Call for Proposals

We are excited to invite chapter proposals for our forthcoming ACRL book, Creators in the Academic Library, with an anticipated publication date of Spring 2023.

This edited volume seeks to increase the impact of academic libraries on creator communities by bringing together ideas and approaches to their unique information needs. The book aims to include chapters that focus on any of a wide range of creators in disciplines such as engineering, architecture, design, creative writing, the arts, and more. By bringing together chapters on creators writ large, we hope to reveal shared commonalities of experience, practice, and information needs. Ultimately, this book will enable librarians to develop more meaningful services for creators and more powerful connections with the students in these fields.

Students who are studying to become creators exist and work in two distinct overlapping worlds: the academic world, where research leads to carefully constructed arguments, and the practitioner world, where research leads to embodied designs and creations. To succeed, student creators must master both research worlds, and libraries are positioned to enable their success.

If you have a case study, unique approach, or informed perspective to share in areas such as information literacy, outreach, service design, collections, or intellectual property for any kind of creator, please consider submitting a proposal!

Please contact us at ACRLcreators@gmail.com with any questions.

Interested authors are invited to submit a proposal via the short online proposal form by July 19, 2021.

Example Topics

Read more about the topic areas

Chapters could be case studies, theoretical explorations, suggestions for practice based on existing literature, among others.

Information Literacy for Creators

• One-shot case studies for classes for engineers, artists, designers, etc.

• Embedded librarianship in studio and lab classes

• Information literacy for creativity and inspiration

• Information literacy to solve design problems

• Credit research courses for creators

Library Outreach for Creators

• Reframing and marketing existing services to appeal to creators

• Case studies of creating new services for creators

• Collaborative events, exhibits or projects that connect creative practitioners and libraries

• Pop-up libraries and other library services in studio and lab spaces

• Developing spaces for creative practitioners in the libraries

Library Collections & Services for Creators

• Building unique collections to meet practitioner needs (materials, equipment, standards, ephemera, etc.)

• Case studies of building physical or online collections that meet creator's unique research styles and needs

• Innovative approaches for managing or promoting collections for creators

• Designing spaces that showcase collections and facilitate creator's preferred use patterns

Scholarly Communication & Intellectual Property for Creators

• Appropriation and remix in art and design

• Patent research for designers

• Fair use for creators

• Inspiration and credit moving from academia to the professional world

• Establishing both an academic publication record and a commercial career

Don’t see a topic here that you would like to write about? No sure if your user group counts as a creator? No worries, we still want you to submit your proposal! If you have any questions, definitely contact us at ACRLcreators@gmail.com to discuss how your idea may fit within this book’s scope.

Proposal Guidelines

Interested authors are invited to submit a proposal and fill out the short online proposal form. The form will require:

• Author names, job titles, and institutional affiliations

• A working chapter title

• An abstract up to 500 words

Proposals are due by July 19, 2021

Acceptance

• Contributors will be notified of their status (acceptance or rejection) by August 27, 2021

• Completed chapters will be approximately 2,500 - 5,000 words in length excluding endnotes and bibliography.

Planned Timeline

• Proposals due July 19

• Notified of acceptance by August 27, 2021

• First draft of chapters due December 3, 2021

• Feedback on first drafts returned by January 31, 2022

• Final drafts due on March 30, 2022

• Projected publication date: Spring 2023