The Making of a Journal: Disseminating Research to Inform Practice

Objective: The journal Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP) published its first issue in March 2006. The purpose of the journal is to provide a forum for librarians and other information professionals to discover research that may contribute to decision making in professional practice. EBLIP publishes original research and commentary on the topic of evidence based library and information practice, as well as reviews of previously published research (evidence summaries) on a wide number of topics. Setting: EBLIP is an international, peer reviewed, open access journal published quarterly by the University of Alberta Learning Services, using the Open Journal Systems (OJS) Software. Participants: The journal is comprised of an editorial team of four editors, five copyeditors, more than 40 editorial advisory board members, and more than 20 evidence summary team writers. Program: This paper will detail the process of creating a new journal to support evidence based librarianship. The process of establishing the journal and the evolution that occurred over the first year will be discussed. The authors will discuss reasons why the journal was necessary and the various roles of sections and the content within. The importance of open access to the dissemination of this literature will also be discussed. Main Results: By May 2007, EBLIP will have published 5 issues. We will examine the number of submissions to the journal for the first year, topics included, and average turnaround time from submission to publication. Conclusion: With a full year’s publication complete and moving forward into the second year, the editors will reflect on their experience and discuss future directions for EBLIP.