Library Trends

Library Trends addresses critical trends in professional librarianship. Each issue is a special topic issue, exploring a key area of activity or interest. Guest editors are selected by Clara M. Chu and Jaya Raju, Coeditors-in-Chief, with the advice of the Editorial Board, based on the content of submitted proposals.

Issue topics for Library Trends are developed in many ways. We value recommendations from professional librarians, archivists, and other information personnel, from members of the faculties of schools of library and information science, and from others whose concern is with issues of the management of cultural heritage. We seek volunteers from these areas to act as guest editors.

A guest editor proposes the theme and scope of a new issue, draws up a list of prospective authors and article topics, calls for submissions to the issue, arranges for review of the manuscripts, provides short annotations of each article’s scope, and prepares a statement of philosophy guiding issue development.

The style and tone of the journal is formal rather than journalistic or popular. Library Trends reviews current theory and practice and identifies and evaluates new directions for both practice and research. Papers must represent original work. Extensive updates of previously published papers are acceptable, but revisions or adaptations of published work are not acceptable. Both issue proposals and the papers they contain are subject to rigorous external review.

If you would like to submit a proposal, it should include the nature and scope of the proposed topic and suggestions of the names of individuals whom you hope would contribute the articles. For ease of review, please submit your CV and a proposal using the following format:

1.Guest editor name and contact information

2.Proposed issue theme/draft issue title

3.Description of the nature and scope of the issue’s topic (300-500 words)

4.List of potential articles (8-10 articles)

5.List of potential authors to solicit (8-10 authors)

6.List of potential reviewers for the manuscripts (4-5 reviewers)

7.Proposed timeline for proposals, authoring, editing, etc. (12-14 months typical)

Please send your ideas, inquiries, or issue proposal to cashwill@illinois.edu or:

Cindy Ashwill, Library Trends Managing Editor
School of Information Sciences
501 E. Daniel Street
Champaign, IL 61820-6211

The guest editor is primarily responsible for the intellectual content of the issue itself and the manuscripts that comprise it. This includes not only securing articles from authors, but also reviewing them, working with authors to make necessary revisions, and arranging for review. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the guest editor to ensure that authors follow the guidelines provided in the Guest Editor and Author Handbook for the Preparation of Articles.

The guest editor is responsible for adhering to the deadlines and page limits established by Library Trends editorial staff.  He or she will notify the Library Trends managing editor, Cindy Ashwill (cashwill@illinois.edu), regarding progress in the development of the issue, issues that may occur with securing manuscripts, and problems with the content of manuscripts.

Throughout the entire production process, the managing editor will remain in close contact with the guest editor. If at any point in the process the guest editor and authors have questions, they should immediately contact the managing editor.

The Production Process

1.The guest editor(s) will provide an ordered table of contents to the managing editor as well as a list of all contributing authors, including for each an email address, daytime telephone number, and postal address for mailing copies (two) of the issue in which his or her article appears.

2.Having completed the review process and confirmed that the article manuscripts follow the “Author Instruction for the Preparation of Articles,” the guest editor(s) will provide the articles to the journal’s general editor for review and approval.

3.All articles will be reviewed and approved by the journal’s general editor. For articles that are approved, revisions may be requested on occasion.

4.The journal’s managing editor will review for completeness all material submitted— including abstracts, author biographies, tables, figures, etc.—to be included in the respective articles. Any questions at that time will be referred to the issue editor.

5.The managing editor will send publishing agreements to authors and may need assistance from the issue editor in obtaining the authors’ signatures. Government employees may need to sign a separate publishing agreement (articles provided under governmental auspices need to be accessible in the public domain, and copyright cannot be transferred). Translation permission forms also will be required if the issue includes articles that have been translated into the English language.

6.The managing editor will assist authors with the process required to obtain written permission to reprint any copyrighted material (photos, illustrations, etc.), whether previously published or not, that falls outside the bounds of fair use. Production cannot proceed until all forms are signed and on file.

