updated preface

content/issue/dotawo7.md

@@ -1,6 +1,17 @@
 ---
 title: "Dotawo 7: Comparative Northern East Sudanic Linguistics"
+author: "Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei"
 has_articles: ["vangervenoei.md", "blench.md", "starostin.md", "rilly.md", "jakobi.md", "norton.md"]
 ---
 
+# Preface by the Editor
+
+Since its inception, the Union for Nubian Studies has been committed to opening up Nubiological research to a wider audience and broadening access to source materials *Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies* was launched as an open-access journal, with free access for both authors and readers. It has since been hosted by [DigitalCommons@Fairfield](https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/djns/) and University of California's [eScholarship](https://escholarship.org/uc/dotawo) platform.
+
+Although both digital platforms allowed *Dotawo* to grow, expanding its reach by means of the creation of DOI numbers, membership of the DOAJ, the content of *Dotawo* itself remained tailored toward human readers because it was only available in PDF or printed form, and toward privileged readers with access to institutional libraries because the references it included themselves were often difficult to access. This presented a double challenge in terms of discoverability of the journal, long-term preservation, and the openness of the scholarship presented.
+
+With its graduation to the [Sandpoints](https://git.sandpoints.org/) platform starting with the present issue, *Dotawo* is entering a new phase. The entire journal will now be "born digital," created in [Hugo](https://gohugo.io/) and generated by [Gitea](https://gitea.io/en-us/). The PDF output is generated by [PagedJS](https://www.pagedjs.org/), which will continue to be hosted on eScholarship, while the printed book will remain available through [punctum books](https://punctumbooks.com/imprints/dotawo/). All of the software used in the creation of *Dotawo* will thus be open source.
+
+Second, to improve the long-term preservation of the scholarship contained in *Dotawo*, all sources mentioned in contributions to the journal will henceforth be linked to records deposited in public library [Memory of the World](https://www.memoryoftheworld.org/). This will allow for easy storage and dissemination of both the research and research context presented in *Dotawo*.
+
 The seventh issue of *Dotawo* is dedicated to Comparative Northern East Sudanic linguistics, offering new insights in the historical connections between the Nubian languages and other members of the NES family such as Nyimang, Tama, Nara, and Meroitic. A special focus is placed on comparative morphology.