WRITING BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES FOR PROFESIONAL DEVELOPMENT
College librarians routinely handle requests for biographical information on the famous and obscure. Databases like Master Genealogical and Biographical Index, Marquis Who’s Who on the Web, and Biography Reference Bank are mainstays in this research but are just a starting point.
Many specialized reference titles include biographical entries, such as Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film, Encyclopedia of Science, Technology and Ethics, Historical Dictionary of the 1940s, The Crusades: An Encyclopedia, and Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia.
Librarians know these works from reviews in Choice, Library Journal, and Booklist; from browsing “Best Reference” sources; and from perusing catalogs. Other titles come to their attention through mailings, faculty recommendations, wide reading of library and specialized publications, examining reference holdings at other libraries, subscribing to selected electronic discussion lists and blogs, and visiting publisher exhibits at conferences.
Although librarians shape reference collections to meet users’ needs, they may not even consider writing entries for works similar to those they recommend daily. Publishers, however, welcome contributions of biographical articles, which generally average 500 to 1500 words.
Publication editors notify specialized journals and academic websites of planned reference works and the need for contributors on a prepared list of topics. Entries on notable individuals are generally included in such lists. Reliable websites that regularly feature calls for contributors are the following:
Other leads present themselves through
After seeing a contributor announcement for biographical entries, the college librarian generally submits an e-mail query to the editor. The editor usually responds with a list of topics (with word counts) that the planned publication will cover. The prospective contributor requests specific assignments and the editor generally asks for a statement of interest, curriculum vitae, and possibly a writing sample.
When the editor and contributor agree on the entries to be written, a contract is sent explaining the writing particulars (word count, deadline, compensation—if any—and rights). Some editors forgo contracts and just e-mail confirmation of assignments. Publishers can usually provide aspiring contributors with sample written entries for their planned reference work. Authors model their entries on the samples, focusing on writing style, formatting, length, references (not footnotes), and cross-references that are a staple in such publications. Examining imprints produced by the publisher or editor can also be instructive. The contributing author’s submissions should be properly credited with his or her name and affiliation in the final publication. Avoid editors who cannot make this commitment.
Once the writing assignment is accepted, the contributor finds relevant source materials, reads them, and synthesizes them. These are the first steps in understanding the individual one is researching. Writing biographical sketches requires interest in the person assigned; ability to write clear, jargonfree, concise prose for informed laypeople; and a commitment to meet agreed-on terms. Writers must provide basic facts about the biographical subject, their main contributions, what propelled them to do what they did, how their work affected society or a particular field, and why their memory endures. Biographical research can be a window to other times, bringing individuals to life through a careful statement of facts, anecdotes, analysis of supporting materials, and interpretation of the person’s contributions.
Oftentimes, college librarians have academic or faculty status and rank. Like their teaching faculty colleagues, they are expected to contribute to scholarship and publish. The academic model of librarianship differs from that of librarians working in school, special, or public libraries. Publish or perish, is a reality for library faculty who must survive annual reappointment reviews and ultimately tenure. This is where writing biographical sketches can help.
By writing biographical entries, college librarians have an opportunity to quickly break into print and begin creating a publication record. It is a mistake to think that only scholars or subject experts write biographical articles in reference works. Reading contributor profiles in specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries, found in typical college reference collections, tells a different story. It reveals that writers are drawn from specialists and nonspecialists, including freelance writers, advanced graduate students, and librarians. Writing short biographical sketches is not easy, but there is a good chance that well-researched and well-written entries will result in publication. This is because the editor or publisher has specifically requested coverage on this person and has a tight publication deadline.
College librarians are the generalists in the academic environment. In addition to their MLS, they may have special subject interests or other graduate degrees. As the professionals dealing with information in the widest range of areas, good college librarians know the needs of their campuses. They see connections across disciplines and bring insights to research topics that may elude specialists.
Librarians may not think of themselves as scholars or writers. Yet they are highly skilled at finding information, accessing source materials, and determining their research value. Reference librarians are trained to search catalogs, complex databases, and search engines for information on specific topics. Subject experts marvel at the librarian’s speed and efficiency in tackling intricate research assignments and gathering an impressive range of resources.
While the usual maxim to writers is “write what you know,” librarians can draw on broad general knowledge and research ability to “write to learn.” Writing biographical sketches is a way of sharing what is found while also making an important contribution to scholarship. The discipline of writing biography can also develop the budding author’s confidence, paving the way for the demands of more in-depth studies published in peer-reviewed publications.
