{"id":2551,"date":"2024-04-28T23:22:15","date_gmt":"2024-04-28T23:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/?page_id=2551"},"modified":"2026-01-28T20:41:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T20:41:53","slug":"school-library-journal","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/is-publications\/is-professional-and-trade-publications\/school-library-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"School Library Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Publication analysis<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>About the publication<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Title:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>School Library Journal<\/em>\u00a0(<em>SLJ<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>ISSN<\/strong>: 0362-8930<sup class=\"footnote\">1<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Website:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.slj.com\/\"><em>SLJ<\/em> Homepage<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Purpose, objective, or mission:<\/strong>\u00a0Per their website, \u201c<em>School Library Journal<\/em>\u00a0is the premiere publication for librarians and information specialists who work with children and teens. A source of quality journalism and reviews for more than 60 years, SLJ produces award-winning features and news coverage on: literacy, best practices, technology, education policy and other issues of interest to the school library and greater educator community.\u201d<sup class=\"footnote\">2<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Target audience:<\/strong>\u00a0Any librarians and information professionals working with children and teens, including librarians in K-12 schools as well as those in public libraries.<sup class=\"footnote\">3<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Media Source, Inc.<sup class=\"footnote\">4<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Peer reviewed?<\/strong>\u00a0No.<sup class=\"footnote\">5<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Type:<\/strong>\u00a0Professional.<sup class=\"footnote\">6<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Medium:<\/strong>\u00a0Print and online.<sup class=\"footnote\">7<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Content:<\/strong>\u00a0Claims to be one of the most authoritative reviewers of children\u2019s and young adult materials. It mainly focuses on books, but also includes reviews on audio and video items. The journal also contains columns, news, and feature articles.<sup class=\"footnote\">8<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Frequency of publication:<\/strong>\u00a0Monthly.<sup class=\"footnote\">9<\/sup><\/p>\n<h3>About the publication\u2019s submission guidelines<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Location of submission guidelines:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.slj.com\/?page=Submissions\">Submissions<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Types of contributions accepted:<\/strong>\u00a0Items of interest to librarians and educators who work with children: feature articles, news articles, and specialty columns.<sup class=\"footnote\">10<\/sup>\u00a0Articles from the last few years include topics such as\u00a0rural public libraries, fundraising, app reviews, bloggers, LGBTQ+ Pride, diversity, and tips for school librarians preparing for the first day of school.<sup class=\"footnote\">11<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Submission and review process:<\/strong>\u00a0Send brief article proposals to the appropriate editor before submitting any complete articles. Feature articles are generally less than 2,500 words, while opinion pieces are around 600-700 words. News articles can vary in length, depending on the topic.<sup class=\"footnote\">12<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Editorial tone:<\/strong>\u00a0Informative, but not academic.<sup class=\"footnote\">13<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Style guide used:<\/strong>\u00a0None indicated.<\/p>\n<h3>Conclusion: Evaluation of publication\u2019s potential for LIS authors<\/h3>\n<p>This is a successful and popular publication that, while encouraging of submissions, may be difficult to break into as a writer. A thorough study of the publication with attention to the authors published in their pages will give a writer a better idea if this is a good match for them.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Audience analysis<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>About the publication\u2019s readers<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Publication circulation:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>School Library Journal<\/em>\u00a0has a circulation of 23,000 in the print edition with an estimated reach of 92,000 readers.<sup class=\"footnote\">14<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Audience location and language or cultural considerations:<\/strong>\u00a0There is no specific breakdown on the nationality of the readers available, but the history of the journal reveals that it is entirely geared toward schools in the United States and Canada.<sup class=\"footnote\">15<\/sup>\u00a0Most of the readers of this journal would be those who work with youth in libraries in the United States, so there should not be any problems with cultural references, LIS jargon, or terminology particular to education.<sup class=\"footnote\">16<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Reader characteristics:<\/strong>\u00a0Readers of this journal would be those who work with K-12 students, either in schools or public libraries. They have a shared interest in promoting literacy and welcome resources that inspire student achievement.