Author’s Guide

GENERAL PUBLICATION INFORMATION FOR ALL CONTRIBUTORS

Technical Services Law Librarian (TSLL) is the official publication of the Technical Services Special Interest Section and the Library Systems & Resource Discovery Special Interest Section. It is published quarterly, available on the TSLL webpage and most recently on HeinOnline. This guide is provided to assist regular columnists and other contributors regarding submissions to the TSLL editor-in-chief for publication.

CONTENT

TSLL includes articles (both regular columns and guest contributions), news, announcements, awards, section activities, committee reports and articles in all fields of interest and concern to technical services law librarians, in the areas of cataloging, classification, acquisitions, collection development, management, preservation, serials, research and publications, technology, bibliographic utilities, local systems, and Internet applications. Submissions aimed at all types of law libraries and at all areas of library technical services operations are encouraged. TSLL also encourages the publication of membership news and special events and activities that promise historical interest.

In preparing a submission, an author may use any approach appropriate to the topic: brief and informal (less than 300 words), long and formal (over 1,000 words), or as in the majority of submissions a combination article between 300-1000 words using descriptive style, or in commentary form.

STYLE CONSIDERATIONS

For most questions of style, consult a separate document titled TSLL Stylistic Conventions.

AUTHOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES

Submissions are accepted for review with the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere, unless the content is being reprinted to reach a different audience. Permission to reprint is the responsibility of the author. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of statements in their articles and for the accuracy and adequacy of the references. Citations to published literature should be carefully checked. References to unpublished material may be included; however, the author is responsible for securing approval, in writing, from any person cited as the source of an unpublished work. The author is also responsible for obtaining permission to use copyrighted material. Such permissions should be secured in writing. By submitting an article to TSLL, an author is certifying that he or she has obtained all necessary approvals and permissions, including “minutes” taken by a committee or section secretary where approval for accuracy should be finalized by the chair. Any Uniform Resource Locator (URL) citations must be verified as “active” 24 hours prior to sending the submission to the editor-in-chief.

EDITORIAL POLICIES

Submissions are evaluated for their appropriateness for TSLL, significance, and clarity. If accepted, submissions will be proofed and edited for clarity of expression and to remove potential ambiguities in the presentation. In the interest of issuing TSLL on time, minor edits are not referred back to the author. If revisions in content or major edits are indicated, draft revisions are returned to authors for approval of changes and corrections before sent to layout. Throughout the editorial process, the editors’ purposes are to assist authors in effectively communicating their ideas. The editor-in-chief welcomes advance queries from authors about potential TSLL articles.

Revised April 5, 2011