Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: Against the Grain
ISSN: 1043-20941
Website: http://www.against-the-grain.com/
Purpose, objective, or mission: From the website: Against the Grain “is your key to the latest news about libraries, publishers, book jobbers, and subscription agents. Our goal is to link publishers, vendors, and librarians by reporting on the issues, literature, and people that impact the world of books and journals. ”2
Target audience: Publishers; vendors of book, journal, and other scholarly materials; and library and information science professionals, particularly those interested in issues surrounding acquisitions, access, online platforms, publishers, and serials subscriptions.3“>https://against-the-grain.com/about/]
Publisher: Against the Grain.4
Peer reviewed? No. All feature presentations and special reports are refereed by at least two editors. Columns are refereed by the column editors only. A list of editors who review manuscript drafts and a proofreader for ATG is available here.5
Type: A hybrid scholarly journal and professional news magazine. While informative and based on professional practice and expertise, most submissions have an informal tone and lack extensive bibliographies, though some do provide endnotes.6
Medium: Print. ATG print subscribers can also be approved for a free online membership to access subscriber-only content on the ATG website.7 Free online access to archival content more than three years old is available at the Against the Grain Archives.8
Content: Articles. The ATG also accepts additional content like job postings and announcements.9
Frequency of publication: “Against the Grain is published six times a year, in February, April, June, September, November, and December/January; and the ATG NewsChannel website that is updated daily with the latest news, announcements, and online-only content.” 10
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: http://www.against-the-grain.com/submit-content/
Types of contributions accepted: Regular article contribution areas include features, interviews, reviews, legal issues, publishing, bookselling and vending, technology, and standards.11
Submission and review process: Contact Tom Gilson at gilsont@cofc.edu to submit an article for either online or print publication. Alternately, Katina Strauch (Editor), Tom Gilson (Editor, ATG Website), and Leah Hinds (Editor, ATG Website) can be contacted at editors@against-the-grain.com. Sample submission deadlines are listed on the content submission page.12
Editorial tone: There are no stated guidelines for the submitted articles’ tone,13 though most content is written in a clear, well-informed, but fairly informal style.14
Style guide used: ATG uses Turabian/Chicago Manual of Style format. Bibliographic citations, when included, are provided in endnotes and are not supplemented by a bibliography. Endnotes are indicated in-text by superscript Arabic numbers after the punctuation of the phrase or clause to which the note refers; endnote references are numbered in the same order that they are cited in the text.15
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
ATG will be a good fit for authors interested in writing shorter pieces exploring access, collection development, publishers, serials subscriptions, and online platforms.
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: ATG currently has over 2,000 print subscribers. A readership survey indicated the average subscriber circulates each issue of Against the Grain to 4.6 colleagues, giving ATG a readership of well over 9,200.16 The Against the Grain Archives provides free online access to archival content more than three years old (1989 on) at the Against the Grain Archives.17 Access to more recent content is limited to subscribers.18
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: United States (editorial institutional affiliations).19 Written in American English.20
Reader characteristics: A typical reader would be interested in the interactions between libraries, publishers, book jobbers, and subscription services. They could work in a variety of library types, or in the larger publishing community.21 Typical readers will work in libraries or with publishers or jobbers, focusing on those who “impact the world of books and journals.”22 Readers will be looking for cutting-edge information about all things library.23
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Readers will be familiar with trends and patterns in acquisitions, access, and online platforms, along with distinctions between various publishers and third-party subscription content providers.24
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
Against the Grain’s content is geared toward library and information science professionals who are interested in keeping up-to-date and informed about trends in libraries, publishing, and subscription services. Brief articles and case studies of a few pages, often with subheadings or bullet points, are recommended to focus the reader’s attention and to make content easy to digest.
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