Knowledge Quest Author Guidelines
Knowledge Quest’s Mission
Knowledge Quest (KQ) is the official print publication of the America Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association. KQ is a peer-reviewed journal offering substantive information to assist building-level library media specialists, supervisors, library educators, and other decision makers concerned with the development of school library media programs and services. Authors include building-level school library media specialists, school library administrators and educators, school administrators, university personnel, and students in master’s programs in school media. Articles address the integration of theory and practice in school librarianship and new developments in education, learning theory, information and communication technologies, and academic disciplines relevant to school librarianship.
Themed Issues and Feature Articles
Thematic issues are shaped by editorial questions and addressed by peer-reviewed feature articles (1500 to 2500 words), a select number of which, in whole or in part, are published online with expanded content. Original material, written specifically for KQ takes advantage of the media-rich features of online publishing. Further information is online. We seek to publish new voices and offer extra help to new writers and beginning practitioners who want to write for KQ. Please direct inquiries to: Editor-in-Chief, Debbie Abilock and Associate Editor for the Web, Gayle Bogel.
Columns and Reviews
A substantial number of print and Web articles relate to the theme of the issue, in addition to ongoing columns and reviews of broad professional interest. Prospective reviewers of books or authors who would like to propose a series of columns about a professional topic (5 -10 columns, 800 to 1000 words each) should address an e-mail letter to Debbie Abilock and the appropriate editor (listed below). Reviewers should indicate their professional interests, while authors should outline a series of columns. Please address your e-mail to one of the following editors:
AASL Community (Inquiries to Associate Editor for Community, Sara Kelly Johns) highlights the issues, initiatives and interests of our national organization and its members in order to help build and sustain “a vibrant, inclusive, accessible and supportive community for school library media specialists.” (Strategic Plan 2005)
Professional Pages (Inquiries to Associate Editor for Resources, Carolyn Karis) contains reviews of professional resources, evaluation of materials to assist school librarians with selection and collection development, and other information to enhance and support professional growth.
Research into Practice (Inquiries to Associate Editor for Research, Nancy Everhart) invites examples of practice that the editor will contextualize and support with research. Action-based research and reactions to recently published studies are also welcomed.
Profile, Interview, Personal Reflection, Opinion (Inquiries to Editor-in-Chief, Debbie Abilock) An “Author Profile” spotlights an author who can provide insights on reading and writing, and enlarge our understanding of teaching and learning. A “Web Profile” tours an online resource, program or practice that can enlarge our understanding of partnerships, learning and teaching, information access and delivery, or program administration. A “Personal Reflection” models the thinking and learning that can enlarge our understanding of the profession, partnerships, teaching, information access and delivery, or program administration. “On My Mind” invites controversial, provocative commentary. “Why I...?” explains why an individual does something outside his or her job responsibilities.
Decisions on Publication
Final decisions on publication, and placement in print or on the Web, are made by the Knowledge Quest Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors, and guest co-editors who reserve the right to reject material, whether solicited or otherwise, if it lacks quality or timeliness, exceeds the word count or does not match a theme. A manuscript cannot be published if a copyright assignment is not on file at AASL.
Manuscript Guidelines
Submission
Submit all manuscripts via e-mail attachments in MSWord or Rich Text Format to the appropriate editor. The subject line should include the column or issue name, if appropriate. Although the peer-review process and decision on your submission can take up to six months, you should receive acknowledgment of your submission within a week. If you do not hear from an editor at KQ, please assume that your e-mail has not been received and write again.
Include the following heading on the first page of your manuscript.
Knowledge Quest vol.#, issue #
Column name and title (or) Article title:
For each author:
Name
Address (home and work)
Telephone number (home and work)
E-mail address (home and work)
The e-mail I want published:
Author identification: In addition to your title and affiliation, you might list a recent publication you’ve authored or a professional initiative or project with which you are involved. To personalize this you might include a recent book you are reading (can be professional, for fun, children’s lit, or even related to a hobby?).
Author photograph: A candid photograph or headshot may be used with your manuscript. Please refer to Image requirements, below.
Abstract and Index Terms: The final version of your article’s abstract should (approximate 50 word) summary should be included with your manuscript. List the appropriate terms which relate to your focus. This information may be used on KQ Web, for indexing, and for announcements and marketing.
Mechanics
Formatting: Use 12 point Times Roman and justify text on left margin only (a ragged right format) with automatic hyphenation turned off. Use single spacing with double spaces between paragraphs. You may use a bulleted list, text box or indicate placement of other elements (tables, graphs, photos), but do not use special fonts, automatic formatting, footnoting or special features.
Consult the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (2003) Chicago: University of Chicago Press for bibliographic style, capitalization, abbreviations, and design of tables.
Documentation: Use references to document the text, and an annotated bibliography to enrich it. Use parenthetical documentation within the text, with full citations appearing alphabetically at the end of the article. In the case of unwieldy online addresses, use the URL of the site’s home page and specify the link path (e.g., “Name of Review” <http://www.ala.org>; Path: Our Association; Divisions; American Association of School Librarians; Knowledge Quest; Professional Pages.).