<sup class=\"footnote\">17<\/sup>\u00a0Articles openly and positively discuss diversity and inclusivity in library services, with article topics ranging from combating systematic racism in schools to selecting LGBTQ+ books for pre-teen collections. More articles and reviews touching on these topics would be welcome.<sup class=\"footnote\">18<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><strong>Knowledge of LIS subject matter:<\/strong>\u00a0Readers of this journal would not be limited to those with teaching credentials or MLS degrees. Some may be library media technicians who may not have an advanced degree, but would have enough education or professional training in order to understand the subject matter.<sup class=\"footnote\">19<\/sup><\/p>\n<h3>Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors<\/h3>\n<p>Readers of\u00a0<em>School Library Journal<\/em> have a common interest in children\u2019s literature and issues regarding school libraries. Many of the readers are library technicians, so some articles are geared toward encouraging collaboration with teachers and librarians. Authors should recognize that there is an education gap as well as a wage gap between the professionals and the paraprofessionals and should refrain from using an excess of technical terms in their articles. Readers of <em>SLJ<\/em>\u00a0maintain a great interest in information literacy and how this can be integrated into the curriculum, as well as increasing the technology available to the students. Introducing ideas that are on the cutting edge of technology yet are not restricted by financial or time constraints would be a way of effectively reaching the intended audience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Last updated:\u00a0<\/strong>June 26, 2019.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>References<\/h4>\n<div id=\"footnotes-5345\" class=\"footnotes\">\n<ol>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-1\">ProQuest,<em>\u00a0\u201c<\/em>School Library Journal,\u201d\u00a0<em>Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory,\u00a0<\/em>accessed June 29, 2019.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org\/title\/1521399134773\/52981\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org\/title\/1521399134773\/52981<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-2\">School Library Journal, \u201cAbout Us,\u201d accessed June 29, 2019,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.slj.com\/?page=About-Us\">https:\/\/www.slj.com\/?page=About-Us<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-3\">School Library Journal, \u201cAbout Us.\u201d<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-4\">ProQuest,\u00a0<em>Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-5\">ProQuest,\u00a0<em>Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory<\/em><\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-6\">ProQuest,\u00a0<em>Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory<\/em><\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-7\">School Library Journal, \u201cSchool Library Journal content submission guidelines,\u201d accessed June 29, 2019,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.slj.com\/?page=Submissions\">https:\/\/www.slj.com\/?page=Submissions<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-8\">School Library Journal, \u201cAbout Us.\u201d<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-9\">ProQuest,\u00a0<em>Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-10\">School Library Journal, \u201cSchool Library Journal content submission guidelines.\u201d<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-11\">School Library Journal, \u201cNews &amp; Features,\u201d accessed June 29, 2019.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.slj.com\/?subpage=News%20%26%20Features\">https:\/\/www.slj.com\/?subpage=News%20%26%20Features<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-12\">School Library Journal, \u201cSchool Library Journal content submission guidelines.\u201d<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-13\">School Library Journal, \u201cSchool Library Journal content submission guidelines.\u201d<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-14\">Library Journals, LLC., \u201cPrint,\u201d accessed June 29, 2019,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/media.libraryjournal.com\/print\/#schoollibraryjournalmag\">https:\/\/media.libraryjournal.com\/print\/#schoollibraryjournalmag<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-15\">School Library Journal, \u201cNews &amp; Features.\u201d<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-16\">School Library Journal, \u201cAbout Us.\u201d<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-17\">School Library Journal, \u201cAbout Us.\u201d<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-18\">School Library Journal, \u201cNews &amp; Articles.\u201d<\/li>\n<li id=\"fn-5345-19\">School Library Journal, \u201cAbout Us.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Publication analysis About the publication Title:\u00a0School Library Journal\u00a0(SLJ) ISSN: 0362-89301 Website:\u00a0SLJ Homepage Purpose, objective, or mission:\u00a0Per their website, \u201cSchool Library Journal\u00a0is the premiere publication for librarians and information specialists who work with children and teens. A source of quality journalism and reviews for more than 60 years, SLJ produces award-winning features and news coverage on: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":772,"featured_media":0,"parent":2015,"menu_order":14,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2551","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/772"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2551"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3268,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2551\/revisions\/3268"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/infosci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}