The Provisional Translations collection of the Bahá’í Library Online relies on two main sources for new translations posted to our site: A) postings to E-mail listservers and B) private submissions. From both of these sources, we obtain renderings of Texts produced by private translators, informal translator committees or from the Bahá’í World Center. We also sometimes receive scans of translations which have been previously published in recognized Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í academic journals.

   The bulk of material posted on our site is obtained via listserver postings. We regularly capture both partial and complete translations of Tablets that are submitted, and then request permission from the translator to publish these on our site. We will only post texts if permission to post them has been obtained and/or the copywrite on the item has expired. The Library does not manage any of these listservers and therefore cannot set policy on postings. However, those translators who submit items to the lists with a view to publication on our site can aid this effort considerably by ensuring that the items listed below are included.

   Occasionally, we receive items through direct submission. As the Provisional Translations page cannot grow without regular contributions from scholars, we wish to encourage qualified translators or potential translators (i.e. those who are familiar with the source languages and/or are involved at some level of Middle Eastern/Persian/Islamic Studies) to send us any and all new material from the Central Figures of the Faith, or from other important personages. Submission of translations can be made by registering and then clicking "Upload."

   In order for us to more efficiently process submissions, we request that, for each Tablet, poem or letter, the following information be included with the submission, to speed up the work of formatting:

• Name of Translator; if the translator is unknown or wishes to remain anonymous, please indicate.
  
• E-mail for the Translator, or some other method of contact, so that the Managing editor can request clarification if some part of the translation is unclear or if any of the follwing points have been overlooked. If the translator has passed away, this item can be disregarded. Please note that all contact information will be kept strictly confidential.
  
• Statement of Permission. Please include an explicit statement which grants the Library the authorization to publish the translation in question.
  
• Author of the Text (i.e. the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-BahᒠShoghi Effendi or other Figure)
  
• Approximate Period of Revelation or Date, if known; if unknown, please indicate.
  
• Circumstances of Revelation, if known; if unknown, please indicate.
  
• Full Bibliographic Citation for the Original Text (e.g. Title of publication [including translation of the same], publisher, year, page numbers, etc.). If the text used is an MS, please give catalogue number or designation.
  
• Name of the Recipient; if this is unknown, please indicate this. If known, please give some basic information on the individual where possible.
  
• Title for the Tablet in both English and transliterated Arabic or Persian; if no title is given in the original, either provide one using the name of the recipient, or supply one for the text, based on the subject matter, the first prominent word or phrase, or other criteria. We request concise, non-generic and specific titles.
  
• Language of Revelation, Persian, Arabic, Turkish, or a combination.
  
• Sources of Quotations included in the Text, if they can be located. That is, if the Tablet, poem or letter quotes from determinable secondary sources, such as Rumí etc., provide a note as to the source of the quotation.
  
• Proper Transliteration. All Arabic, Persian or Turkish words and phrases must be properly transliterated, using the Guardian’s transliteration system. For plain text submissions, use capitals to indicate long vowels and asterisks (*) after consonants to denote underdotted letters. Use the “ ‘ ” and “ ’ ” characters to indicate ayn and hamza, respectively. Single sounds in Arabic and Persian which require two letters in English, (eg. dh or gh) should also be indicated. Proper transliteration of some terms can be checked by looking through the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh Indexes.

   Translators or potential translators are also asked to check this guide every so often, as it is subject to modification.

   As an adjunct to private submission, and keeping in mind our goal of encouraging Bahá’í scholarship whenever possible, the Provisional Translations Department is also interested in commissioning translators or potential translators to undertake work on particular texts. These commissions would be purely on a non-remunerative basis. If interested, or if you have questions about the list, please contact the Managing editor.