Examining the life of a person can lead to a richer understanding of society, events, and the cultural milieu of the time. Librarians use whatever primary or secondary sources are available to explain and interpret the contributions of their assigned subject. These sources can include diaries, correspondence, archival materials, wills, deeds, newspapers, books, journal articles, or obituaries. Contacting authorities or institutions with specific questions may also be needed. In using a variety of materials for research, the college librarian has a chance to know sources and repositories in a unique way. This all feeds back into the daily practice of librarianship.
The nature of academic librarianship requires continual growth and development. By undertaking research, librarians test their limits and embrace lifelong learning. These efforts enliven professional practice and keep the workplace vital. Through their research and writing, college librarians can
The term librarian-anthologist is a snazzy one that, like other composites such as scholardiplomat, is more effective if bestowed on a person by others. I had been a writer, mostly of research topics and op-ed articles, for many years before I answered a call for submissions by e-mail from Carol Smallwood for an anthology that she and Cynthia Brackett-Vincent were developing on innovative experiences in women’s lives.
I had had plenty of those, and I am part of the cadre of colleagues who frequently are asked how and if we can be librarians when our work very often is conducted out of the sphere of traditional libraries. I answered the call. The anthology, titled Thinking outside the Book: Essays for Innovative Librarians, was published by McFarland Publishers in North Carolina in 2008. It helped that a few months before I had begun a collection of expository vignettes of different stages of my life and had just written some about my research and facilitation experiences as a librarian. Although the editors deemed one of my stories to be outside the realm of traditional librarianship, they accepted two others to the developing anthology. Not ones to rest on their achievements, the team planned another anthology shortly thereafter. Its working title is Contemporary American Women: Our Defining Passages. My first submission was passed on, but another vignette that I more than doubled in length in three hours was accepted right on deadline, giving a taste of The Front Page kind of tension to my autobiographical short story.
Because I had such good luck in the genre, and had many more stories in the electronic chute of a vignette folder on my computer, it was gratifying that there was a demand for them. Carol pointed me to many other anthologies; as a sideline, among those that I investigated was one that I submitted a true story to for the Chicken Soup for the Soul folks for a pending anthology of cat stories (www.chickensoup.com/form.asp?cid=submit_story). Many web-sites host calls for submissions, for example, Growing Great Writers from the Ground Up (http://marthaengber.blogspot.com/2008/02/ie-10-seeking-essays.html). The American Library Association disseminates information about submissions and publications, and enables opportunities for networking with other authors and editors. One web page that has been helpful to me is www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/ publishing/products_and_publications.cfm. This page lists major ALA publications. Another useful site is ALA’s Read Write Connect wiki (http://wikis.ala.org/ readwriteconnect/), which links to many networking resources.
Library schools offer excellent opportunities for students to begin to have their articles published, as faculty members are often involved in the editing and publishing of professional journals and newsletters for librarians and information specialists.
Sheila Intner, a professor at Simmons College, was the editor of Technicalities: Information Forum for the Library Practitioner, a newsletter for librarians and technology specialists. Sheila commissioned my first article about international library science when I went to Wales to attend the International Graduate Summer School, which was cosponsored by the Simmons GSLIS and the University of Wales at Aberystwyth. My article was well received and, pending my eventual move to Cardiff, a further commission followed from Sheila to write a series of articles for Technicalities titled “Tales from Wales.” At that time, I was contributing to a Welsh journal also and my career as a writer of international librarianship was under way.
There are a variety of topics that librarians speak and write about that are suited to anthologies. The reasons for librarians to invest resources in library science–based anthologies are many. A few of the important reasons are the following:
1. As a forum to address an issue or tell a story that is or has been significant to your professional experiences in the company of others’ library science experiences. Journals enable this, too, but an anthology allows for situations to be related in relaxed, biographical short-story formats. This format is easy to write as well as to read.
2. As a forum to network with colleagues. The development of an anthology is a somewhat more personal experience than that of contributing to a journal. Writing articles for professional journals is important, educational and, particularly to those in academia, generally necessary. Writing for peer-reviewed journals enhances one’s professional standing and attractiveness to publishers. However, I have been able to participate in more of the marketing process of anthologies on behalf of the editors than I have submitting articles to journals. I have found that that work and the process of writing and submitting chapters for anthologies are rewarding, to a great degree because much of it was fun!
