Contributor's Guide

Chapter due date: July 1, 2021

Final revisions due date: September 15, 2021

Length: 4000-5000 words (including references)

Title: Please feel free to develop your own title that reflects the content of your chapter.

Tone

Given that these chapters are geared towards library students and library professionals in all types of libraries, we are looking for the chapters to be informational, evidence-based, and anecdotal. As the word count for each chapter is short, we ask that you be concise in your prose.

Style

APA Style, 7th edition. Arial 11 or 12-point font.

Content

The broad question we would like you to address in your chapter is:

  • Why use a cultural humility approach to the topic you are considering?

Some other questions to consider that will help you address the broader question are:

  • How does a cultural humility approach to the topic you are considering differ from or complement other common approaches, such as cultural competency or critical race/gender/queer theory or the absence of a DEI approach at all?

  • How does a cultural humility approach build on or improve on other common approaches to DEI?

  • Where might a cultural humility approach in the context/circumstance that your chapter addresses fall short?

  • What markers of cultural humility identify your approach to this topic as an example of cultural humility?

Structure

The structure should be guided by your content. A compelling and well written piece is the most important. However, we offer the following suggested and required elements to help you think through the content of your chapter.


Suggested elements

  • Practical examples: Make use of personal narrative, stories, examples, and/or case studies. You can use your personal experiences or create common scenarios -- the closer to reality and the more engaging, the better. Give our audience a way in or an angle on your particular part of the library world that they can relate to as future and current library professionals.

  • Brief background & context: Give our readers an overview of DEI issues common in your context or to your topic, offer definitions where necessary, address current DEI initiatives and research related to your topic, and your experience working with these issues and/or efforts. How do your examples illustrate these issues and efforts? However, background information should only make up a small portion of your chapter.

  • Cultural humility: Addressing the issue of cultural humility in relation to your topic should make up the bulk of your chapter. Consider the questions in the Content section for this most significant portion of your chapter. What does cultural humility offer to these efforts? How are you using the principles of cultural humility? How do your examples illustrate or exemplify principles of cultural humility? Practical, concrete guidance or recommendations will be particularly helpful for our readers.


Required end of chapter elements

  • Summary: Summarize the main points of your chapter in a bulleted list.

  • Questions for reflection & discussion: Include at least three questions for readers to consider after reading your chapter, individually or in groups.

  • Resources: Recommend at least 2-3 additional resources on your topic for students and practitioners to use for further guidance.

  • References: Include a list of all sources used in writing your chapter.


Things you don’t need to do as an author:

  • Define cultural humility. The introduction will provide a conceptual overview.

  • Primarily present research data. Research informed discussion is great, but this isn’t the most appropriate place to publish new research.