Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: First Monday
ISSN: 1396-0466 (Online) and 1396-0458 (CD-ROM)1
Website: http://www.firstmonday.org/
Purpose, objective, or mission: From the website: “First Monday is one of the first openly accessible, peer-reviewed journals on the Internet, solely devoted to research about the Internet.”2 First Monday believes the impact of digitization on society is universal and ubiquitous, and seeks articles about how digitization is changing our understanding of society.3
Target audience: First Monday’s target audience includes intelligent, independent-thinking people located in more than 180 countries. Because readers’ cultures, educational backgrounds, and fields of study vary greatly, readership is diverse. The journal is not geared toward those in academia, and many readers do not speak English as a first language.4
Publisher: First Monday Editorial Group at the University of Illinois at Chicago University Library5 First Monday was originally designed in Copenhagen and published by Munksgard, a Danish publisher.6
Peer reviewed? Yes7
Type: Computers and Internet, scholarly8 (First Monday is published in conjunction with the university library at the University of Illinois-Chicago, which indicates that the LIS community has a vested interest in the publication and represents a large proportion of its readership. Due to its diverse readership, we have categorized First Monday as both a “scholarly” and a “civilian” publication.)9
Medium: Online10
Content: First Monday publishes original interdisciplinary research papers about the Internet and related technologies. Articles emphasize subjects that are particularly interesting or groundbreaking. This publication’s strength lies in its diversity of content centered around the influence of the Internet and related technologies.11
Frequency of publication: Monthly12
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions
Types of contributions accepted: First Monday publishes articles on interesting and novel ideas related to the history, present, and future of the Internet.13 Published topics of interest to LIS authors include: knowledge management, trends and standards, information-seeking behavior, emerging electronic classification frameworks, digital copyright, social networks, education, information society, the internet’s technological and commercial development, technical issues, and the political and social implications of the Internet. Research surveys, studies, exploratory and critical theory articles tied to the internet and related technologies would be welcome here.14 The publication also provides detailed Guidelines for Authors. These guidelines include writing tips; citation, reference, and abstract guidelines; submission format; formatting templates; and a final checklist for use in preparing manuscript submissions.15
Submission and review process: Registration and login are required to submit items online and to check the status of current submissions. Papers are subject to a double-blind peer review for originality and timeliness in the context of related research.16
Editorial tone: Articles published in First Monday are as diverse as its readership. All articles are written in an academic tone, though style varies in complexity. Many are written in an easy-to-read style, while others employ more sophisticated language. In either case, writers maintain the active voice and employ short sentences and paragraphs.17
Style guide used: First Monday provides its own style guide.18
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
First Monday publishes interdisciplinary research articles on all aspects of the internet, from highly-specialized technical issues to the internet’s social and political impact. Given the increasing digitization of information, this journal holds tremendous promise for LIS authors.
Because this audience is not academic, writing standards are not rigid, and an international distribution creates the potential to reach many readers. This publication’s diverse readership allows for writing from a variety of disciplines–LIS authors with backgrounds in engineering, literature, or history would be equally at home here. First Monday would be an excellent place to publish a thesis, or research on emerging Web technologies or trends. Additionally, the fact that the journal is peer reviewed makes it an attractive choice for those who wish to add a published article to their curriculum vitae.
Started in 1996, the journal has published 1,381 papers in 218 issues written by 1,888 authors. The journal is also abstracted in Communication Abstracts, Computer & Communication Security Abstracts, DoIS, eGranary Digital Library, INSPEC, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, LISA, PAIS.19
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: 314,559 per month.20
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: Readers are located in over 180 countries, concentrated in western Europe, North America, and the Pacific Rim. First Monday is published by the University of Illinois at Chicago University Library, where its server is also located.21 Due to the publication’s international scope, many readers’ first language is not English. Additionally, many readers are not academics. Authors should avoid using specific cultural references or idioms unless these are explained. Simple explanations, active voice, and less complex sentences will help this diverse audience better understand your message.22
Reader characteristics: Because First Monday‘s focus is international and its scope is interdisciplinary, the cultures, educational backgrounds, and fields of study vary greatly among First Monday readers. Cultural, educational, and professional interests vary greatly among readers, and this publication’s interdisciplinary scope is larger than library information science alone. That said, the publication’ s focus is salient to the discipline. This, combined with the fact that it is published by a university library, makes it reasonable to presume that many readers are LIS professionals with shared professional interests and workplaces. The articles published in First Monday represent a wide variety of standpoints and approaches. The articles do not show overt bias or attitude toward any particular view, which seems indicative of the audience’s diversity.23
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Many articles published in First Monday are not directly related to LIS, so it is reasonable to presume that many readers are involved in other aspects of Internet technology. In view of this, authors should cautiously employ LIS jargon and explain any specialized terms they use.24
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
First Monday prides itself on its interdisciplinary scope, and publishes a wide variety of articles from multiple perspectives. Demographic information about readers’ professional affiliations could not be obtained, and nothing in this publication’s submission guidelines indicates a preference toward LIS authors or topics. However, First Monday‘s publisher indicates that librarians have a vested interest in this publication and may represent a large proportion of its readers. First Monday’s Audience Profile stresses that many readers are not academics, but one might conclude that many are librarians.25
Library science is an interdisciplinary field, and LIS students and professionals possess specialized knowledge of digital information collection, organization, and dissemination. This uniquely positions them as potential authors for First Monday. When writing for this publication, explain any professional terminology that would be unfamiliar to those outside the LIS field. For example, a study of library cataloging standards and information-seeking behavior on the web should explain terms like MARC21 or RDA. To be well-suited for First Monday, such an article might focus on digitization’s broad affects on LIS cataloging and how these are shaping practices.
While First Monday’s readership is not primarily academic, the content of articles is often sophisticated and complex. This may be why the editors stress simplicity and brevity in style; readers from different backgrounds will better understand a complex message through simple explanations and short sentences.
Last updated: October 17, 2018
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