3. Building up publication credit and becoming better known in the field. I have received e-mail offering publication and employment options because one of the anthology editors pointed opportunities my way. The Internet is truly mightier than the mouth, and publication opportunities breed other opportunities. The diversity of the market is encouraging, as there are demands to hear from people who have had a multitude of experiences as librarians. The encouragement of librarians to conduct their own research is reflected in the number of publications accepting research articles on many different topics. If you as a librarian or your library as an organization is developing plans for different goods and services to offer, or if there have been situations that you’ve encountered on nearly any issue, an Internet search through the ALA, another professional web page, or some networking with colleagues will reveal a format through which to let the rest of the field know. Like the true literary treasure hunt that it can be, revealing multiple ways and means for publication, your searching and networking will reveal an increasing number of opportunities to enable us all to participate in the education of all of us.
My role as a researcher and author of various aspects of disability can be said to have begun in childhood, because I was born physically disabled.
The treatments and understanding of the human body in the 1960s were fairly primitive by twentyfirst-century standards, to a considerable degree because technology had not advanced enough to enable people to observe as much of the function of living bodies as they do today. However, attitudes regarding the practice of rehabilitative treatments were changing. Particularly notable to me in the early seventies was the vast improvement in 1970s New York from 1960s Rhode Island. That was a prerequisite for the tidal wave of information, new treatments, patient participation, and the multitude of possibilities that were to manifest during the following thirty years and beyond. People wanted to read firsthand, realistic accounts about living and working with disabilities. A market that had been small and sanitized, with “super humans” accomplishing much by endless work and fortitude, was simultaneously opening up and growing up. The laws and policies that had begun to develop at the demand of the World War II veterans obliged the public to hear truth and facts regarding the significant integration of people with disabilities into education, housing, and employment. People who were and are disabled have been telling their stories in writing. Librarians who are disabled and want to inform colleagues and others of situations that we have experienced, observed, and researched have niche markets for which to write. The Internet is a valuable tool to use to gain access to these markets. For example, www.ala.org, www.lisjobs.org, and a number of publishers of library science topics such as McFarland Publishers, which is based in North Carolina and located on the Web at www.mcfarlandpub.com, as well as Greenwood Publishing Group at www.greenwood.com, and professional journals and newsletters, are all current or potential forums.
My publications that have my disability as one of their subjects include the following. Four of these publications tell of my work abroad.
“Combining Careers in Research,” Info Career Trends 2, no. 3 (May 2001). http://lisjobs.com/career_trends/?p=99.
Davis, Carolyn, and Rebecca Barton, Access Guide. http://accessguidecardiff-online.blog.com. (As the facilitator of this project, I coresearched and coauthored this physical access guide to Cardiff, Wales.)
“The International Graduate Summer School in England and Wales,” Technicalities 16, no. 2 (February 1996): 4.
“The Mobile Librarian,” Thinking outside the Book: Essays for Innovative Librarians, ed. Carol Smallwood, 235–237. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishers, 2008.
“Some Experiences of an Internet Researcher,” Audio Visual Librarian 22, no. 2 (May 1996).
I conducted research on agencies that provided services to people with disabilities while a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica in 1997 to 1999. The national newspaper the Jamaica Gleaner published an article about the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities, where I worked, and the research results to that time. The article, titled “For Love of the Disabled,” appeared in March 1998 and led to a meeting between Dr. Marigold Thorburn and myself. Dr. Thorburn was a powerhouse who had developed national programs and agencies from scratch. We felt that the development of a national coalition would answer the needs of the then competing agencies. We began to develop forums to discuss this possibility with agency directors across the country.
In its newsletter Hearing Hands, published by the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD; www.jamdeaf.org.jm/hearing-hands/), Iris Soutar, who is the director of the association, cited the importance of the coalition. The Jamaica Coalition is considered one of the most effective of its kind, thanks to the work of the agency directors and personnel who have shaped and currently maintain it.
After my term of service in Jamaica ended, I moved to Wales to conduct research in medieval Welsh history. Rebecca Barton and I also began to look at physical and psychological access to public places in Cardiff for people with disabilities. I published our results on a blog at http://accessguidecardiff-online.blog.com (no longer available).
As stated earlier, there are niche markets both for research in the field of disabilities and for the life experiences of people with disabilities. Because librarians have basic training in research and reference methods, we have access to professions or subspecialties in research in a variety of fields, particularly librarians who have qualifications and experience in additional fields. I have found that the best way to begin to have my work published in library science, whether or not my disability was to be part of the story, was both to approach and to be approached by editors of journals and anthologies. Among the people with and for whom I have worked are: Professor Anthony Hugh Thompson of Aberystwyth, Wales, who was the editor in chief of The Audio-Visual Librarian; Sheila Intner and her successor Peggy Johnson for Technicalities; the multiconnected Rachel Singer Gordon at www.lisjobs.com; and Carol Smallwood and Cynthia Brackett-Vincent, the latter at Encirclepub.com, for their growing list of anthologies.
Our voices need to be heard and our chapters and books published. These projects not only educate and enlighten our colleagues but also can have an impact on others’ quality of life. I strongly encourage anyone who is a librarian with a physical challenge to share her or his experiences with the rest of our profession.
Several years ago I embarked on a writing project to combine two things I love: libraries and California. This project materialized in a book titled The Library as Place in California (2008). I structured my book around thirty-two chapters. Each chapter focused on a library I visited during research trips around the state. Most chapters also included discussions of the areas where the libraries were located.
During and after the writing of the book, I received questions from librarians about the nature of the project. Many expressed how fun the project sounded and said they thought they would enjoy similar writing. Others sought advice on writing and publishing. I always responded affirmatively that the project was definitely fun and provided any advice I could. What I discovered from my project, which I will share here, is that there are many publishing opportunities for regional writing tied to libraries. In addition, there are numerous professional benefits, which makes this type of writing unique.
Most of us are familiar with the concept of regional writing, but it is important to review some of the more essential elements. Regional writing concerns the customs, history, and people of a specific area. The landscape may also be discussed, such as the urban environment, rivers, beaches, deserts, or forests. The focus may be quite narrow, such as a small town or city. It may also extend to an entire state or section of a country, such as the West or the South of the United States. Because most libraries provide services for their communities and preserve the culture of the surrounding area, part of the mission of libraries is inherently regional. This regional nature gives each library a distinctive story to tell.
If you have an interest in regional writing, there are many avenues you may take. One way to begin is by focusing on a particular library or libraries. Here are a few broad ideas and questions to provide inspiration:
The region. How would you define the community the library serves? How does this library fit in with the demographics of the community? Does this library represent something special about the region? What role does the library play in its community? Does the library provide specific services and/or programs that reflect its community? Is the community diverse? If so, is the collection diverse? Do displays reflect the community? Have the demographics of the region changed over time?
Building and surroundings. If someone is visiting the region, why should this library be on the visitor’s list of places to stop? What else is on the same block as the library? What is the neighborhood like? What will a visitor experience when driving or walking up to the library building? What makes this building and the surrounding area interesting?
History. What is the history of the library? What is the history of the region? What is the history of other libraries in the region? How do these histories combine? Have there been successes and failures in the library’s history? Has the library been housed at different locations?
Library magazines. Writings with a regional focus are often sought after in library-related publications. If you peruse a few issues of American Libraries, for example, you will notice how there are often regional articles. If you happen to live in a state where a library conference is scheduled, this is another opportunity to publish. Attendees will be interested in visiting libraries in the area near the conference. Your article can be their tour guide! For this type of article, send a query many months in advance to the publication(s) that attendees likely read. For major library conferences, American Libraries and Library Journal are two possibilities. Other publishing opportunities in the field include state and county library association newsletters.
General magazines. Opportunities for regional writing on libraries, however, extend far beyond library-related publications to include the following general categories:
If you browse periodicals from these categories at a large newsstand, you will note the various titles for travel and regional magazines. Some, but not all, allow unsolicited submissions. Guidelines for writers may be found within the pages or on the magazines’ websites. You are likely already familiar with local newspapers in your surrounding communities, but, if not, some light detective work will uncover these opportunities.
Books. If you feel ambitious and would like to write a book, the key will be locating a publisher that is open to material with a regional focus. Similar to magazines, you may target library-specific publishers or general publishers that include library or regional titles within their catalogs. It may also be wise to investigate smaller independent and local publishers. University presses are another option, because they are often interested in regional titles.
Early on I mentioned that there are potential benefits that come with regional writing on libraries. If this chapter has not enticed you enough, before ending, I will share these benefits:
Area expertise. As you become familiar with a region and the collections held at area libraries, your expertise can only help if you are serving on a reference desk.
Voice for your community and state. If you publish regularly about libraries in your area, you have the potential to be viewed as a spokesperson and promoter for libraries.
