The Journal of Library Outreach and Engagement is looking for contributors for our upcoming issue’s Idea Lab section (example). Idea Lab is practice-centered, is not peer-reviewed, and focuses on a theme selected by the editorial board. Public librarians, school librarians, and LIS graduate students are highly encouraged to contribute. We are looking for short contributions (approx. 200-600 words) responding to the following theme.
In recent years, social media companies like Twitter and Meta have come under scrutiny. These companies face data leaks; provide platforms for hate speech and disinformation; promote unchecked echo chambers; and are becoming increasingly predatory. Still, many libraries continue to use these platforms as a convenient tool to reach their users. Considering these ethical challenges, should librarians and libraries walk our digital footprints away from exploitative platforms? Authors might address the following topics and questions:
- As information professionals, do we have a responsibility to our users to lead by example and stop lending our credibility to troubling products?
- What other platforms (Mastodon, post.com, bluesky, etc.) are you using or considering as Twitter alternatives and why? How effective are they?
- How can we communicate with our users as ethically as possible?
Please send questions and a statement of interest to Jenna Freedman at jfreedma@barnard.edu and Stephanie Diaz at sad35@psu.edu no later than June 10, 2023. Final submissions are due ~June 15, 2023, and expected publication will be in fall 2023. JLOE is a peer-reviewed, open access interdisciplinary journal focused on advancing library outreach and engagement. To learn more about JLOE, visit https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/jloe.
You will not be paid, nor will anyone involved in the editorial process, but neither will Elsevier!
FYI I'm on the editorial board of this journal, hence the post and co-editing the lab. Mwah!