Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: Tame the Web
ISSN: N/A
Website: https://tametheweb.com/
Purpose, objective, or mission: From Tame the Web‘s About page: “Tame the Web (TTW) endeavors to provide information and discussion, through blogging, on emerging technology, socio-technological trends, the evolving hyperlinked library, LIS education, and human-centered services for LIS students and information professionals in the field.”1
Target audience: LIS students and professionals.
Publisher: TTW is a WordPress site + blog created and run by Dr. Michael Stephens, an associate professor at San Jose State University’s School of Information.
Peer reviewed? No.
Type: LIS professional blog featuring guest posts by students and contributors at the invitation of Dr. Stephens.
Medium: Online.
Content: Blog posts and articles, book reviews. Category topics (dropdown menu at bottom of the site) include engaging users, gaming, libraries/web 2.0, participatory culture, and many others.2
Frequency of publication: Several new articles and posts each month.
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: All submissions are by invitation only.
Types of contributions accepted: Guest blog posts.
Editorial tone: Casual, but informative.
Style guide used: Unknown.
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
Contributing authors of TTW are SJSU School of Information students and colleagues of Dr. Stephens.
The site is geared towards, but certainly not limited to, public librarianship. Recent guest posts include the unwritten, daily tasks of a user-centric library director and an introspective look at a librarian’s career throughout her thirties.
Wholehearted Librarianship: this Stephen Barnes quote gives readers and potential authors a good idea of the theme of TTW‘s content, “We must never forget that the human heart is at the center of the technological maze.”3
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: Tame the Web‘s content is freely available on the web. If you are interested in Dr. Stephens’ published works, check out his page here.4
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: Readership is primarily in the U.S. and Canada, with articles published in English.
Reader characteristics: Readers are LIS students and professionals from across the spectrum of librarianship and information science.
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Strong, but varied. Most posts are relatively LIS jargon-free.
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
Tame the Web‘s readership is unique in that readers also interact with Dr. Stephens via webinars and presentations. Readers come to TTW for its variety of guest posts and straightforward, earnest writing. As a potential author, you will find a varied audience of LIS students and seasoned professionals from across the spectrum of librarianship.
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