Text:
As noted by the 2003–2004 Self-Study and Resource Allocation Committee of the New Member Round Table:
Reference:
American Association of School Librarians. 2006. “AASL’s Strategic Plan.” <www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aboutaasl/aaslgovernance/aaslstrategicplanning/strategicplanning.htm>. Accessed 5 Mar. 2006.
Text:
Social justice education supports the collective and individual work needed to achieve equity for every person: “how resources, respect and opportunities can be justly distributed and social patterns of exploitation, domination and denigration eradicated” (Woods 2005, 17).
Reference:
Woods, Philip A. 2005. Democratic Leadership in Education. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage/Paul Chapman Publ.
Text:
To broaden our approach to teaching social responsibility, let’s extend the six approaches to civic education identified in The Civic Mission of Schools report (Carnegie Corporation of New York 2003), which were described in the last issue of Knowledge Quest (Levine 2006).
References:
Levine, Peter. 2006. “The Civic Mission of Schools: Chief Findings and Next Steps.” Knowledge Quest (Mar./Apr.): 18–21.
Carnegie Corporation of New York, CIRCLE, and the Council for Excellence in Government. 2003. The Civic Mission of Schools. <www.civicmissionofschools.org>. Accessed 19 Mar. 2006.
Specifications for images:
Knowledge Quest is a full-color print journal. For the print journal we can use digital images of at least 300 dpi saved in .jpg or .tiff format (or color print photographs). Do not past images into Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Instead, send the original image. If you are taking a screen shot, use a program like SnagIt, and set the resolution or scaling to the greatest size. Be careful with images from the Web. They are generally only 72 dpi. They have to be very large in order for the resolution to be increased.
Do not attempt to resize, crop, convert to a different format, or otherwise manipulate the image. Instead, include instructions about what needs to be edited out of the image.
Please shoot all images at your camera's highest resolution. For smaller interior images, a 4MP camera is adequate. For full-page images, use at least an 8MP camera. An image may be 72 dpi if the dimensions are much larger than is needed for the final size. If the size of the file is greater than 500 kb, that is generally a good indication of an adequate image. An image of fewer than 100 kb is likely not to be usable in print.
Each author should submit a good quality photo – either a head-shot or candid – to be used with the article, column, or review. The permission form for your manuscript covers any images created by you or photographs of you.
Procedure for submitting images
Each photo should be labeled
For print: KQnumber of volume_number of issue_YourLastName_photoname.format
Example: KQ36_1_Abilock_headshot.jpg
For Web: KQWnumber of volume_number of issue_YourLastName_PhotoName.format for Web
Example: KQW36_1_Bogel_reading.tiff
All images must be sent separately from your article. In the article, use the image name and small thumbnail and indicate placement and a caption. Do not embed the full-size images in Word because their quality is destroyed and the file becomes very large.
Images can be uploaded directly to AASL by using the Web form at http://cs.ala.org/upload/ and following the instructions. You may also e-mail images directly to Andrea Parker.
Please alert us when you have submitted images by sending an e-mail to the editor you have been working with and copy the e-mail to: Debbie Abilock, Gayle Bogel, and Andrea Parker. In your e-mail list the items you’ve uploaded and include the following information in the subject line: “KQ35_number of issue_YourLastName – type and numberphotos/images”
EXAMPLE OF E-MAIL SUBJECT LINE:
RE: KQ35_1_Abilock – three photos
RE: KQW35_1_Bogel – three graphs
Permission to Publish a Manuscript
In submitting a manuscript for publication in Knowledge Quest, the author guarantees that the manuscript has not been published or accepted for publication elsewhere. Authors bear the full responsibility for the accuracy of quotations, figures and facts. Upon acceptance of an article, each author is required to choose one of the two ALA Author Copyright Agreements, and submit a signed copy to AASL. Columnists must submit a permission form for each manuscript.
Images
Secure permission to use all copyrighted images, except book cover images as noted above, and provide KQ with the copyright owner’s desired credit line. If you are sent an e-mail or letter of permission, forward it to Andrea Parker indicating the title, author and volume/issue number of your manuscript and keep a copy for your own records.
Unless your school has a blanket permission form for photographs or work of students or faculty, you will need a release form signed from everyone in a picture or for any work samples or lessons. Inform Andrea Parker if your school has such a blanket permission on file or send the release form(s) to her at the address below indicating the title, author and volume/issue number of your manuscript.
Sign and fax or mail to:
Knowledge Quest
Attn: Andrea Parker, Managing Editor
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611-2795
312-280-5276 (FAX)
For problems or questions e-mail aparker@ala.org or phone 800-545-2433, ext. 1396
Editorial Process
Your manuscript will be acknowledged within a week by the appropriate editor. The peer review and acceptance process will take longer, since themed issues are developed over a year in advance. Please check in with the editor to whom you submitted a manuscript if you have not heard back within three months.
The editor will work with you via e-mail suggesting changes and making comments that may help focus the work or explain something that is unclear to other readers. You will be given an opportunity to proof for errors either in pdf (Adobe Acrobat) or in html (Web). Since corrections will need to be received within one week, if you anticipate being unavailable or changing your e-mail during the editing and production process, please alert us so that we can make adjustments.
Upon publication, print authors will receive two copies of the issue in which your article appears. Additional issues may be purchased and Web authors who are not members of AASL may request a complimentary copy of the print issue.
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