• If an Editor has requested the author to come speak to them, escort the Author to the room.

1. Author is happy with paper.

2. Author is not happy with paper, and wishes to make a change.

• Green: At green a paper is thought of as complete. Should an author wish to make a change to the paper at this stage of the process the greeter chooses to a) speak to the [room coordinator-need a name] seeking guidance or for the coordinator to speak to the author or b) speaks to the editor who worked on the paper and requests the editor to speak to the author. This is a judgement call based on:
  • Is the error significant enough to the author that this would cause embarrassment;
  • the data is grossly incorrect;
  • the author would withdraw the paper if not allowed to make this change.

• Yellow: At yellow the paper is in an “incomplete” stage. The Editor has ‘touched’ the source file or PDF and requests the author to review the paper for any possible introduced errors made during the processing.
  • If the author has noted that the editor has introduced an error to the paper; the greeter will speak to the editor and ask if they wish to speak to the author or will convey any information to the author that the editor wishes addressed. The author is invited to check the SPMS system for when the correction has been made and come back to ok the paper. The author may be escorted to the Editor room and the editor may fix the paper on the spot. The paper would then go to green and the author would sign it off. The greeter will then update the SPMS system, changing the status to green. The Greeter at this stage checks that the copyright form is correct and record in the system that it has been received.
  • If the author has read the paper over, accepts all the changes that the editor has made but then wishes to make a change to the paper, you will need to follow the steps for 2a “author is not happy” – using your best judgment of how important this change is to the author and the impact on the editor. This is where reading the log is important. If the Editor has made significant changes to the paper they may not be cooperative with correcting a simple grammatical error that the author has missed at the proofreading stage before submitting.