7.Manuscripts will be submitted by the managing editor to the journal’s publisher, The Johns Hopkins University Press, for production of the issue: copy editing, typesetting, proofreading, and preparing files for printing. 

8.Copy editing consists of reviewing the manuscripts for style, format, organization, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and reference consistency; this process takes 6-8 weeks. It does not include substantial content editing, which is the responsibility of the guest editor prior to submission. During the copy-editing stage, authors will be given an opportunity to review their manuscripts and asked to answer any questions (articles authored by more than one person will be sent to the lead author). If the author(s) cannot review the article, the guest editor will need to answer any outstanding editorial queries. 

9.When copyedits have been reviewed and approved, the issue will be typeset. A complete set of page proofs are then sent to a proofreader, who will closely read the issue; this process takes 2-3 weeks. The managing editor will then review the proofs and resolve with the authors any queries raised by the proofreader (which also takes 2-3 weeks). The guest editor’s role at this stage is to review any article he or she has authored, as well as to assist the managing editor in resolving queries in the event that authors are not available to review their articles. 

10.Finally, the issue will be sent to the printer; approximately 4 weeks later, advance copies will be available. Complimentary print copies for the guest editor (5 copies) and all authors (2 copies each) will be mailed directly from the printer. PDF files of individual articles will be available upon request by contacting the managing editor, Cindy Ashwill, Assistant Dean for Communications, School of Information Sciences, at (217) 244-4643 or cashwill@illinois.edu. 

• Digital Information Security Management in Academic Libraries
• Generative AI and Libraries: Applications and Ethics

Digital Information Security Management in Academic Libraries

This special issue focuses on digital information security management (DISM) in academic libraries, aiming to look into the applications of DISM in terms of practices and implementation in academic libraries.

Topics include:

1. Digital information and security management in academic libraries.
2. The practices for adopting the DISM in academic libraries.
3. The challenges faced in designing and implementing DISM.
4. Data protection security in academic libraries.
5. The confidentiality and availability of the digital IS in academic libraries.
6. DISM Policy formulation in academic libraries.
7. Legislation of digital IS at national and international levels.
8. Applications of IT framework and service in protecting the data security in academic libraries.
9. Implementation and adoption of policies of DISM in library staff training.

The deadline for manuscript submissions is April 1, 2024. Please submit your manuscript via email to the editors at dr.zhenlingliu@gmail.com.

Generative AI and Libraries: Applications and Ethics

The release of ChatGPT in late 2022 brought intense popular and professional attention to generative AI. Librarians in all types of libraries have wrestled with the implications of this emerging technology, from the impact on core services like reference, instruction, and collection development to deeper questions about the ethical issues that artificial intelligence presents for libraries and society.

Library Trends will explore generative AI in two back-to-back issues, the first focusing on applications and practical impacts on libraries and the second focusing on ethical concerns.

The journal welcomes articles that address both theoretical discussions and practical responses to AI. While the focus is on generative AI, proposals for articles that address other forms of AI as they are impacting library and information services will also be considered. Issues will also include brief reviews and comparisons of specific generative AI tools. Reviews should address the purpose of the tool as well as the quality and utility of its output. Potential topics include:

• Impact of generative AI on core services such as reference, instruction, and collection development
• Impact of AI on search algorithms and information discovery
• Use of AI in scholarly writing and publishing
• Bias in large language models and generative AI
• Teaching about AI / AI Literacy
• Issues related to the quality of AI content, such as AI hallucinations
• Use and misuse of AI-generated images
• Ethical and legal issues related to the development and use of large language models and generative AI
• AI in the disciplines and implications for libraries
• AI and the LIS curriculum
• Reviews and comparisons of specific AI tools

Article Length: 4,000-10,000 words              
Review Length: 2,000-4,000 words

Prospective authors are invited to submit an abstract outlining their proposed article by March 1, 2024. Decisions about the abstracts will be communicated by March 15, 2024, and authors of successful submission invited to write their full articles during spring 2024. Final articles should be 4,000-10,000 words (not including bibliographic references). The issues will use an open peer review process in which article authors review two manuscripts by other contributors. As part of submitting an article proposal, authors will be asked to commit to participation in this process as both an author and a reviewer. 