Regional networking. The only way to write well about libraries is to visit them. This allows you the opportunity to network with others in the field and build professional relationships.
Ideas for your library. Visiting libraries, where you will discover services, programs, displays, and unique uses of space, can only provide you with ideas to consider for your library.
With the numerous publishing opportunities, creative avenues, and professional benefits, regional writing projects have the potential to offer back as much as you put into them.
Russo, Stacy. 2008. The Library as Place in California. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Where does the poet-librarian find time for creative writing and submitting work? How do you begin to build a body of poetry you can be proud of but that also makes it into respectable journals, anthologies, or even your own chapbooks or full-length collection?
Schedule time. The biggest challenge for your writing will likely be finding time. Because very few librarians work a strict forty-hour week, you may have to block time out of your schedule, perhaps get up earlier or postpone bedtime, and simply think of it as another time commitment. You’ll be surprised, however, at how quickly including writing in your schedule becomes a natural addition to your daily routine, and how writing will become a habit.
Leave your office. Get out, take a walk, see people for lunch, or just enjoy the scenery. As a librarian, you likely come into contact with all sorts of people from all walks of life. Remember that even if you’re a poet who writes about nature, your daily interactions with people and objects are fair game for your writing and may provide a good way to loosen up those creative mental muscles.
Join or build a writing community. Many cities maintain one or more writing groups that welcome new members—see which writing groups exist in your state or region. If you already know fellow writers, you should make a point to start a regular correspondence or meeting with them. In her book How to Read a Poem . . . and Start a Poetry Circle, Molly Peacock recommends scheduling an annual retreat with fellow writers, if possible, and using that time to share work (both your own and that written by others you admire), recharge your creative batteries, and solicit constructive criticism.
Revise. Few poets other than William Stafford can get away with having their first draft of a piece be their last. Developing a revision process will help refine your work. This process can include soliciting criticism from other writers, as well as reading your work aloud. You may discover things you want to change about the sound or tone of the piece that you didn’t notice when reading it silently, or you may find that the poem isn’t quite as clear as you thought it was. Don’t be afraid to completely rewrite a piece—just remember to save your former drafts in case you need to go back to them.
Where to start. As a librarian, you are already at an advantage over other folks who may be interested in getting their poetry published. You have easy access to a number of tools for submission. In addition to Writer’s Market or Poet’s Market, your research skills and expertise are easily applied to researching your own personal interests. The Internet is a great place to do research on which markets prefer formal poetry, which prefer free verse, and which publish cutting-edge experimental and cross-genre work. Writer’s Market now has an online equivalent available on a subscription basis at www.writersmarket.com and other free listings are available online with a little bit of research.
Do your research. If you write nature poetry, a literary magazine specializing in fantasy or horror is not where you want to send your work. Save your postage for markets suited to your talents. While most publishers recommend subscribing to get a feel for what work they enjoy, don’t be afraid to take advantage of your library connections and check literary magazines out of the library or obtain them from interlibrary loan. You can also check the publisher’s website for work samples and ask fellow writers who know your work what publications they recommend.
Submitting. Many writers find it most effective to set a block of time aside about every two months and batch mail submissions, crafting their cover letters, printing submissions, and stuffing envelopes. Be certain to check the publisher’s website to see how they prefer to receive submissions. Also keep a record of what work you send where—if one publisher accepts a poem, you will have to remove it from other editors’ consideration. You’ll also want to be sure not to break the rule of no simultaneous submissions that some publishers enforce.
As a librarian, you are in a unique position to take advantage of the technology tools you are likely using in your everyday work. Think about it.
RSS feeds. You can subscribe to your favorite creative writing blogs and publisher sites, and get the latest announcements on calls for submissions or themed collections. You’ll be in the know before everyone else!
Wikis. The various free wikis available make it very easy for you to start your own writing group with creative friends across the globe. You can share contest listings, writing prompts, and even create a long-distance workshop arena where folks can upload files and provide comments and criticism on one another’s work.
Spreadsheets. Whether you’re using Google Docs, Microsoft Excel, or some open-source software, it’s a good idea to maintain a record of your submissions where you record the publication you’re submitting to, the editor’s name (if you have it), the title of your submission, and the date you mailed it.
As a poet-librarian, you are in a unique position to take advantage of the research and organization skills at your disposal, as well as new technologies. Developing good habits for your writing and submission processes will result in more polished pieces and better placement for your work.
