Publish and Flourish: Publishing in Fields Tangential to Librarianship and Getting Credit

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Publish and FlourishPublishing in Fields
Tangential to Librarianship (and Getting Credit)
An ACRL-LA 2008 Mini-Conference Presentation
Tony Fonseca Serials Librarian Nicholls State
University ACRL-LA President Elect
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Introduction

• This presentation assumes you already know how to
  write, but either
• have no idea how to turn your multidisciplinary
  interests, ideas, and initiatives into articles,
• feel that you have nothing valuable to add to the
  professional literature, and/or
• are still on the fence about the value of
  scholarly publishing.

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Session Topics

• I will discuss ways to break into the world of
  published writers and ways to advance your career
  as a publishing academic, while writing about
  what you like and know.

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My Own multidisciplinary Background

• Started out in literature (M.A., 1989 Ph.D.,
  1993).
• Wrote my dissertation on mainstream authors who
  use horror imagery.
• Taught composition, writing, and literature for
  three years
• Between 1992 and 1997, was attending various
  literature and pedagogy conferences.

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My Own multidisciplinary Background

• Got my M.L.I.S. in 1997.
• Got my first librarian position as a special
  library Systems Administrator in 1998, becoming a
  second career librarian.
• Became an academic librarian in 2001 (Information
  Literacy Coordinator).
• Got my present position as a Reference, then
  Serials and Electronic Resources Librarian in
  2005.
• Became heavily involved in faculty development in
  2005.

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Lets talk about Publishing While Working as an
academic librarian

• Questions for the aspiring academic librarian in
  a faculty rank, tenure track position
• How can I stay current and advance in my
  day-to-day job while researching, presenting, and
  publishing?
• Is it possible to do both well?
• Can I afford to not do both well?
• Am I cheating my library by dividing my time
  between my job duties and my research,
  conferencing, and publishing?
• Can I write in areas that emphasize my
  multidisciplinary background and interests?

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Publishing While Working

• Myths associated with being in an academic
  librarian position with faculty rank (tenure
  track)
• There are two types of academic librarians those
  who publish and those who man the fort.
• Researching and publishing is a selfish act.
• Review writing is an academic librarians
  priority we shouldnt have to also publish
  articles to get merit.
• Faculty rank and tenure track are not necessary.

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The Struggle

• This struggle is challenging because we must also
  meet our obligations to our patrons.
• The tension between these two conflicting
  obligations leads us to ask,

Can an academic librarian serve his/her primary
function meet the demands of tenure?
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The Answer

• The answer is "yes."
• If we budget our time well, plan, network,
  collaborate when necessary, and accept our role
  as equals to teaching/research faculty, we can
  find ways to get published.
• This will benefit not only the individual, but
  the library as well, not to mention the
  institution as a whole.

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Not Shirking Our Duty

• This strategy has nothing to do with shirking our
  duties as librarians.
• We are actually performing beneficial service to
  both our institution and to the profession, both
  of which are essential in the Assistant Professor
  track.

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How to get started

• There is no single way to get started publishing,
  but these may work for you
• Finding a mentor
• Researching journals for appropriate fits
• Conferencing
• Other Networking
• Collaborating

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Mentoring

• A few academic libraries in Louisiana have
  processes in place whereby experienced published
  librarians assist the less experienced.
• ACRL-LA is working on a formalized mentoring
  program that will allow mentees to choose mentors
  based on specific needs, including publishing.

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A Publishing Mentor can use his/her experience to

• Help a mentee develop an idea into an article or
  reference essay.
• Help refine a mentees writing for a specific
  audience and purpose.
• Help a mentee network in order to find friendly
  journal editors and acquisitions editors.
• Suggest the best matches for a publishing idea.
• Help a mentee deal with editorial suggestions and
  sometimes with rejection..

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For example

• Incorporating the Internet into Traditional
  Library Instruction. Computers in Libraries 20.2
  (2000) 38-42. With Monica King.
• King was named a Super-Librarian by Karen G.
  Schneider in her American Libraries Column for
  November 1999.  At the time, she was the Young
  Adult Services Coordinator for Ouachita Parish
  Public Library in Monroe, Louisiana, and had
  developed an authentication technique. We met
  while receiving training for computers being
  donated to the states public library system by
  The Gates Foundation. We worked on this article
  together by corresponding via e-mail and ICQ.

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Researching journals for an appropriate fit

• In any academic discipline, the first lesson of
  publishing is to match your article or book idea
  to the right journal or publisher.

