CALL FOR PAPERS: LIBRARY TRENDS, International Journal of the Graduate
School of Library and Information Science
Special Issue on Trends in Next Generation Discovery and Access

The library catalog, along with other traditional information
retrieval tools, is in a state of flux. Contributing factors include
changing codes, changing priorities, and changing expectations. In the
past four years, many institutions have implemented radically new
approaches to the traditional library catalog. Whether we call these
Third Generation Catalogs, Next Generation Catalogs, or Next Next
Generation Catalogs, these are most often characterized by the
introduction of faceted search capabilities and reliance on social
technologies like tagging that encourage user interaction and
participation.  This period marks a new phase of experimentation that
has not been seen since the late 1970s and early 1980s when the OPAC
burst upon the scene.  Since the unveiling of the new catalog at North
Carolina State University in 2006, impassioned exchanges have occurred
throughout the grey literature of our field today, from blog posts to
the NGC4LIB listserv.

To provide a more permanent record of the ideas driving these
exchanges, the international journal Library Trends is planning a
special issue, Trends in Next Generation Discovery and Access. This
issue of Library Trends aims to investigate the historical background
of the developments and innovations in the catalog, and to support
articulation work that describes both the theory and practices that
underlie Next Generation Discovery and Access. Some of these
instantiations are traditional catalogs with new window dressing, but
many institutions are rethinking fundamental technologies and
practices. It is these experiments that will be highlighted by this
issue. Proposals for articles may address a specific implementation or
types of implementations; these articles may be written in a brief
case study format. In addition, as benefits the aims of the journal,
authors are encouraged to write more extended articles that interpret,
contextualize and describe a relevant topic. Contributions on the
history, theory and philosophy of developments in library catalogs are
welcome.

Proposals of no more than 300 words to be sent by 30 December 2010 to

Dr. Kathryn La Barre ([log in to unmask])
Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Decisions will be communicated to contributors no later than 15 January 2011.

Delivery date of manuscripts: December 1, 2011. Each article will be
in the range of 5,000-8,000 words (Case studies may be more brief).

Articles will be published in Volume 60:4 (Spring 2012).

--
Kathryn La Barre
Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign