The New Review of Academic Librarianship is an international journal that publishes reviews, research, critiques and exemplar case studies on substantive topics relevant to those providing library and information services to academic communities.
The themed issue for 2023 will be Diversifying, decentring and decolonising academic libraries in which we hope to cover the broad topic of diversity & inclusivity within academic libraries. Diversification, decolonisation and liberation projects and initiatives have been taking place in and across academic libraries for several years now and we are keen to hear about the impact they are having on your academic communities.
We are looking for abstracts that focus on initiatives and projects taking place in academic libraries aimed at addressing and redressing societal inequalities which are manifest in our academic library environments and what impact such initiatives are having. We want to hear how libraries have been changing practice and culture to address these challenges and support greater inclusivity within their communities. Proposed submissions could take the form of research papers, case studies on service innovations, or evaluations/reviews of existing or new initiatives. One of the main things we want to include in this themed issue is discussion about the impact that these interventions are having. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Diversifying library collections
- Diversifying the academic library workforce
- Library involvement in curriculum decolonisation
- Projects on decolonisation of reading lists
- Collaboration fostering inclusivity
- Social change initiatives
- Anti-discrimination / anti-racist initiatives
- Enabling inclusive spaces and inclusive work-places
Submission Instructions
Please submit an abstract of no more than 500 words describing what your paper will include. For all proposed authors include name, institutional address, telephone number, and email address.
Abstracts should be 400 – 500 words (excluding references) and cover the background and purpose of the innovation, initiative or intervention described, the approach used to investigate the subject (e.g., survey, case-study report), a brief description of the innovation, initiative or intervention, and the key findings and insights gained, highlighting learning points for academic libraries.
Abstracts should be submitted for consideration to Damyanti Patel, associate editor of New Review of Academic Librarianship (patel.damyanti@gmail.com) no later than 19th August 2022. Authors will be notified during September 2022 as to whether their abstract has been accepted or not to be taken forward as a full paper (6,000 words) or short paper (3000 – 4000 words).
Details are also available on our website for this special issue