• There is still no better way to do this than to
  research publishing trends per journal. To find a
  book publisher, use your knowledge of collection
  development to determine which publishers work in
  the niche that most fits your ideas.

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My own personal examples

• He Said, She Said A Survey of Mens and Womens
  Views of the Genre and Its Sex Roles.
  Dissections The Journal of Contemporary Horror 2
  (Feb., 2008).
• Peer reviewed online journal out of The
  University of Brighton.
• Beats and Bongos Making the Library the
  Cultural Center of Academe. Louisiana Libraries
  71.4 (Spring 2008) 49-53. With Melissa Ursula
  Dawn Goldsmith and Van P. Viator.
• On the first of these, I got lucky. While
  attending the Annual International Conference on
  the Fantastic in the Arts, I met Gina Wisker and
  Mike Arnzen, two of the journals editors. They
  suggested that my presentation on horror
  readership might fit their journal (Dissections)
  well. I looked into it, and found that they did
  like cutting edge academic horror studies.
• On the second, I found out that Louisiana
  Libraries was devoting a special issue to
  outreach programs. Viator was already working on
  such an article, and I was already presenting
  with Goldsmith, so we decided to team up.

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Researching publishers

• Use networking to find out what you can about
  journal editors and acquisitions editors.
• Dont be afraid to contact someone out of the
  academic librarians comfort zone.
• While university presses are the normal outlet
  for academic publishing, very few specialize or
  even dabble in academic librarianship literature.

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My own personal examples

• Co-Author. Hooked on Horror A Guide to Reading
  Interests in Horror Fiction (Genreflecting
  series). Revised, Updated edition. Westport, CN
  Libraries Unlimited, 2008, 2003, 1999. With June
  Michele Pulliam, LSU.
• Co-Author. Read On Horror. Westport, CN
  Libraries Unlimited, 2006. With June Michele
  Pulliam, LSU.
• Part of the Greenwood Publishing Group, LU
  serves the needs of the profession through
  quality publications for LIS students and
  faculty, practicing librarians, media
  specialists, and teachers. It publishes
  bibliographies and reference books, library
  science textbooks, information science materials,
  and practical handbooks, monographs, and manuals
  for librarians.
• Back in 1998, after hearing that Libraries
  Unlimited was looking to expand its Genreflecting
  monograph into a series of genre specific books
  (through one of my SLIS instructors), I
  contacted their acquisitions editor. Working with
  one of my colleagues with whom I was
  team-teaching a class in vampire fiction at the
  moment, I drafted a book proposal. The most
  important lesson I learned from a decade of
  working with LUs Barbara Ittner is that
  publishers are willing to bend if writers have an
  idea that they are highly interested in. Authors
  have to be flexible as well. One cannot become
  too enamored of ones own writing style, and it
  important to pick and chose your battles
  carefully when you work with an editor.

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Keep good Documentation when you send articles
and book proposals

• Make special note of publishers and editors who
  offer constructive feedback. These may prove of
  great benefit.
• Find a colleague or colleagues who is/are willing
  to share notes with you. While your idea may need
  work or get rejected, others ideas may be just
  what that editor needs.
• This is a win-win situation for you and your
  colleagues, as you can help each other.

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Conferencing (Presenting Papers)

• Consider presenting at both librarian and
  multidisciplinary conferences, based on your
  interests.
• As a rule, presenting a paper is not
  intimidating, since audiences are normally
  receptive.
• It doesnt hurt to have a friendly colleague sit
  in the audience.
• Read the attendees list ahead of time, and attend
  sessions where editors are presenting.
• As a session participant, have a good question at
  the ready (since abstracts are usually available
  up front). This may be your first networking
  opportunity with an editor.

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conferencing

• Dont just do the statewide conferences. There
  are always regional and national conferences.
• Dont be afraid to submit to these as well. Its
  tougher to get accepted, but a hot topic could
  succeed, and you are likely to network better at
  this level.

