Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: Communications in Information Literacy
ISSN: 1933-59541
Website: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit/
Purpose, objective, or mission: Communications in Information Literacy (CIL) is “an independent, peer-reviewed journal devoted solely to the advancement of research, theory, and practice in the area of information literacy in higher education.”2
Target audience: The primary audience for research articles are “academic librarians and library educators.” The primary audience for Innovative Practices, the section for peer-reviewed case studies, are “academic librarians and other library personnel and educators who are engaged in information literacy instruction.” The primary audience for the Book Review section, are “librarians and other professionals (student support staff, administrators, course instructors, or others) in higher education, who are concerned with teaching and learning.”3
Publisher: Communications in Information Literacy4
Peer reviewed? Yes5
Type: Scholarly6
Medium: Online. “CIL is an open access journal in the truest sense; there are no article processing charges or other regressive fees associated with authorship or publication.”7
Content: The “Research Articles” section includes “peer-reviewed feature articles, which may be research-based or theoretical in nature. Literature review papers are generally discouraged, but those including in-depth investigation and noteworthy conclusions will be considered.” The “Innovative Practices” section presents “peer-reviewed case studies that report on innovative information literacy instruction practices that are relevant to higher education contexts.” The “Perspectives” section “consists of provocative and thoughtful essays on various aspects of information literacy in academic libraries.” The “Editorials” section includes “essays written by the editors as they pertain to the state of the journal or current events in the discipline,” and also includes “invited works and regularly contributed columns.”8
Frequency of publication: Semiannual9
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit/policies.html
Types of contributions accepted: “Manuscripts may be theoretical, research-based, critical, or have a practical focus.” “CIL does not accept simultaneously submitted or previously published manuscripts. However, CIL welcomes and encourages the submission of papers developed from professional presentations.” Unsolicited submissions for the “Research Articles” and “Innovative Practices” sections are accepted, however, it is recommended, though not necessary, that “prospective authors query the CIL editors before submitting their works.” Submissions to the “Perspectives” and “Editorials” sections are by invitation only.10
Submission and review process: Authors submit papers electronically. To facilitate the double blind review process, the author’s name and institutional affiliations are removed and replaced by bracketed placeholders. “The review process generally takes six to eight weeks to complete. Authors are notified promptly when a decision on their manuscript is made.”11
Editorial tone: Scholarly12
Style guide used: Manual of Style of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th edition13
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
Communications in Information Literacy is a well established research journal, having published its first issue in 2007. CIL provides a platform for scholars and practitioners to advance research, theory, and practice in the area of information literacy in higher education. Prospective authors must be interested in publishing original research and should be prepared for a rigorous review process.14
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: Because CIL is an online, open access journal, articles are downloaded individually. As of 4/2/2021, the number of total full-text downloads for the past year was 37,293, and the number of full-text downloads for the top ten articles ranged from 1,098 to 3,926.”15
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: CIL is online and open access, its readership is international. The geographical location of article downloads are viewable via an interactive world map.16
Interest in the field of information literacy is expanding rapidly in the age of the Internet the ability to process and evaluate information in the central role information literacy plays in shaping our social and political world . social and political influence profound impact on our . Therefore, CIL will appeal to a broad audience of journalists,
As this is an international publication, all potential authors should avoid using certain jargon or cultural references that others may not be able to understand. The CIL editors advise writers, “As we are a journal of information literacy, we assume our readership already has familiarity with the concept of information literacy and its application in library science. Therefore, the manuscript does not need to treat the concept of information literacy as something novel for our readers, particularly in the Introduction or the Literature Review. Unless your institutional definition of information literacy varies significantly from that of the ACRL, there is no need to provide a perfunctory definition of information literacy for our readers.”17
Reader characteristics: Though specific reader demographics are not available, authors may assume that the journal’s readers are international and the majority are employed in libraries at higher education institutions.18
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: The primary readers of this publication are knowledgeable about library and information science issues. As noted above, readers have a clear understanding of information literacy and the issues surrounding the topic. It is likely that most readers have a firm grasp on technology, as this journal is only available online. As individuals interested in information literacy, readers probably work closely with electronic resources. It is clear that the audience of this publication values education and, above all, information literacy. They are interested in ensuring that communities have access to information and the ability to evaluate it adequately.19
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
It is important to note that because this publication is open access, authors’ work can be viewed for free by anyone searching the Internet, which could be a potential benefit. However, as it has an academic and research emphasis, it is most likely that the audience will be limited to those interested in higher education with a strong background in information literacy. Prospective authors should also keep in mind the growing field of information literacy and recognize the opportunity for new studies in this field, especially those that would be of interest in academic and research libraries and applicable internationally.
“The primary audiences for articles in this section are academic librarians and library educators, but we encourage contributions from all academic disciplines and from institutional administrators.”
Last updated: In progress April 2021
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