Editorial Policy
School Library Monthly will make every effort to encourage the participation of its readership in developing the contents of the magazine. It is our feeling that thousands of creative ideas for teaching multi-literacy/inquiry skills are already in use all over the country, and it is our genuine desire to serve as a vehicle for the distribution of these successful teaching ideas. Toward that end, we will welcome unsolicited manuscripts and contributions to all columns and departments, as well as unsolicited feature articles. Naturally, the publishers will continue to develop large portions of the content based on long experience in developing and implementing school library programs, but we truly want to serve as a national forum for the exchange of ideas. Be assured that we will make every effort to publish your ideas and activities, on the theory that if they work well for you, they will work well for other school librarians.
We must, of course, retain the right to make editorial changes to manuscripts in order to ensure that they conform to our format. Editing will, however, be done judiciously and we will try our best to remain true to your ideas. Whenever possible, we will publish your ideas and activities unedited. Always, your contributions will be properly attributed to you.
Send manuscripts to dlevitov@abc-clio.com accompanied by an email Word attachment. Bibliographic citations should include at least the following information:
- Print: author(s), title, publisher, year of publication.
- Periodical Articles: author(s), title of article, name of publication, issue/date of publication, page numbers.
- Video/CD/DVD: title, length, publisher, year of publication.
- Internet Sites: site name, site address (URL).
The following format guidelines for each of the sections of School Library Monthly should help you write your contribution.
Feature Articles: Feature articles should be about some aspect of the school library related to instruction or program practice. In-text citations and reference lists, where appropriate, should conform to the bibliographic style of the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, latest edition). A very short vita of the author should be included. Black-and-white photographs and/or line drawings to illustrate content are welcomed.
Activities Almanac: Very brief descriptions of instructional ideas related to a particular day of the month (birthdays, holidays, historical events, etc.). Maximum of 150 words.
Into the Curriculum: The activities included in this section will be fully-developed and in lesson-plan format, including the following components: information literacy/inquiry objectives; curriculum (subject area) objectives; grade levels; resources (with complete bibliography information); instructional roles (e.g., what the teacher will do and what the school librarian will do); full description of activity listing all procedures; all necessary reproducible teaching aids (transparency masters, ditto masters, etc.); all necessary line illustrations and/or illustrative photographs; and description of ways of assessing student performance of objectives.
Notes from the Field: Ideas/activities/information that can help school librarians with professional growth and making links to students, teachers, and the community through learning and teaching.
Skill of the Month: Brief descriptions of activities, ideas, and suggestions related to teaching information literacy/inquiry or school library program development.
The Advocate: Articles related to advocacy for the school library. Share how you have recruited others to be advocates for your program. Provide ideas for using PR or marketing to gain attention and support for the school library.
School Library Monthly warmly welcomes all of your contributions. Make it your magazine.