Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: portal: Libraries and the Academy
ISSN: 1531-2542 (print), 1530-7131 (online)
Website: https://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/portal-libraries-and-academy
Purpose, objective, or mission: portal is an award-winning journal that focuses “on important research about the role of academic libraries and librarianship” and “features commentary on issues in technology and publishing.” 1 The journal “publishes articles that focus on all aspects of librarianship, knowledge management, and information services and studies within higher education.”2
Target audience: portal is “intended for an audience that is interested in the broad role and impact of libraries within the academy.”3
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press.4
Peer reviewed? Yes, double-blind peer review.5
Type: LIS scholarly journal.
Medium: Print and online.6
Content: Each issue of portal “includes peer-reviewed articles on subjects such as library administration, information technology, new forms of support for research and teaching, and information policy. Other articles address technological issues, research, standards, and policy and strategic planning.”7
Frequency of publication: Quarterly.8
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: Author Guidelines.
Types of contributions accepted: portal accepts research and scholarship on libraries in the academy, especially work that explores the effects of technology on librarianship, the roles of libraries in meeting institutional missions, how the information revolution is challenging and changing library and information practices, and how libraries and librarians address the changing needs of the academy and academics. portal “welcomes submission of inquiries and proposals for topics that authors have under development and will provide guidance on the suitability for publication in portal.” The journal maintains a rigorous review policy, which requires scholarship to be unique in advancing knowledge in the field; needed and in demand, with intrinsic value and use; and used locally and of value to the field. For Features, authors may direct proposals to the appropriate editor.9
Submission and review process: The preferred method for submitting manuscripts to portal is via email with a Microsoft Word attachment. “All submissions to portal are subjected to the double-blind review process, and referees are explicitly asked to indicate when a manuscript is worthy but needs more detailed guidance to be fully acceptable for publication in portal.”10 Authors will usually receive the editor’s decision and the referees’ comments within four to eight weeks after submission.
Editorial tone: Scholarly.
Style guide used: Chicago Manual of Style.11
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
portal is a well-established, respected, award-winning journal.12 LIS authors who want to publish in it should read the 2004 article “Research and Scholarship Defined for portal: Libraries and the Academy.“13 The editors of portal encourage authors, especially new authors, to find experienced mentors to guide them through the research and publishing process. For manuscripts deemed “worthy” but in need of revision, authors are encouraged to work with an experienced mentor to incorporate the referees’ comments and to do further revision; revised manuscripts will be subject to double-blind review with different referees. Overall, portal maintains high standards of scholarship; however, the journal also values collaborative work between novice and experienced LIS writers in order to bring well-written, innovative articles to its pages.14
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: Data are not available; the journal is available through Project MUSE.15
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: portal is a U.S.-based journal that is published in English for an international LIS audience.16
Reader characteristics: The readers of this journal are interested in the role and impact of libraries within an academic environment. The journal’s readers are aware of the importance of a librarian’s work and of the need for careful and scholarly research in the LIS field. Readers work in academic libraries around the world and are researchers and scholars of librarianship in the academy.
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Readers are engaged academic librarians who will have considerable knowledge of LIS terms and subject matter.
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
The main audience for portal is academic librarians, faculty, library science students, information professionals, and anyone interested working in a library environment in higher education. Readers expected consistently high-quality, novel research and scholarship that helps librarians improve and innovate their practices and approaches in the academic library environment.
Last updated: February 23, 2018
Comments are closed.