Submissions

Login or Register to make a submission.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
  • Where available, URLs for the references have been provided and checked for accuracy.
  • The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.
  • If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal (Research and Practice sections only), the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.

    • The authors of the article must not include author name, affiliation, and contact information in the manuscript (including title page/abstract). Replace them as in the following example: "[Author] did the following activities at [Institution] in the spring of 2012." 
    • In any references or footnotes, use "Author" and year instead of the authors' name, article title, etc.
    • Upon publication the names will be added to the manuscript.

    Note: News, features, commentaries, and letters to the coeditors are not peer-reviewed and therefore do not have to follow peer review guidelines.

  • My research contains no data collected from human subjects OR my research contains data collected from human subjects and I sought and received approval from the institutional review board (IRB) under guidelines provided by the institution with which I am affiliated.

Author Guidelines

Be sure to review the Section Policies to determine the correct category for your work (Research, Practice, Commentary, Feature, News, or Letter).

__________________________________________________

HOW TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE TO PaLRaP

Research and practice articles, features, commentaries, and letters should be submitted using the Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice online submission system. You will need to register as an author on the PaLRaP site in order to submit an article through the online submission system.

Deadlines for Articles:
February 15 (Spring Issue)
August 15 (Fall Issue)

All news items should be submitted using this form.

Deadlines for News:
April 1 (Spring Issue)
October 1 (Fall Issue)

__________________________________________________

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS

Document formats: Acceptable document formats include DOC, DOCX, and RTF. For other formats, please check with the editors.

Title page: The article title page should be submitted using the following format:

  • Article title
  • Abstract
  • Keywords list

Abstracts: All articles (except News articles and Letters to the Coeditors) should include an abstract of 100 to 150 words. The abstract should appear on the article title page.

Keywords: All articles (except News articles and Letters to the Coeditors) should include up to 10 keywords that convey the main points of the article. The keywords list should appear on the article title page.

Style: Articles should conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA Style Manual), 7th edition. See also PaLRaP's "Additional Manuscript Guidelines for Authors" for additional tips on readying your article for submission.

References: References should be carefully checked for completeness, accuracy, and consistency. Manuscripts with inaccurate references or that do not use proper style for citations will be returned to the author(s) for corrections without being reviewed.

Previously published articles: Items that have already been published or are under consideration for publication, either in print or online, will not be accepted.

Images: The journal welcomes the inclusion of appropriate tables, graphics, photos, and illustrations to accompany your article. Be sure to include captions and directions to the editor on placement of the graphics. Images can be embedded directly into the text of the manuscript or uploaded as supplemental files along with the primary text.

Image quality: Because Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice is an online journal, web-quality images (RGB color scheme with 72 DPI) are acceptable and often preferable.

Image formats:

Acceptable formats include

  • JPEGs (Not ideal if the image needs to be resized; JPEG images are always rectangular or square with a solid background)
  • PNGs (Good when a transparent background is preferred)
  • GIFs (Better suited to simple graphics; this format is not preferred for photos)

__________________________________________________

ENSURING BLIND PEER REVIEW (Research and Practice articles only)

To ensure blind peer review

  • Do not include author name, affiliation, and contact information in the document (including title page/abstract). Replace them as in the following example: "[Author] did the following activities at [Institution] in the spring of 2012." Upon publication, the names and institutions will be added to the manuscript.
  • If citing any of your previous works, in any references or footnotes, use "Author" and year instead of the author's name, article title, etc. Upon publication, the names will be added to the manuscript. 
  • Author identification should be removed from the file properties (see this page for instructions). 

News, features, commentaries, and letters to the coeditors are not submitted for blind peer review and therefore do not have to adhere to peer review guidelines. News items only should be submitted using this form.

 

Letter

Letters to the coeditors of Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice (PaLRaP) should address contributions, clarifications, or corrections to PaLRaP content. Letters should be specific about the topic in question and professional in tone.

The authors of previously published articles may be invited to respond to a letter-writer's concerns. The coeditors may also elect to respond to the letter-writer's concerns. These responses will be published along with the original letter to the coeditors.

Letters may be edited for length and for adherence to PaLRaP style.

Commentary

The commentary section of Pennsylvania Libraries: Research and Practice is dedicated to original and thoughtful discussions of current trends and/or challenges in all types of libraries. Preference will be given to those articles that have a special focus on Pennsylvania libraries. Topics discussed should be timely and relevant. Manuscripts should not exceed 2,500 words.

Essay / Commentary manuscripts will not be peer reviewed. However, they will be edited and fact checked and revisions may be requested. If outside expertise is needed, the editor will consult with others to ensure thorough editing of your article. Suggested graphics, photographs, and illustrations will also be reviewed to determine appropriateness. The article will not be published until authors have approved the final version.

Feature

Features are magazine- or journalistic-style articles that are more than substantial than news items but not as detailed as practice articles. They should focus on notable and unique library activities and initiatives that showcase, for example, outreach, programming, architecture/renovations, or other items of a topical nature. Feature manuscripts will not be peer reviewed. However, they will be edited and fact checked and revisions may be requested. If outside expertise is needed, the editor will consult with others to ensure thorough editing of your article. Suggested graphics, photographs, and illustrations will also be reviewed to determine appropriateness. The article will not be published until authors have approved the final version.

Research

Submissions should include reports of scholarly research in all areas of librarianship that provide insight to those who work in Pennsylvania libraries. Discussion of problems and issues, as well as descriptive or theoretical articles, may be accepted if they are based on evidence and data rather than unsupported personal opinion.
Examples might include, but are not limited to, research-based articles on library administration, library collections, library programs and services, information literacy, the effects of developing technology on libraries, and library design and construction. Submissions by Pennsylvania academic, public, school, or special librarians; library paraprofessionals; or graduate students are welcome and encouraged. Manuscripts should not exceed 7,000 words, should detail a systematic investigation of a well-defined question or problem, and should generally include headings for literature review, methods, results, and discussion/conclusion sections.

Practice

Articles should describe best practices of interest to academic libraries in Pennsylvania. Topics might include, but are not limited to, innovative programs and services; collaboration between academic libraries and public, school, or special libraries; reports of special projects; assessment activities; or detailed descriptions of successful instruction sessions. Articles written by academic, public, school, or special librarians, library paraprofessionals, and graduate students are welcome. Manuscripts should not exceed 7,000 words, and should include a brief literature review and/or survey of the broader landscape, clear but concise details of the project or topic being discussed, and recommendations for other libraries to follow.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.