Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: Journal of Hospital Librarianship
ISSN: 1532-3269 (Print) and 1532-3277 (Online)1
Website: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/whos20/current#.UY5raz3nYms
Purpose, objective, or mission: The Journal of Hospital Librarianship “focuses on issues that are of vital interest and concern to hospital librarians.”2
Target audience: This journal is intended for “librarians and information specialists in the field of hospital librarianship.”3
Publisher: Routledge/Taylor and Francis.4
Peer reviewed? Yes5
Type: LIS and health facilities and administration, scholarly6
Medium: Print and online7
Content: According to the publication website, “The journal provides a forum for research strategies and reporting research results and quality improvement projects in hospital library settings, discussions of technological challenges and solutions, and articles on health care administration issues which have implications for hospital librarians such as managed care health care economics, hospital mergers, as well as patient safety and consumer health information.”8
Frequency of publication: Quarterly9
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=whos20&page=instructions#.VQ3chvnF8So
Types of contributions accepted: “Articles published in the Journal focus on research strategies, administrative assistance, managed care, financing, mergers, and more. The Journal also publishes articles and columns related to innovative strategies for transforming the healthcare environment, as well as up-to-date analyses and reviews of new products and services.”10
Submission and review process: Manuscripts are submitted electronically to the editor, Carole M. Gilbert (carolemg@wowway.com).11 “Articles and columns are subject to peer review by the editor, column editors, members of the Editorial Board, and independent, anonymous expert referees. Articles are accepted or rejected based on topic and/or recommendation of peer reviewers.”12
Editorial tone: Scholarly13 The editor is “committed to mentoring first-time authors and encourages hospital librarians of all backgrounds to submit articles to the Journal.”14
Style guide used: “References, citations, and general style of manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. Electronic references should be prepared in accordance with the Columbia Guide to Online Style Scientific.”15
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
Writers will find that this journal offers an excellent opportunity to publish scholarly articles for a clearly defined field of study. With the strong support of editors who will “mentor new authors to produce a publishable manuscript,”16 this journal provides a forum for even first-time authors. There is great potential for an author to make an impact on the hospital LIS community through publication in this journal.
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: Circulation statistics are not available, but as this is a publication targeted to a specific LIS community, i.e. hospital librarians, it can be assumed that most hospital library workers would have great interest in its content.
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: This is an American journal that publishes in English only, but many articles are international in scope.17
Reader characteristics: It may be assumed that readers will have a high interest in medical and hospital librarianship. Most will have an MLIS or other advanced degree. Most readers will be employed in hospital libraries, and will consider the articles in this journal to be vital to their professional development. Readers will be interested in anything related to providing health information to both the clinical professional and the lay person.18 However, they may not have much interest in or knowledge of other types of librarianship.
Reader knowledge of LIS subject matter: Most readers will be very knowledgeable of all aspects of hospital librarianship.19
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
The audience for this journal is highly motivated and knowledgeable of hospital librarianship. For authors with expertise in medical or hospital librarianship, an article published in this journal has the potential for reaching a large portion of their medical librarian peer group. The audience will most likely be interested in discovering information dedicated to their particular corner of the LIS profession. With the promised editorial guidance for new authors, and the guarantee of high interest from the reader, this journal offers real opportunities for the LIS researcher and author.
Last updated: May 15, 2017
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