Professional Journals

Journals provide a place for professionals in a particular field to publish their latest research or share new, original observations about their area of expertise.  Some are peer-reviewed, some are not.  They provide chair-side "instruction" and "food for thought" for colleagues in the field.

Judith M. Nixon, professor in the Humanities, Social Science and Education Library at Purdue University, recently published a tiered study of journals in the library and information science discipline in the College and Research Libraries journal.  Librarians who are not publishing will find the ranked lists useful as a quick summary of the most influential journals in the field (Nixon, 2014). I found it to be a most helpful guide for this project of comparing and contrasting journals and will continue to use it in my research throughout my studies.   She further explained that to develop the tiered list, a set of criteria was selected.  The first criterion was peer review; both tier one and tier two would be peer-reviewed titles.  There are a few journals, such as Library Trends and Library Journal, of high scholarly level that are not peer-reviewed.  These journals, which invite authors to write on specified topics are considered by our promotion committee as of the same value as peer-reviewed titles and so are included in the same category as peer-reviewed (Nixon, 2014).

The two journals I chose to look are:

College and Research Libraries

Editor:

Scott Walter, M.L.S., Ph.D.

The College & Research Libraries journal was founded in 1939 by A.F. Kuhlman specifically for college and university librarians.  He felt the needs of the college librarian were too numerous, too complex and too specialized to be dealt with effectively...in a journal which seeks to address itself to the varied interests of all libraries (Walter, 2014).

The journal continues to be a scholarly journal for academic and research librarians.  C & RL includes articles in all fields of interest and concern to academic and research libraries.  Well-written manuscripts on all aspects of academic and research librarianship will be considered.  The focus of the journal is on reports of original research.  Writers seeking publication are instructed to seek peer review.  It is a refereed journal that uses double-blind reviewing in choosing articles for publication. (C & RL Author Guidelines).  An important arena for college and university librarians seeking publishing.  It is published bi-monthly and starting in January 2014 became an all access all digital format with no printed publication.

Public Libraries  

Editor:
Kathleen Hughes
Public Library Association

Public Libraries is a journal that is published six times per year.  It is the official journal of the Public Library Association and devoted solely to public libraries.  Each issue includes important industry news, PLA and ALA updates, columns and feature articles that offer strategies and ideas for public librarians.  A go-to-read for public librarians. 

Public Libraries journal welcomes manuscripts of interest to public libraries and library staff.  They are reviewed by a feature editor and others knowledgeable about the topic.  Writings they seek:

Feature articles: generally 10-20 pages

"Verso" pieces: opinion pieces

New items for "Tales from the Front"

Items for "News from PLA"

Vendor announcements

Reviews of professional literature 

( P L Editorial Guidelines, 2014)

Compare and Contrast 

The two journals I looked at are alike in that they both serve a very specific audience.  A very focused audience.  I think that is a good thing.  At least one of the professional journals on a librarian's regular reading list should be a journal explicitly for their field of work.

It is easier to see how the two journals are different.  The College and Research Libraries journal reads like the scholarly university journal that it was founded as and still is with its studies of resources, teaching pedagogy and details of research.  The Public Libraries journal as a trendy, feature article read filled with advice/examples of the latest great thing to come along in the public library world.  It is also apparent that it is the information guide for the association.  The issue right before the biennial meeting focuses primarily on the upcoming gathering.

A librarian in training would do well to read and keep up to date with both types of journals.


References:

College and Research Libraries. (2014, March). Instructions for authors. Retrieved from http://www.crl.acrl.org/site/misc/author.xhtml.

Nixon. J. (2014). Core journals in library and information science: developing a methodology for ranking LIS journals. College and Research Libraries, 75, 66-90.  Retrieved from http://www.crl.acrl.org/content/75/1/66.full.pdf.html.

Public Libraries editorial guidelines. (2014).  Retrieved from http://ala.org/pla/publications/publiclibraries/writeforpl/editorialguidelines.

Walter, S. (2014). Re-introducing college and research libraries: do we still need "another library journal?. College and Research Libraries, 75 (1), 3-4.  Retrieved from http: //crl.acrl.org.

                                                   free image from Pixabay images

  

Intellectual Freedom

Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association 

One of my duties where I work is to review, order and read Young Adult literature.  One of my assignments in my graduate class is to read a challenged or banned book.  For this bibliophile, it is a match made in heaven.