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My own personal examples

• Various encyclopedia entries (24 total) for
  Supernatural Literature of the World An
  Encyclopedia. Ed. S. T. Joshi and Stefan
  Dziemianowicz. Westport, CNGreenwood. 2005.
• The Doppelganger. Icons of Horror and the
  Supernatural An Encyclopedia of Our Worst
  Nightmares. Ed. S. T. Joshi. Westport, CN
  Greenwood, 2006. 187-213.
• The Psychic. Icons of Horror and the
  Supernatural An Encyclopedia of Our Worst
  Nightmares. Ed. S. T. Joshi. Westport, CN
  Greenwood, 2006. 409-39.
• Various reviews (12) for Necrofile The Review of
  Horror Fiction. Providence Necro Press,
  1997-2000. Various reviews (6) for Dead
  Reckonings.
• Sunand Tryambak Joshi is a literary critic, and
  a leading figure in the study of H. P. Lovecraft
  and other authors of weird and fantastic fiction.
  Joshi has written about Ambrose Bierce, H. L.
  Mencken, Lord Dunsany, Algernon Blackwood and
  M.R. James, and has edited collections of their
  works. He is the past editor of Necrofile The
  Review of Horror Fiction and the current editor
  of Dead Reckonings The Review of Horror Fiction.
  I have never met him in person, but through
  networking at conferences, I met one of his
  writers, who got me to work for Joshi.

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Other tangential conference presentations that I
will be looking to publish

• Emphasizing Research Strategies Using Nosichs
  Theories of Fundamental and Powerful Concepts.
  South East Philosophy of Education Society
  Conference (SEPES 60). Baton Rouge, LA. Feb. 4,
  2008.
• Board of Regents, SACS, and Information Literacy
  Requirements and Expectations What Does It Mean
  to My Institution? The Louisiana Technical and
  Community College System Leadership Development
  Conference. With Debra Rollins and Jessica
  Hutchings. Baton Rouge, LA, Aug. 13, 2007.
• Escaping the Island of Forgotten Faculty When
  the Academic Librarian Becomes Visible.
  Louisiana Libraries Association. With Van Viator.
  Baton Rouge, LA. March 8, 2007.
• I have been unable to find a home for this yet.
  Most journals are calling it too theoretical and
  are looking for something with an original survey
  or what they call original research. This is
  forcing me to rethink the article to better fit
  what the publishers seem to be looking for.

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Networking helps you to

• Identify mentors and mentees
• Get to know people personally
• Cultivate allies through friend-of-friend
  networks
• Bring visibility to your work
• Negotiate the academic system

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My own personal examples

• Maxine Hong Kingston. Dictionary of Literary
  Biography Asian American Writers 312. Ed.
  Deborah Madsen. 2005. 163-80.
• Garret Kaoru Hongo. Dictionary of Literary
  Biography Asian American Writers 312. Ed.
  Deborah Madsen. 2005. 117-22.
• Various Reviews (3) for Screening the Past
  (2007- ).
• These happened through the friend-of-a-friend
  network. A colleague of mine from graduate school
  recommended this contract to me, and even
  contacted the editor on my behalf. This was
  probably the worst experience I have ever had
  with an editor in general. I wrote more drafts of
  these two reference essays than I care to count,
  but the end product were two well-received pieces
  of writing, one of which has been cited.
• Screening the Past is an international,
  refereed, electronic journal of media and history
  published with the support of the La Trobe
  University (Australia) Publications Committee and
  the Media Studies Program in the School of
  Communications, Arts and Critical Enquiry. I was
  introduced to the editor by a colleague who knew
  of my interest in film and media.

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Collaborating (co-authoring)

• Addresses the trend for increased
  interdisciplinary collaboration between
  researchers.
• Brings scholarship in line with the evolving
  broader definition of what constitutes
  publishable scholarship (Examples general
  handbooks, guides, directories).
• De-emphasizes the problem of limited,
  individualized perspective.
• Allows new writers the chance to work with
  experienced writers.
• Allows each contributor to utilize his/her
  strength, whether it be research, writing,
  organizing, or editing.

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Tips On Publishing

• Dont think that you are not qualified. You all
  have an idea that others in the field will want
  to read about.
• You dont have to have advanced degrees years of
  experience is a great teacher, and of all
  academics, we are the best researchers.
• Turn your interests into a librarianship issue.

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More Tips On Publishing

• Correspond with editors via e-mail.
• You will first prepare a query to the editor,
  to see if they are interested.
• You can send the query before you have completed
  the article.

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More Tips On Publishing

• Always be looking for ideas to publish.
• If you have spent time researching something, why
  not document it and try to publish it?
• Remember that before submitting for the first
  time, it is a good idea to have a colleague or
  mentor review your article.

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Contact Information

• Tony Fonseca
• Serials Librarian
• ACRL-LA President-Elect
• Nicholls State University
• Tel [phone]
• Email tony.fonseca_at_nicholls.edu