Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: CLS Newsletter
ISSN: 0887-35501
Website: www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/sections/cls/clswebsite/collpubs/clsnewsletter
Purpose, objective, or mission: This is a newsletter produced by the College Libraries Section (CLS) of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), which in turn is a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Its purpose is to provide information concerning the affairs of the CLS and ACRL to its members as well as to promote a sense of community among its members by publishing light, short articles dealing with experiences of working in academic libraries.2
Target audience: The newsletter is aimed at the general college librarian and provides information on the everyday activities of the CLS and ACRL. As such, it probably would not be of interest to a lay audience.3
Publisher: Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), College Libraries Section (CLS).4
Peer reviewed? No.5
Type: LIS professional. The newsletter is similar to other types of short, organizational communications meant for a general membership. It is unpretentious and full of very short pieces.6
Medium: Online.7
Content: The issues feature CLS and ACRL housekeeping pieces dealing with meetings, conferences, announcements, conventions, political issues, and promotions as well as human-interest pieces on librarians that work in academic libraries.8
Frequency of publication: Twice a year.9
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: Articles and suggestions may be submitted to the editor directly via email.10
Types of contributions accepted: All types of submissions are considered with an emphasis on CLS related professional announcements and events.11
Submission and review process: All decisions are made by the editor who, from the content of past issues, is very flexible in what is accepted for publication as long as it is not too long and deals with CLS members or events.12
Editorial tone: Very informal with a simple prose style.13
Style guide used: There is no style guide specified.
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
For a new author, these types of professional newsletters are gateway publications. These small publications are usually hungry for material and, though they do not usually pay, if the piece is not too long and is firmly down to earth it will probably be published.
The meat and potatoes of these types of newsletters are announcements of one sort or another along with scheduling and convention information pertaining to the organization itself. The short human-interest type pieces on librarians and the academic libraries where they work are usually used for filler and so the shorter and more concise they are the better.14
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: As of August 2015, CLS had 2,533 members which is a fine indicator of circulation because the newsletter is sent to all members.15
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: CLS Newsletter does not focus on any particular region though it does concern itself with college-level librarianship within the United States. The majority of the newsletter deals with giving kudos to various hard-working librarians within the CLS community and so there is no regionalism present. All college libraries and college librarians from coast to coast are treated equally. Articles are to be written in clear English. As this is not a scholarly work and is really meant to be a house organ for the leadership of the CLS and, by extension, ACRL, the purpose is to communicate the internal housekeeping information of the College Libraries Section and recognize the accomplishments of its members. Because of this, the use of jargon is not detrimental though obscure, local usage might need to be clarified.16
Reader characteristics: Based on a reading of several sample copies, the general readership can be assumed to consist of professionally active, middle-aged, Caucasian, and female academic librarians who work in baccalaureate-level, four-year schools. Of course, males are represented, but females still dominate the profession. The newsletter tries very hard to steer a middle course promoting the efforts of college librarians at all times.17
The four-year college library experience is what binds the members of the CLS together. The experiences of end-of-term reserves, interlibrary loan problems and meeting the needs of demanding faculty are what flavors their relationships with each other and illustrate their successes. Most of the readers will be reference librarians or lower-level administrative librarians who are settled into their career paths; though the occasional library director of the smaller libraries might find something of interest in the newsletter.18
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: The readers are all professionals who have a strong grasp of their profession. The readers are interested enough in their career to have joined these organizations and so are relatively well informed on the new trends emerging in the profession such as blogging, and patron-centered services that would directly affect their work.19
Conclusion: Reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
The one thing that must be kept in mind concerning the readers of this newsletter is that they are all dedicated to the profession of academic librarianship and that they are reading the newsletter to keep up on the current events of the College Library Section and the Association of College and Research Libraries. A popular feature is the kudos of various librarians throughout the country who have been awarded some honor or achieved some success. Also the occasional tidbit of gossip or library anecdote is found in the newsletter.20
Last updated: June 11, 2019
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