I chose to read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.  It was published in 2013 by St. Martin's Press. It was challenged by the Parents Action League of the Anoka-Hennepin Independent School District in Minnesota.

Eleanor and Park are a match made in heaven for each other.  The most unlikely of pairs, to others. The main characters of the book, Eleanor and Park meet and become inseparable on the school bus.  She's a big red head with a unique sense of style.  Park's classmates define him as a half-Korean-half-white music and comic book nerd who wears eye liner.   They connect.  They bond over the love of music. They share comic books.  They hold hands with an intensity well defined by the author.

The book, intended for high school students, tackles big issues: poverty, abuse, race, bullying, self esteem.  It tackles everyday high school life (whether parents want to believe it or not): first love, sibling rivalry, trying to fit in, looking for love, physical attraction, pop culture. Rowell does it all beautifully.

Rowell's ability to write as high school students think and talk made it a rich experience for me and many.  I guess that's the problem the Parents Action League had with this book.  They don't want to know (or remember) what it feels like to be young and in love.

This excellent book received the 2014 Michael L. Printz award for excellence in Young Adult literature.

Mid-Semester Reflections

I have made it to the halfway point in my first semester in the School of Library and Information Science graduate school.  Time to celebrate...well, at least a little bit! My first week of school was incredibly scary for me, perhaps because I am a little older than the average student. :) (Actually, a lot older.) Not only was I facing having to work through graduate level reading and writing, I was going to need to figure out how to do it through technology that was relatively new to me.  Thankfully,  I feel more confident in my ability to navigate around in Blackboard and I have actually enjoyed my assignments.

Blogging, a new experience for me, has provided a place for me to reflect on my goals and my studies. It has encouraged me it ask, "Why did I decide to pursue a graduate degree at this point in my life?" "What are the dream and goals I hope to accomplish?" "How am I preparing myself to meet those aspirations?" Blogging has helped me to be intentional about asking questions and looking for answers.

The Bb forums, where my classmates and I pose topics, questions and discuss them thoroughly has also been a place of discernment for me.  I am always amazed at what I learn!  Sometimes I get frustrated and bogged down with the number of discussion threads one needs to read and respond to, but in the end I am always grateful for the knowledge shared and questions answered.  New ideas and new perspectives crop up each and every week.

A recurring theme for me throughout this semester has been: what is the definition of a librarian? What does a librarian do? What kind of librarian do I want to be? What are my goals?  I have found it interesting that I want to be a public librarian but the academic world intrigues me as well.  I think it is because I spent so many years teaching that I want to look and see if there's a job that combines both teaching and librarianship.  I am looking forward to my library visit to help me discern this.  I am certain it is a path that I will continue to explore throughout my studies.

Free image uploaded from Pixabay 

A tribute to Anne Carroll Moore

Dazzling poet and critic, letter writer of genius, and Brooklyn Dodgers fanatic, Marianne Moore is also one of The New York Public Library's most distinguished former employees (she worked at the Hudson Park Library in the 1920s). This poem is her sly tribute to the legendary Anne Carroll Moore, NYPL's first head of Children's Services.

Before the shelves at Hudson Park
The brownies who appear at dark
For news of sport and picture screen,
And the good leprechaun in green—
One night assembled hand in hand
The modest number of the band,
Increasing till there was no space
That could accommodate a face
Or hand or pair of brownie feet.
The consternation was complete
Because a rumor gathered weight
That their great friend—a potentate
Among all brownies who could write
And read—would soon be lost to sight,
And all detected as they stood
By their pinocchio of wood
They vowed that each in turn a sentry
Hidden close beside the entry
Should keep watch at the front door
Until Miss Anne Carroll Moore
Should be at the Hudson once more.

Text from: The Poems of Marianne Moore. Edited by Grace Schulman. New York; London: Viking, 2003. Copyright © Marianne Craig Moore, Literary Executor of the Estate of Marianne Moore, 2003. All rights reserved.

Children's Book about Anne Carroll Moore:

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise

 How Anne Carroll Moore 

Created Libraries for Children 

by

Jan Pinborough

Illustrated by Debby Atwell

Published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Website: http://www.missmoorethoughtotherwise.com/