Important dates

• March 1, 2024 – Article proposals due
• March 15, 2024 – Author notifications
• June 1, 2024 – Article manuscripts due
• June 15, 2024 – Peer Reviews assigned
• July 15, 2024 – Peer Reviews due
• September 1, 2024 – Article revisions due

Inquiries about the planned issues and ideas for articles should be directed to Melissa Wong, Editor-in-Chief of Library Trends (mawong@illinois.edu). Proposals for articles should be submitted via an online proposal form. Proposals are due March 1, 2024.

Citation Style: For proposals, authors may use any citation style. For manuscripts, authors should use the Chicago Manual of Style’s author-date format.

More information about the journal, including author instructions, is available on the Library Trends website.

Please review the Library Trends Guest Editor and Author Handbook to learn more about the production process, review helpful guidelines, and find answers to frequently asked questions.

The Hopkins Press Journals Ethics and Malpractice Statement can be found at the ethics-and-malpractice page.

Peer Review Policy

Each issue of Library Trends is a special-topic issue and is overseen by one or more guest editors. Articles are invited or the result of a call for proposals. The guest editors manage a peer review process for each issue and draw upon a reviewer pool developed for their expertise around that issue's topic. The process may be single-blind, double-blind, or open at the discretion of the guest editors. 

Editor-in-Chief

Melissa A. Wong, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA

Managing Editor

Cindy Ashwill, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA

Editorial Board

Hermina G.B. Anghelescu, Wayne State University, USA 
Tiago Emmanuel Nunes Braga, Brazilian Institute for Information in Science and Technology, Brazil 
Camille Callison, University of the Fraser Valley, Canada 
Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA  
Noah Lenstra, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA 
Rachel Magee, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA  
Amal W. Mostafa, Cairo University, Egypt 
Linda Smith, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA 
Travis Wagner, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA 
Yuxiang (Chris) Zhao, Nanjing University, China

