CFP: Librarians as Helping Professionals

REFLECTIONS: Narratives of Professional Helping
www.rnoph.org
Published by Cleveland State University School of Social Work
Call for Narratives: Special Issue on Librarians as Helping Professionals
Deadline: September 30, 2015
Laura Habat, Guest Editor

Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping is a double-blind peer reviewed interdisciplinary journal that has been published since 1995. All of the journal’s issues are now available online at www.rnoph.org and via EBSCO SocIndex. This is a call for narratives to be featured in a Special Issue: Librarians as Helping Professionals.

The compelling vignettes found in Reflections narratives portray interpersonal interactions, witnessed events, and felt experiences. Rooted in key moments, this narrative content is placed within the context of a well-told story (exposition). In addition to showing and telling what happened in their practice and activism, authors often reflect on their stories and share conclusions. Reflections articles are valuable for education for practice. They also contribute to empirical knowledge about the nature of practice in the helping professions and often introduce important ideas and concepts that address unresolved theoretical problems.

The present Special Issue on Librarians as Helping Professionals will publish narratives about professional practice with individuals and communities as it relates to librarianship. Historical reflections on the role of librarianship as a helping profession are also welcome. Librarians and other helping professionals recognize the need for access to information and resources that encourage learning, enrichment, and a sense of community. Another shared value is a commitment to helping others and working with the public, including vulnerable populations. Librarianship is firmly rooted in advocacy for information and working with people to access that information. Libraries promote lifelong learning, civic engagement and community development. Librarians are both information professionals and helping professionals. We offer a unique perspective in our work with the community. This special issue is an opportunity for librarians to publish narratives which acknowledge these aspects of the profession.

Please read the Helpful Instructions on the journal website as well as the Review Guidelines prior to preparing your manuscript. Write your narrative in a style which makes sense to you, from a single vignette to longer stories with multiple portrayals of interaction and references to literature, within the range of 1200-8000 words. Submit to Reflections, being sure to choose the Librarians as Helping Professionals section when doing so. When registering for the journal, be sure to check the author box. For feedback, even on an early idea for a narrative, please contact the Guest Editor: Laura Habat, MLIS, MSW-Candidate, l.habat@vikes.csuohio.edu. Librarians wishing to serve as reviewers of submitted articles are also welcome to contact the guest editor.