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“The Peer Review Process Demystified: Advice for New Writers”

 

The Professional Development Committee recently sponsored a panel discussion aimed at helping newer librarians break into the field of publishing as part of their professional development.  Three members of the Writers Group, Virginia Cole, Marty Crowe, and Gail Steinhart, organized the event. 

Writing Panel
From left: Jean Poland, Anne Kenney, Elaine Westbrooks, Phil Davis, and Karen Calhoun

The panelists were experienced CUL librarians who have been editors and reviewers for publications of library literature and information science.  Karen Calhoun was the assistant editor of Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services (LCATS) from 1999 through 2005, and she compiled and served as principal editor for a collection of articles published by Haworth Press as CORC: New Tools and Possibilities for Cooperative Electronic Resource Description and as two issues of the Journal of Internet Cataloging.  Phil Davis is a member of the editorial boards of College & Research Libraries (C&RL) and Portal: Libraries and the Academy.  He reviews for these two journals and Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology.  Anne Kenney is the co-editor of RLG DigiNews and a former book review editor of American Archivist.  She has also been on the editorial board of the Midwestern Archivist.  Jean Poland is a member of the editorial board of Issues in Science and Technology Libraries, an open-access journal publishing substantive material of interest to science and technology librarians.  Elaine Westbrooks is a member of the editorial board of ALA (Editions) and was on the editorial advisory board of OCLC Systems and Services: International Digital Library Perspectives.

For those who couldn’t attend, a rundown of the remarks of the panelists might still provide some valuable advice.  Jean Poland launched the discussion with the current CUL catchword guiding scholarly communication: “Know your publisher, keep your copyright, and store your stuff.”  Then the others chimed in. 

  • First, do your homework!  Decide on the journal you’d like to contribute to by considering whether you want a peer-reviewed publication.  Less-established librarians may feel pressure to publish in peer-reviewed journals, while mid-career librarians may feel more comfortable considering a broader range of publication options.  Some writers don’t like the fact that the peer-review process is slow.  It’s also possible that your reviewer may not be a match for you, especially if you’re a niche author.  And keep in mind that some prestigious journals do not use peer review; for example, D-Lib is extremely influential.  Of course, librarians who are committed to supporting reasonably priced means of scholarly communication try to avoid the journals that are driving unreasonable price increases.
  • Look at the type of articles that a journal accepts—the biggest reason for a turndown is a bad match.  For example, C&RL (College & Research Libraries) rejects over 60% of its submissions, and the estimate for JASIS (Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology) is 80-90%.
  • Some tips on the nitty-gritty of writing: Keep charts to a minimum, and use graphics only when they are needed.  Make sure your citations are correct—your reviewer may be someone you’re citing, and he or she knows the literature.  Include a discussion of the implications of your study.  Is further study called for?  If so, you are establishing reasons to build on it for a future article.  You could present locally and then at a conference to get early feedback and let your ideas mature, and then publish.
  • Work with the editor—editors want their journals to succeed, and your paper can help.  It’s important that you feel the process is a collaboration.  You get sick of revisions, but hang in there.  You may find review and revision to be an intense process, but you’ll get a better paper out of it.  Find a mentor for yourself.  Drop your defenses and get an experienced editor.
  • After publishing, a post-review can be helpful.  Check to see if your article is being cited.  Is there an indication of acceptance of your ideas?

Parting Words

Karen: It’s really important that you’ve placed your piece in context—where it has been, what it is, and where it goes.

Phil: Refuse to author, edit, or work for journals that are overpriced.  Practice what we preach—we as librarians are still sometimes submitting to journals that we shouldn’t support.

Elaine: Write every day.  Learn as much as you can from editors.  Get as much feedback as possible.

Anne: Outline your piece after you’ve written it to see if it’s logical.  Can you say in several sentences what the piece is about?  Sneak into publishing via book reviews—they lead to other possibilities.  If you fail, seek others’ comments.

Jean: Get on review panels; present at conferences and research forums (not necessarily in print); volunteer for internships at ALA; offer to review.  And choose carefully where you publish.

Next: Kudos