A shout-out is a term today that means expressing and sharing good news and information about almost anything a person wants to write. Usually a shout-out involves a person telling others about the great job a person has done. Getting shoutouts into the library community is crucial, and there are many ways writers can go about doing it. I started with finding a subject about some specific aspect of culture, heritage, race relations, or activity and wrote about them. Many people look for popular and best-selling periodicals and serials to publish in, but I don’t. I think the best place to start is with local publications. My first articles dealing with diversity and multicultural issues were with my local library’s newsletter. I wrote articles about cultural programs that were happening in the libraries of Memphis, Tennessee. From there, I moved to writing a regular column in an African American weekly newspaper about multicultural and bilingual literature for children, and when I began to write Afrocentric titles for a college bulletin, I got plenty of practice describing events, absorbing culture, and sharing awareness.
There are major tasks in writing about diversity and multiculturalism; they are finding the topics, creating a voice, timing, supporting a theme, and locating the market.
The ongoing task is presenting the information and keeping the faith in telling readers what they need to know about the diversity niche you’ve carved out in your writings.
The cultural news media loves to learn and share news about other cultures. I’ve always focused on writing about four minority groups that libraries serve: African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and European immigrants. I look for printed magazines and newspapers that serve those reading audiences and that have news by and about them. I find the periodicals to submit to in grocery stores, at diversity conferences, on newsstands, and by word of mouth from other writers or readers. I let others know about my writing interests. And like they say, it’s always better to write or collect information about something you have an interest in. For me, those cultures have been a part of my library’s reading and diversity experience.
Creating a voice to report and write about your topics requires time and planning. I think about how long an article needs to be. I diagram the keywords, do any necessary research, and begin to make the news item different from anything that someone else has written before me. I like using popular phrases from African American culture, like Ebonics, or from other cultures, to set the tone. To me such language is catchy and colorful, and the meaning is usually fun to translate. When I wrote the article “African-American Fiction: A Slamming Genre” for American Libraries (November 1997), I knew the professional magazine would be interested if it contained elements about the African American reading culture, what kinds of people read African American fiction, what libraries are doing, and what makes that genre so different.
When the United States proclaimed its first national holiday in honor of an African American, I wrote the article “Martin Luther King Jr. Day: How Do We Celebrate It?” which was published in the BSA Journal (January 1987). This is a newspaper read by students, and I submitted the story to the college newspaper as an alumna. The article reflected what the day really means, which states would observe it, the surprise of which states would not, and why Americans should keep King’s dream alive.
Finding the right time to share articles on diversity and multiculturalism is important to be able to publish in any specific area. Timing your articles could be important especially if you are looking for print in major publications. Knowing that October is Diversity Month or that June is Gay and Lesbian Pride Month could cinch your article for publication. The same is true for historical anniversaries and commemorations. Planning and timing a cultural or heritage article is a great way to provide shout-outs about diversity to the reading community.
Sometimes shout-outs are not news stories; they are empowerment in print. One such writing theme I enjoyed was to put together activities for Black History Month with the library community. In 2004, I chaired a committee of library staff and representatives of various agencies serving diverse cultural groups that met in Springfield, Illinois, to celebrate a Black History theme. Finding the words to entice audiences to the event on only a 14-by-17foot poster involved being descriptive and thinking about timing and my market. The poster was a piece of marketing, but then the local paper picked up a similar format of the poster to publicize the monthlong events. The poster was billed as “Black History Events you will not want to miss.” The poster has become so popular that, in 2008, the committee and I were asked to produce something similar for the Commemoration of the Springfield Race Riot of 1908.
The Internet has made it much easier to find places for publishing articles about diversity. The Internet provides spaces for creating blogs and news articles. Sites like MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube are places to publicize diversity topics, or you could create your own web page and topics. Even though I use the Internet, I still prefer to locate possibilities with Writer’s Digest. I still visit the local library and university periodical shelves to look through periodicals in which I would like to publish or contribute a shout-out, in the interest of showing the periodical editor what more diversity has to offer to the audience. I also e-mail or talk with magazine editors about my topics on diversity. I usually e-mail or send a query letter to a periodical editor before submitting a completed article.
Writing short shout-outs can provide the “skinny” on what’s great to read. My article “Multicultural Children’s Books for Reading,” for B. Visible Magazine, focused on learning about many cultures through children’s folktales available on audio. The article focused on bilingual books written in Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and West African languages.
Writing articles about diversity in libraries is a way to reflect, support, inform, and build confidence in the writing market and readers. There is so much to share about culture and heritage—shout it out!