Are you a new librarian who’s just starting down the tenure track? A current student or recent grad who did original research as part of your LIS program? Scholarly publishing can be one of the most mysterious and often daunting tasks faced by new librarians. What do you write about? Where can you submit your article when it’s finished? What happens then?
Endnotes: The Journal of the New Members Round Table, NMRT’s e-journal, exists to provide support for librarians who want or need to publish scholarly articles. We publish peer-reviewed research by NMRT members that’s directed at new librarians.
Articles generally range from 2000 – 4000 words and present original research, practitioner-based research, and/or case studies that address issues faced by new librarians. Previous issues have included articles on the availability of mentoring for new librarians, management training in library school, and surviving the tenure process; all previously published articles can be viewed on the Endnotes committee page (http://www.ala.org/nmrt/oversightgroups/comm/schres).
Endnotes accepts article submissions throughout the year, but anything received by Dec. 1 will receive guaranteed consideration for our upcoming Spring 2014 issue. If you have an article idea, feel free to email me at nmrtendnotesjournal@gmail.com and we can discuss whether it would be a good fit. All submissions are peer-reviewed by the Endnotes committee, which is made up of NMRT members–new librarians like you. All authors, regardless of article acceptance, will receive comments and suggestions from the peer reviewers.
Endnotes also publishes reviews of books and media relevant to new librarians. If you’re interested in reviewing, email me at nmrtendnotesjournal@gmail.com and request to be included on the reviewers’ mailing list. Our next call for reviewers is coming up in January. We can provide the books to review, or if there’s a book or website that you are interested in reviewing, please let me know.
And if you’d like to learn more about scholarly publishing from the other side, fill out the NMRT volunteer form in February and volunteer to be part of the Endnotes committee. You’ll gain experience as a peer reviewer as well as with other aspects of the publication process.
For more information about Endnotes, including complete submission guidelines, visit http://www.ala.org/nmrt/oversightgroups/comm/schres or email me at nmrtendnotesjournal@gmail.com.