Journal profile · HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Journal of the Institute of Conservation
ISSN 1945-5224 · eISSN 1945-5232 · Taylor & Francis
Journal of the Institute of Conservation: CAS Zone 3 · Arts (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.8 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 185 days to acceptance (34 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 69% (journal website); 27 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of the Institute of Conservation is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 3 of Arts in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Conservation Techniques and Studies, Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis and Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation, together about 53.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Archeology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of the Institute of Conservation is the peer reviewed publication of the Institute of Conservation (Icon). As such, its aims reflect those of Icon, to advance knowledge and education in conservation and achieve the long term preservation and conservation of moveable and immoveable cultural heritage. The Journal provides a collective identity for conservators; it promotes and supports both the profession and professionalism. With international contributions on all aspects of conservation, it is an invaluable resource for the heritage sector. The specific aims of the Journal are to: promote research, knowledge and understanding of cultural heritage conservation through its history, practice and theory provide an international forum to enable and disseminate advances in research, knowledge and understanding relating to conservation and heritage champion and support professional standards of heritage conservation in the UK and internationally provide a permanent record of issues relating to conservation and heritage be financially and operationally sustainable. To achieve these aims, the Journal invites contributions from all those involved in the conservation of cultural heritage and related activities. Areas of interest include understanding cultural heritage materials and their degradation; subject reviews and histories of cultural heritage materials and conservation treatments; new, innovative or improved approaches to conservation and collections care theory, practice, communication, management and training; case studies demonstrating new, innovative or improved approaches; and conservation in its wider context. Submitters are encouraged to demonstrate how their work is of practical application to conservation. To maintain professional standards and promote academic rigour, submissions of articles and shorter notices are subject to an anonymous peer review process. Peer Review Statement All articles submitted are reviewed initially by the Editor and authors may be asked to develop their article further before it is sent to external referees. When the article is sufficiently developed, two appropriate external referees are appointed. The referees are anonymous to all except the Editor, and they are asked to comment on: the interest and originality of the material, the clarity, accuracy, and sufficiency of information, the effectiveness of evaluation and communication, and the appropriateness and adequacy of the references and illustrations. Ref
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Editor-in-chief Jonathan KempPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 8, United States 1, Australia 1, Brazil 1, Norway 1 (14 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Conservation Techniques and StudiesArts and Humanities25%
- Cultural Heritage Materials AnalysisArts and Humanities15.6%
- Cultural Heritage Management and PreservationArts and Humanities12.9%
- Building materials and conservationEarth and Planetary Sciences7.5%
- Archaeological Research and ProtectionEarth and Planetary Sciences4.8%
- Museums and Cultural HeritageArts and Humanities4.1%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.1%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Arts Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Humanities, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Arts Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Humanities, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexWeb of SciencePublisher website
Other: ProQuest, EBSCOhost - Art & Architecture Complete, ProQuest - Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.28LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.28Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.06LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.06Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 24OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 105OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.6OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 16.07%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 22LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 63,000Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 63,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 752 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 14 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | 27 | 13 | 15 |
| 2024 | 21 | 7 | 22 |
| 2023 | 25 | 9 | 44 |
| 2022 | 22 | 6 | 83 |
| 2021 | 20 | 3 | 36 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
185 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 57 days – 267 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 66 days (34 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 247 days
- Sample
- 34 articles with submission and acceptance dates (40 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 69%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 69%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 195 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 206 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 68 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 68 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication 2025
- 195 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted3
- book reviewBook Review | Published online: 27 May 2026Length not stated
- editorialEditorial | Published online: 30 Jun 2026Length not stated
- research articleResearch Article | Published online: 30 Jun 2026Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Open access policy: hybrid journal with Open Select program Model summary
Journal of the Institute of Conservation is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the di…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review policy: initial editorial review before external refereeing Model summary
All articles submitted are reviewed initially by the Editor and authors may be asked to develop their article further before it is sent to external referees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1945-5224
- Electronic ISSN
- 1945-5232
- Society / sponsor
- Institute of Conservation
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 49, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of the Institute of Conservation
What CAS zone is Journal of the Institute of Conservation in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of the Institute of Conservation is in Zone 3 of Arts, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Humanities, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Arts. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of the Institute of Conservation?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.8 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 1.6, h-index 24.
How long does peer review take at Journal of the Institute of Conservation?
Based on the dates recorded on 34 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 185 days (interquartile range 57–267 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 69%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of the Institute of Conservation based?
Of the 14 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (8), United States (1) and Australia (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of the Institute of Conservation?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of the Institute of Conservation is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex and Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of the Institute of Conservation open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of the Institute of Conservation is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .