Tag: tenure

Call for Book Chapter Proposals: Becoming a Practitioner-Researcher: A Practical Guide for Information Professionals

Thank you to Caryn Radick for passing this on!

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Dear colleagues,
We are soliciting chapter proposals for our forthcoming ACRL book, Becoming a Practitioner-Researcher: A Practical Guide for Information Professionals [working title]. This book will gather practical advice from practitioners conducting research as part of their tenure or professional responsibilities at academic, public, and special libraries, and/or archives. We are seeking chapters from novice or seasoned practitioner-researchers who want to share their experiences in executing research and/or evaluation projects.

Focus of the Book:
This edited volume will address the challenges of undertaking research and offers support and advice for all stages of a project, from writing the proposal to collecting the data, to disseminating the findings whether it be an internal report or published journal article, and the myriad pitfalls that may occur in between.

Rather than focusing solely on methods, this book tackles issues such as balancing research project and work responsibilities, scaling your project to fit your budget and time constraints, collaborating with a partner or team, and other issues that impact projects. Our vision for this book is to curate an edited volume of insights that we wish we would have known when we embarked on our own research projects. Chapters will introduce and discuss a specific project in a specific institution, in order to frame the discussion of the aspects of the research process the chapter addresses. The narrative should be reflective and discuss what can be generalized about the experience that would be helpful for other practitioners in a “lessons learned” approach.

Part 1: The Research Process (starting your research, crafting a proposal, figuring out logistics)
Part 1 is about creating a holistic approach to undertaking research in a library or archive setting. We are seeking chapters that include sections addressing topics such as, but not limited to:

  • Developing an idea into a research proposal
  • Obtaining administrative buy-in and support
  • Budgeting (time, money, personnel)
  • Choosing a research design and data collection method
  • Navigating the IRB process
  • Deciding on the scale of a project and what is feasible
  • Analyzing your data
  • Sharing research (reports, formal outlets including journals)

We chose the term holistic because we feel the chapters should integrate several of the above bullet points when reflecting on research project experiences in the context of their library.

Part 2: Social Research Methods for Information Professionals (survey, content analysis observation studies, focus group, interviews, etc.) 
Part 2 is about the application of common research methods found in the library literature. Chapters should revolve around creating a research design and reflect on the realities of research practice, conveying to readers methods that worked well for particular contexts and projects. Each chapter in Part 2 will include sections on how the particular method was applied, the institutional context, and the bumps and bruises of going from research design to data collection. Please address these sections in your proposal if you are seeking inclusion in Part 2.
Potential topics include:

  • Surveys
  • Focus groups
  • Ethnographic methods (observation, visual, storytelling)
  • Interviews
  • Document/content/textual analysis

Part 3: Managing a Research Project (individual researchers and team-based collaboration)
Part 3 will bring into focus the experiences of individual researchers and teams. The purpose of this section is to provide readers a range of basic and complex project examples and how these projects have been managed by individual practitioners or collaborative teams.
Example topics for inclusion in a chapter:

  • Project management as a solo researcher
  • How teams determine responsibilities for a project
  • Cleaning and analysis of data as a team
  • Collaborating on cross-institutional projects
  • Publishing or writing as a team
  • Short reflective essays by individuals who have been both solo researchers and on a research team

Don’t see your topic here? Contact the editors at libresearcherbook@gmail.com to discuss how your idea may fit within this book’s scope.

Proposal Guidelines:
To submit a proposal,  fill out the short Survey Monkey form and attach your proposal as a Word document (.doc or .docx). The form will require author names, job titles, and institutional affiliations. The Word document for the proposal itself should be written in Times New Roman, 12 pt., be double-spaced, and include:

  • A working title for your chapter
  • A 500-word description and chapter outline including topic keywords.
  • Authors must indicate which part of the book your chapter will address: Part 1: The Research Process, Part 2: Social Research Methods for Information Professionals, or Part 3: Managing a Research Project.
  • Authors will include one or two summary sentences that make explicit the chapter’s major themes, ideas, and learning outcomes.
  • Do not use any identifying information in your proposal (e.g., do not include author names or institution names in the Word doc).
  • Citations should follow the Endnotes-Bibliography format in the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition).

Proposals are due by Friday, April 13, 2018 at 11:59PM PST and must be submitted via online form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/libresearcherbook

  • Contributors will be notified of their status (acceptance or rejection) within 6–8 weeks of the due date of proposals.
  • The first draft of chapters will be due in August 2018.
  • Estimated length of chapter: 2,500–4,000 words.
  • Projected publication date: Summer 2019.

Should you need to contact the editors, use the following email address: libresearcherbook@gmail.com. Bookmark the Google site: https://sites.google.com/view/libraryresearcherbook/home.

Thank you,
Lee Ann Fullington (Health Sciences Librarian, Brooklyn College/CUNY)
Brandon K. West (Head of Research Instruction Services, SUNY Geneseo)
Frans Albarillo (Social Sciences Librarian, Brooklyn College/CUNY)

Forced Writing: On the Tenure-track

Most of us became archivists because we love history, organizing, libraries, and “old stuff.” Though we had to write during library school, many of us did not plan on writing more than finding aids. However, many academic librarians and archivists are expected to publish as one aspect of receiving tenure. It is stressful when your job is contingent on fulfilling this obligation.

If writing isn’t a passion, forced publishing is definitely a challenge. At my institution, obtaining tenure has requirements related to librarianship, publishing/creative works, and service. When I started, I was one year out of finishing my PhD. Obtaining that degree made me much better prepared for the publishing requirement and for that I am grateful. Library schools may emphasize writing, but it’s more of a requirement for that degree than to pursue publishing.

It is stressful for many tenure-track archivists to publish. As noted previously, I’ve had many discussions with people who wonder if they have anything to say (see here and here). There is a time requirement to go up for tenure, therefore a time requirement to publish articles or book chapters. On the one hand, it forces you to be proactive in deciding what to write about, as Eira Tansey wrote. On the other hand, it can be an incredible amount of pressure.

I’m not well-versed in tenure requirements across all academic institutions, but I will generalize that many require publishing peer-review articles. Having one or more articles evaluated by professional peers is much more rigorous, therefore has more weight, than publishing newsletter articles, blog posts, or other informal writings. Writing a book has merit as well, but as we have fewer book publishing options than other academic disciplines, that is harder to accomplish (plus it takes a lot longer).

Having gone through the tenure process and as a supervisor to library faculty, here’s what I can offer:

  • Pick a journal first. Find one that aligns with your interests and passions. Read a few of the recent articles, browse past issues to see topics, etc. Contact the editor to ask if your idea would be of interest. And read the information for authors. While we all may aspire to write for The American Archivist, it’s highly competitive and you might be better off starting with another journal.
  • Don’t want to write about archives practices? Depending on your institution’s requirements, consider publishing in non-archives journals. Try library or other academic disciplinary journals. Do archival research on a topic of interest. (Blatant self-promotion, I used the archival research I did for my dissertation to publish in Reception: Texts, Readers, Audiences, History)
  • Start with an idea. You don’t have to have an exact argument to start writing. Once you research and write out your thoughts, it will evolve and become focused. Interested in digital forensics? privacy and confidentiality? outreach? Have you read an article or book that you strongly disagree with or you think could be improved or reacted to? Read a few books and articles to see what’s been said, what you agree/disagree with, then write.
  • Find colleagues with similar interests to see about co-authorship.
  • Start with a library school paper or presentation and expand it.
  • Write about something that interests you. It’s hard to be disciplined about writing when you have little or no interest in the subject.
  • Write about a project you completed, an initiative you started, or your experience with any aspect of archives. While theory is important, many archivists are interested in others’ practices that they can implement or adapt.
  • Write, write, write.
  • Start earlier rather than later. It can take 1-2 years to publish an article, taking into account the writing, peer-review, editing, and final publication. There’s no guarantee of acceptance, and you may have to submit, resubmit, or rewrite more than one article or for more than one journal. (Yes, an article I wrote with colleagues was rejected)
  • Create goals, timelines, outlines, number of pages to write a day/week, place to write, music to listen to, number of diet cokes to drink, and so forth. When you accomplish your set goals (say, weekly), reward yourself.
  • Make writing a priority and be disciplined. Carve out time daily/weekly (whatever works for you) to keep momentum and progress.
  • Write, write, write.
  • Take it a little at a time. Thinking about the entire article can be overwhelming, so focus on a section. Before you know it, you’ll have the whole article written.
  • Find support, whether at your institution, other colleagues, a writing group, or friends. Talking to people about your ideas or having others read your writing can go a long way to stay motivated.
  • Write, write, write.
  • Allow yourself to gripe and complain. Then let it go and keep writing.
  • Don’t try to make an article perfect. Be coherent, concise, grammatically correct (or at least mostly), and cite your sources. But remember that editors and reviewers will always have feedback, suggestions, and grammatical corrections.
  • Write one article at a time.
  • Don’t be overambitious. For example, if you are interested in doing a survey but don’t have experience in qualitative/quantitative analysis, it could be difficult to take on such a project.
  • Write, write, write.