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Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: Catholic Library World
ISSN: 0008-820X
Website: http://cathla.org/Main/About/Publications
Purpose, objective, or mission: The Catholic Library Association, an international organization established in 1921, seeks to provide professional development, promote Catholic literature and offer spiritual support. They promote the exchange of ideas and provide an inspirational source of guidance on ethical issues related to librarianship.1
Target audience: The publication is intended for an “audience that is interested in the broad role and impact of various types of libraries,” whether Christian, secular, or from another religion.2
Publisher: Catholic Library Association.
Peer reviewed? Yes, all submissions are subjected to a double-blind review process.3
Type: LIS scholarly.
Medium: Print.
Content: Catholic Library World publishes articles focusing on all aspects of librarianship, especially as it relates to Catholicism and Catholic Studies. “Topics of interest include: academic libraries, high school and children’s libraries, parish and community libraries, archives, and library education.” The journal also publishes book reviews on the following topics: theology and spirituality, pastoral, professional, children, and young adult.4
Frequency of publication: Journals are published in September, December and March.5
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: Links to PDF files containing author guidelines can be found on CLA’s Publications page.
Types of contributions accepted: Book reviews (for both children and adult works) and articles on all aspects of librarianship, particularly those that relate to Catholicism and Catholic Studies.6
For a better idea of what CLW publishes, here are two recent articles:
Catholic Academic Libraries and Print Promotional Materials
Articles should contribute new findings to the existing literature in the field. The word count should be between 3000 and 5000 words, but may be longer if an editor gives approval.7
Submission and review process: Send manuscripts via email as an attachment including author’s full name, affiliation and email address. Manuscripts should be neither previously published nor published simultaneously elsewhere. Because of the lengthy peer review process, authors will be notified within ninety days of submission whether or not their work was accepted. 8
If published, authors keep copyrights and publication rights for their work.
Editorial tone: Accessible and well documented.9
Style guide used: The Chicago Manual of Style
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
Potential LIS authors should keep in mind that the Catholic Library Association does not limit their publications to works about Catholicism or Catholic librarianship. Their Publications page states that “CLW respects diverse Christian traditions as well as non-Christian. While it is a Catholic publication, CLW welcomes relevant articles from a variety of religious traditions.”10
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: Catholic Library World features a wide readership within and outside of the Catholic Library Association. The journal is “indexed in Book Review, CPLI, Library Literature and Information Science, Library and Information Science Abstracts, Reference Book Review Index, Current Index to Journals in Education (ERIC), Information Science Abstract, and University des sciences humans de Strasbourg (CERDIC.)”11
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: The majority of Catholic Library World’s readers are likely to be American Catholics.
Reader characteristics: Readers are likely to be LIS professionals. From their Publications page, “CLW is intended for an audience that is interested in the broad role and impact of various libraries.12
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Varied.
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
Members of the Catholic Library Association are networkers in the field of library science with a passion for the future of libraries and library trends in the U.S. and abroad.13 Considering that each issue of CLA’s award winning journal features over 100 book and media reviews, readers of Catholic Library World are interested in a wide variety of LIS topics.
Last updated: April 30, 2020
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