Abstracting & Indexing Databases

• Clarivate Analytics
  • Current Contents
  • Web of Science
• De Gruyter Saur
  • Dietrich's Index Philosophicus
  • IBZ - Internationale Bibliographie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Zeitschriftenliteratur
  • Internationale Bibliographie der Rezensionen Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlicher Literatur
• EBSCOhost
  • Academic Search Alumni Edition, 1/1/1993-
  • Academic Search Complete, 1/1/1993-
  • Academic Search Elite, 1/1/1993-
  • Academic Search Premier, 1/1/1993-
  • Academic Search: Main Edition, 1/1/1993-
  • Biography Index: Past and Present (H.W. Wilson), vol.38, 1989-vol.56, no.4, 2008
  • Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson), Apr.1984-
  • Business Source Corporate, 1/1/1993-, dropped
  • Business Source Corporate Plus, 1/1/1993-
  • Corporate ResourceNet, 1/1/1993-
  • Current Abstracts, 1/1/2000-
  • Education Abstracts (H.W. Wilson), 4/15/1984-
  • Education Index (Online), 1984/04-
  • Education Research Complete, 1/1/1993-
  • Education Research Index, Jan.1993-
  • Education Source, 4/15/1984-
  • Information Science & Technology Abstracts, 1/1/1993-
  • Library & Information Science Source, 1/1/1937-
  • Library Literature & Information Science Full Text (H.W. Wilson), 04/15/1984-
  • Library Literature & Information Science Index (H.W. Wilson), 4/15/1984-
  • Library Literature & Information Science Retrospective: 1905-1983 (H.W. Wilson), 1/1/1937-12/16/1983
  • Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), 1/1/1966-
  • MainFile, 1/1/1993-
  • MasterFILE Complete, 1/1/1993-
  • MasterFILE Elite, 1/1/1993-
  • MasterFILE Premier, 1/1/1993-
  • MasterFILE: Main Edition, 1/1/1993-
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
  • OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson), 4/15/1984-
  • Professional Development Collection, 1/1/1993-
  • Professional Development Collection: Main Edition, 1/1/1993-
  • Public Affairs Index, 6/1/1993-
  • RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (Repertoire International de Litterature Musicale)
  • Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies
  • TOC Premier (Table of Contents), 1/1/1995-
• Elsevier BV
  • Scopus, 1980-
• FRANCIS
• Gale
  • Business & Company ProFile ASAP, 1/2000-
  • Business ASAP, 1/2000-
  • Business ASAP International, 1/2000-
  • Business Insights: Essentials, 06/1978-
  • Business Insights: Global, 06/1978-
  • Gale Academic OneFile, 06/1978-
  • Gale Academic OneFile Select, 06/1978-
  • Gale General OneFile, 06/1978-
  • Gale in Context: College
  • Gale in Context: Elementary
  • Gale OneFile: Business, 06/1978-
  • Gale OneFile: Educator's Reference Complete, 06/1978-
  • Gale OneFile: High School Edition, 01/1985-
  • Gale OneFile: Information Science, 06/1978-
  • Gale OneFile: Leadership and Management, 06/1978 -
  • Gale OneFile: Popular Magazines, 06/1978-
  • General Business File ASAP, 1/2000-
  • General Reference Center, 06/1978-
  • General Reference Center Gold, 06/1978-
  • General Reference Centre International, 1/1980-
  • InfoTrac Custom, 1/1980-
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
  • Student Resources in Context, 06/1978-
• Gale In Context: Canada, 06/1978-
• Gale in Context: High School
• Magazine Index Plus, Jan.1998-
• National Library of Medicine
  • PubMed
• OCLC
  • ArticleFirst, vol.38, no.3, 1990-vol.60, no.1, 2011
  • Education Index (Online), 1984/04-
  • Electronic Collections Online, vol.54, no.1, 2006-vol.60, no.1, 2011
  • Library Literature, vol.32, 1984-vol.59, no.1/2, 2010
  • Periodical Abstracts, v.36, n.3, 1988-v.59, n.1/2, 2010
• Personal Alert (E-mail)
• ProQuest
  • Advanced Technologies & Aerospace Database, 1/1/1988-, dropped
  • Education Collection, 1/1/1988-
  • Education Database, 1/1/1988-
  • Library & Information Science Collection, 01/01/1988-
  • Library Science Database, 01/01/1988-
  • LISA: Library & Information Science Abstracts (Online), Core Coverage - Actively Indexed
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
  • PAIS Archive, vol.6, 1957-vol.25, no.2, 1976
  • Periodicals Index Online
  • Professional ProQuest Central, 01/01/1988-
  • ProQuest 5000, 01/01/1988-
  • ProQuest 5000 International, 01/01/1988-
  • ProQuest Central, 01/01/1988-
  • ProQuest Professional Education, 01/01/1988-
  • ProQuest SciTech Collection, 1/1/1988-
  • Research Library, 01/01/1988-
  • RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (Repertoire International de Litterature Musicale)
  • SciTech Premium Collection, 1/1/1988-, dropped
  • Social Science Premium Collection, 01/01/1988-
  • Technology Collection, 1/1/1988-, dropped
• VINITI RAN
  • Referativnyi Zhurnal, coverage dropped

Abstracting & Indexing Sources

• Chicano Index   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Children's Literature Abstracts   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Family Index   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Legal Information Management Index   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Personnel Literature   (Ceased)  (Print)
• Middle East: Abstracts and Index   (Researched / Unresolved)  (Print)

Source: Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory.

0.8 (2022)
1.1(Five-Year Impact Factor)
0.00063 (Eigenfactor™ Score)

Rank in Category (by Journal Impact Factor):
69 of 84 journals in “Information Science & Library Science”

© Clarivate Analytics 2023

Published quarterly.

Readers include: College and research libraries, public libraries, library systems and networks, special libraries, and international college and research libraries

Print circulation: 285

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