Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: The Political Librarian
ISSN: 2471-3155
Website: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/pollib/ and http://everylibrary.org/how-we-help-libraries/political-librarian/
Purpose, objective, or mission: The Political Librarian “is dedicated to expanding the discussion of, promoting research on, and helping to re-envision locally focused advocacy, policy, and funding issues for libraries.”1
Target audience: Library and information science (LIS) professionals, scholars, practitioners, and graduate students, as well as those outside of the LIS discipline, who are interested libraries and tax and public policy.
Publisher: The Political Librarian is organized and published by EveryLibrary.2 It is hosted by the Washington University in St. Louis Open Scholarship site.3
Peer reviewed? Yes. Not all articles are peer reviewed, but there is a section in most issues for those that are.
Type: LIS scholarly journal.
Medium: Online, open access.
Content:The Political Librarian publishes peer-reviewed articles, white papers, and editorials that focus on how funding issues, tax implications, budgeting, and broader economic policy affect libraries on the local level.4 Articles range from focused examinations, such as library budgeting strategies, to broader issues, such as tax reform and trickle-down economics.5 The journal is “at the intersection of local libraries, public policy and tax policy.”6
Frequency of publication: Two volumes each year.
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: Polices, Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines, and Editorial Team and Guidelines for The Political Librarian.
Types of contributions accepted: The Political Librarian publishes opinions/first drafts, white papers, and peer-reviewed articles. The journal seeks a variety of perspectives, new voices, and lines of inquiry, and does not limit “contributors to just those working in the field of library and information science.” The journal invites “submissions from researchers, practitioners, community members, or others dedicated to furthering the discussion, promoting research, and helping to re-envision tax policy and public policy on the extremely local level.”7
Submission and review process: Authors submit manuscripts though the journal’s online portal. Initial submissions do not have strict guidelines to follow.8 However, accepted manuscripts need to follow the Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines.9
Editorial tone: The tone is professional. Clear guidelines are provided by the editorial team.10
Style guide used: The journal’s reference and citation style is explained in the Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines.11
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
The Political Librarian is a new journal (first published in 2015) that has a very particular focus: it is a “dedicated space where practitioners, researchers, and users [can] publish on frontline advocacy experiences, campaign strategy and research, and/or about tax and public policies impacting libraries on the local level.” The journal is a resource for examinations of the impact of tax and public policy locally and how policy affects library services and community outcomes and for new models of library funding and resources to educate stakeholders.12 LIS authors–professionals, practitioners, scholars, and graduate students–who write about the intersection of libraries with tax and public policy will find a good fit with this journal.
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: Data are not available, but the number of downloads appears on each article’s title page.
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: The Political Librarian is written in English. The audience is mostly located in the United States, as US tax and public policy are primarily discussed.
Reader characteristics: Readers are LIS professionals, practitioners, scholars, and graduate students, as well as those outside the LIS community, who are interested in how tax and public policy affects libraries.
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Readers will have a strong academic and practical understand of LIS subject matter, but there may be readers outside of the discipline for whom jargon or idiosyncratic terms should be explained.
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
Authors should understand that readers have a particular interest in libraries and in public and tax policy, and they look for articles that both explain how libraries can survive and thrive in the current environment and how to advocate now for positive changes in the future. Readers also look for local analyses and examinations that may have implications on a broader scale.
Last updated: April 24, 2018
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