Information For Authors

What LL&M Publishes

Library Leadership & Management (LL&M) seeks articles that correspond to the diverse interests of the members of Core. This includes manuscripts that relate to leadership, management, and administration, as well as manuscripts that mirror the topical interests of the division’s sections, committees, discussion, and interest groups as they relate to leadership and management. The Editor(s) actively seek the following types of articles:

  • Research-based manuscripts exploring issues or concerns relevant to Core
  • Practical/experiential manuscripts 
  • Articles highlighting a methodology or technique that has been used successfully in one or several libraries and would be transferable to other environments/settings
  • Articles that address or offer an innovative solution to a management challenge
  • Interviews with prominent library administrators or others in related fields, such as vendors or publishers that provide professional insights or development opportunities
  • Announcements of opportunities, programs, and other activities being sponsored by Core at Core Forum, ALA Annual Conference, or LibLearnX Meeting

LL&M offers both formal double-blind peer review and editorial review options depending on the author’s preference. The review process used will be documented on the published version of the article. The journal accepts both longer, in-depth manuscripts of 4,000 to 6,000 words, and briefer practice-based articles of 1,000 to 2,500 words. Manuscripts longer than 6,000 words should be discussed with the Editor(s) prior to submission as there may be interest in converting it into a series of articles. At the time of submission, manuscripts should not be under consideration for publication in another venue or publication. 

The following items are not generally published in LL&M:

  • Press releases describing products or services offered by vendors, unless such releases are part of a paid advertisement
  • Unsolicited book reviews prepared by the author of the book

Author Responsibilities

Articles must be logically organized and written in a grammatically correct, simple, readable style. The author is responsible for the accuracy of all statements in the article. Authors shall provide complete and accurate bibliographic citations as noted in the style guide. All citations and any quotations should be carefully checked by the author. 

If the paper has been accepted or presented at a conference (the proceedings of which will not be published), the author should identify the conference by name and date on the cover page. Often material prepared for a presentation or program format will need to be revised into an appropriate narrative format before submission. Upon submission, the author is responsible for indicating previously published material or revised material that was published or presented elsewhere for a different audience. This will be noted by the Editor(s) upon publication. The author must supply the necessary rights and permissions to use previously published material if a publisher holds the copyright to the material. Authors are urged to consult with the Editor(s) as questions or concerns arise.

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC-BY-NC 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) as it can lead to productive exchanges. However, if you submit an article for peer-review please refrain from sharing widely until after the double-blind review has been completed.

Submissions

We welcome submissions from individuals of all ethnicities, races, countries of origin, gender identities and expressions, ages, abilities, religions, sexual orientations, economic backgrounds, scholarly and professional backgrounds and experiences, types and sizes of institutions, and other differences. We are committed to amplifying and highlighting lived experiences from these different perspectives as they relate to leadership and management.

The preferred method of submission is through the online portal to the journal. Authors of articles should submit their manuscripts in Microsoft Word or .rtf format. Use Arial 11 point font. Abstracts are required for articles between 4,000-6,000 words, but are optional for shorter pieces. Please include full contact information and please allow a minimum of one month for editorial review. In the event you encounter problems submitting your manuscript or need to submit through other means, please contact the Editor(s).

Style Guide

Please consult the Random House Webster’s College Dictionary for spelling and usage. Use the first spelling. Verify the spelling and accuracy of names in an appropriate reference source. Please consult the most current version of the Chicago Manual of Style for all grammatical and citation style rules. When appropriate, embed figures and tables into the manuscript as you would want them to be displayed. Submit all bibliographic citations at the end of the article. The fictitious examples below illustrate the preferred style:

  1. James Mason and Julie Martin, “Using the Pears Technique to Assess Staff Performance in a Large Public Library,” Library Leadership & Management 3 (Jan. 1988): 1–23.
  2. Robert E. Jones et al., Senior Administrator Evaluation of Library Directors: Trends and Issues, Library Book House, vol. 4 (Dayton, Ohio: Univ. of Dayton Pr., 1987).
  3. Ibid., 194.
  4. Linda Keir, “Administration of an Off-Campus Library Program,” in Off-Campus Library Programs: Proceedings of the 1987 National Conference, ed. Edward J. Jones (Chicago: ALA, 1988), 87–98.
  5. Mason and Martin, “Using the Pears Technique to Assess Staff Performance in a Large Public Library,” 2. 
  6. Mary Ann Walker, “Problems in Off-Campus Program Site Selection,” in Off-Campus Library Programs, 2.