ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

About College & Research Libraries

A General Statement of Purpose

College& Research Libraries (C&RL) is the official publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. It is published seventeen times a year—six bimonthly journal issues and eleven monthly (combining July-August) news issues.

As the official publication of ACRL, College & Research Libraries maintains a record of policy statements and actions taken by the association. In reporting activities of ACRL and its sections, it thus serves as the principal medium of communication among the ACRL membership.

The publication is also a medium for professional communication among academic and research librarians. The journal issues contain reports of research and thoughtful articles on matters of current and continuing concern, communications from readers related to those articles, and reviews and announcements of important relevant publications.

The news issues report activities and programs of the association, information and news related to academic and research libraries and their personnel, and brief notices of relevant publications.

Submitting announcements for the News Issues

Libraries, institutions, and associations wishing to announce developments in their organizations are invited to send particulars to the news editor (John V. Crowley, James M. Milne Library, State University College, Oneonta, NY 13820). Such announcements might report, for example, significant acquisitions, staff appointments, awards and grants, new buildings, forthcoming meetings and workshops, and brief summaries of such meetings. ACRL chapters are particularly invited to send reports of their activities.

All such announcements should be typewritten, double-spaced. Copy for a given issue of the News closes six weeks before the first day of the month of issue.

Submitting Manuscripts for the Journal Issues

Manuscripts of articles are to be sent to the editor (Richard D. Johnson, James M. Milne Library, State University College, Oneonta, NY 13820).

Authors should follow these general instructions: Manuscripts are to be typewritten, double-spaced, and submitted in two copies. The title, name, and affiliation of the author and an abstract of 75 to 100 Words should precede the text. Bibliographical references are to be consecutively numbered throughout the manuscript and typewritten, double-spaced, on a separate sheet or sheets at the end. The journal follows A Manual of Style, 12th ed., rev. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969), in matters of bibliographical style. Authors may consult recent issues of the journal for examples of the style.

Manuscripts should range in length from 1,000 to no more than 5,000 words. Manuscripts may include tables, figures, and other illustrations. Such items should be placed on separate sheets and inserted where they are discussed in the text. Camera-ready copy should be submitted for figures and illustrations. Auxiliary material may be incorporated into an appendix, but numbered references in the text should be restricted to bibliographical citations.

Subject Content

College & Research Librariesincludes articles in all fields of interest and concern to academic and research librarians—for example, library collections, their acquisition and organization; services to readers and bibliographic instruction; library organization and management; library buildings; library history. In its treatment of a subject, the manuscript may employ a number of different approaches, for example, a case study or a descriptive or historical narrative, an article expressing informed opinion on a matter of continuing interest, a report on the procedures and results of a controlled research project.

Review of Manuscripts

Manuscripts received are given an initial review by the editor, and those selected for further review are submitted to at least two readers, generally from members of the Editorial Board. Names of authors are removed from the manuscript, and thus author identification should be on the first page of the manuscript only. Insofar as possible, other items in the manuscript that identify the author (e.g., a bibliographical reference) are blocked out by the editor prior to submission for formal review. When the review is completed, generally in six to eight weeks, the editor notifies the author. An author is not to submit a manuscript to another publication while it is under review by College & Research Libraries.

In their review, the readers will direct their attention to the content and style of the manuscripts, addressing such questions as the following: Does the manuscript make a substantially new contribution to the literature? As for the method employed, is it appropriate to the subject, and does the author demonstrate competence with it? Is the author then able to communicate findings clearly to an educated yet not necessarily specialized audience? Does the author demonstrate through a review of the literature and other developments how the research or opinions here presented relate to them?

Publication

If accepted for publication, the manuscript is generally published from six to nine months after acceptance (depending on the supply of accepted manuscripts). The manuscript will be edited to conform to the style of the journal, and the editor may offer recommendations to the author on changes to make.

Articles published in College & Research Libraries are copyrighted by the American Library Association, and subsequent inquiries for reprinting articles are referred to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. All material in the journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement.

Letters

Readers are invited to comment on articles in the journal through letters addressed to the editor. Readers may also comment on matters of current concern through letters to the news editor. It is recommended that such communications be as short as possible and no longer than 200 words. All letters should be typewritten, double-spaced. Letters accepted for publication are subject to editing. A letter commenting on an article in the journal is shared with the author, and a response from the author may appear with the letter.

Reviews and Announcements of New Publications

Both the journal and news issues announce new publications of interest to academic and research libraries. The journal also includes formal reviews of selected titles. Publishers are invited to send review copies of their publications as well as announcements to the editor (Richard D. Johnson, James M. Milne Library, State University College, Oneonta, NY 13820).

Readers wishing to review books for the journal are invited to write to the editor indicating their special areas of interest and qualifications.