Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice (PaLRaP)
ISSN: 2324-7878 (online)
Website: www.palrap.org
Purpose, objective, or mission: Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice provides (PaLRaP) provides opportunities for Pennsylvania librarians to share their knowledge and experience in all areas of librarianship with other librarians in the state and beyond.1
Target audience: Librarians and LIS professionals in Pennsylvania, as well as those in other states and countries.2
Publisher: The journal is published by the University Library System, University of Pittsburgh, and cosponsored by the College and Research Division of the Pennsylvania Library Association and the University of Pittsburgh Press.3
Peer reviewed? Articles in the Research and Practice section are double-blind peer reviewed. Essay and Commentary articles are not peer reviewed but are edited and fact checked. News, features, and letters are not peer reviewed.4
Type: LIS scholarly journal.
Medium: Online and open access.5
Content: Sections appearing regularly in PaLRaP are Editorial, Letter, Commentary, Feature, Interview, Practice, Research, and News.6 Although the journal emphasizes scholarship from Pennsylvania libraries, the Research and Practice articles are original, current, and applicable to public and academic libraries outside of the state.
Frequency of publication: Twice a year.7
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: Submissions.
Types of contributions accepted: The journal is a forum for the “unique and valuable work of librarians in Pennsylvania.” PaLRaP “includes articles from all areas of librarianship, and from all types of libraries in Pennsylvania,” including original research, innovative initiatives and practices, and current trends and challenges.8 Each section of the journal has its own editorial guidelines, scope, and style.
Submission and review process: PaLRaP uses an online submission system. Registration as an author on the PaLRaP website is required to submit and check the status of manuscripts. Authors should read the section policies for editorial guidelines and to determine the correct category for manuscripts. Articles submitted to the Research and the Practice sections are submitted to blind peer review.9 The website provides a flowchart of the Open Journal Systems software, which is a helpful overview of the publishing process.10
Editorial tone: The Research and Practice articles are scholarly; the tone of other sections is less formal but appropriate for a scholarly journal.
Style guide used: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 6th edition,11 and the journal’s own “Additional Manuscript Guidelines for Authors.”12
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
LIS authors writing from and about Pennsylvania will find an excellent outlet in PaLRaP. The journal welcomes submissions from all types of libraries and all areas of librarianship. The journal’s focus on Pennsylvania may limit the ability of LIS authors from out of state to get published; however, LIS authors whose research and practice is in Pennsylvania have a great opportunity for publishing in a high-quality LIS journal whose content is relevant to academic and public libraries beyond Pennsylvania’s boarders.
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: This is a five-year-old online open-access journal directed specifically to librarians and LIS professionals in Pennsylvania.
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: PaLRaP‘s focus is on libraries in Pennsylvania, and its primary audience is in Pennsylvania; however, it is an open-access journal, so it can reach audiences worldwide. It is written in English.
Reader characteristics: Readers will most likely be librarians in Pennsylvania who expect to read about research and practice from within their state. Readers will expect “to be exposed to the unique and valuable work of librarians in Pennsylvania that may not be published elsewhere in the library literature.”13
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Readers will have LIS subject matter knowledge.
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
Although this publication focuses on library research and practice from the state of Pennsylvania, this is an open-access journal whose content is relevant outside of the state as well. Authors should keep in mind that there is potentially a much wider audience than just a local one.
Last updated: February 21, 2018
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