Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: iSchool Connext
ISSN: N/A
Website: http://ischoolgroups.sjsu.edu/connext/
Purpose, objective, or mission: Per their website, “iSchool Connext fosters connections between students and alumni of the SJSU iSchool program through communications, events, and programs open to all students and alumni in order to promote scholarly and professional development and achievement.”1 In 2011, the SJSU School of Information’s alumni association and its student organization were merged into a single organization with a shared blog in order to promote “expanded collaboration and communication between current students and alumni, creating lifelong connections that enrich their scholarly and professional careers.”2
Target audience: All students and alumni of the School of Information at San José State University.3
Publisher: Student and alumni members of the iSchool Connext organization.4
Peer reviewed? No.5
Type: LIS professional news.6
Medium: Web-based publication.7
Content: “Information on the LIS field, career ideas, job opportunities, or any other topic that may be helpful to others.”8 Recent posts include event announcements, spotlight features of alumni, and recruitment announcements for leadership positions within the organization.9
Frequency of publication: Continuously. As of 2019, the most recent post is from January 2018.10
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: http://ischoolgroups.sjsu.edu/connext/ (Scroll to the bottom-right corner in the footer of each page.)
Types of contributions accepted: Op ed pieces, as well as announcements and discussions of events, scholarships, and resources related to students and alumni of the School of Information. “Guest posts” from recent years include opinion pieces on the importance of doing research while in school, the use of social media for networking, and interview techniques. Any insight or news relevant to any library profession or education would be welcome here.11
Submission and review process: iSchool Connext members are encouraged to participate by emailing the organization through the website.12 The Blog Correspondent and iSchool WebMaster are responsible for soliciting blog submissions from members and managing online presence,13 and are presumably in charge of reviewing and posting submissions, since “guest posts” are technically posted by the WebMaster.14 The most recent (2017-2018) list of officers indicates open seats for at least the WebMaster position.15
Editorial tone: Informal.16
Style guide used: None specified.
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
The iSchool Connext Blog provides many publication, editorial, and leadership opportunities for iSchool students and alumni at SJSU. Any student or alumni of the school could begin to develop a publication portfolio by contributing opinion or news pieces to the blog. The current lack of activity and leadership indicates a small audience, but any involvement would indicate commitment to improving and participating in communication of the school’s students and alumni. In addition to writing, members of the group could show leadership and further develop their publication skills by seeking out any of the currently open Officer positions and making the blog a more active and widely-read publication.
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: No circulation or membership information is available, but blog content makes its way to the organization’s social media pages. As of July 2019, Facebook page has 980 followers and their Twitter account has over 500.17
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: San José State University is located in San José, California, yet all of its current students complete the program online. Students and alumni may live, study, or work anywhere in the world. Since members have all completed coursework through the program, they will be familiar with English and LIS jargon at least to the extent that it appears in iSchool courses. The School of Information has been around since 1954, so school alumni could have very different cultural and professional experiences than current students.18
Reader characteristics: Since we have no current data on the group’s membership or the blog’s readership, we can only assume that the reader characteristics are the characteristics of the school’s students and alumni. They could possess or be working towards a MLIS or MARA degree with a career pathway in academic libraries, special libraries, public libraries, school libraries, teacher librarianship, archives and preservation, data science, digital curation, information organization, digital services, and more. They could be in their first semesters in the program, or they could be longtime professionals in the field.19
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: iSchool students and alumni have a command of LIS subject matter and jargon.
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
Because the potential membership of this group is so diverse in experience, authors can interest an audience by writing about any topic in the field or by making connections between different topics in the field. Whether reading an observational piece on teacher librarianship or an opinion piece on controversies in digital preservation, most readers will be interested in understanding what their fellow students and alumni are thinking about and experiencing. Members read this blog to keep up on the events and opinions of their classmates and former classmates, not to read the latest best practices and research articles. A focus on connecting life lessons to iSchool experiences would be especially welcome in this blog.
Last updated: July 13, 2019
Comments are closed.