First Have Something to Say: Writing for the Library Profession

Walt Crawford

May 2003 · American Library Association

About this ebook

In his trademark informal, irreverent, and engaging style, renowned library writer and speaker Walt Crawford draws on his wealth of experience as he assures would-be librarian-writers that they very well might have something worth saying. Proceeding matter-of-factly, he dissects what it really takes to write for library colleagues, countering traditional received wisdom, while questioning the powers that be. Whether you're on a tenure track and want your articles to offer more pleasure than pain, or just have something to share with colleagues, these suggestions will guide you in making both your writing and speaking inform, explain, illuminate, synthesize, reveal, and entertain your audience. You'll learn: Ways to build confidence in what you have to say and nix writer's block; How to make your mark by retaining your unique personality in articles and speeches; The pro's insights for dealing with the basics of copyright and contract clauses; Who are all those gatekeepers - referees for journals, editors, publishers; How to work with them to get published - and when to go out on your own; When to say no to Power Point in your presentations; If you are ready to take the next ste

About the author

Walt Crawford is an internationally recognized writer and speaker on libraries, technology, policy and media. Author of numerous books, articles, and columns, Crawford is also the creator, writer and publisher of Cites & Insights: Crawford at Large, an ejournal on the intersections of libraries, policy, technology and media published monthly since 2001. He maintains a blog on these and other issues, Walt at Random. He received the LITA/Library Hi Tech Award for Outstanding Communication for Continuing Education in Library and Information Science in 1995, the ALCTS/Blackwell Scholarship Award in 1997, and the Gale Group Online Excellence in Information Authorship Award in 1998. A senior analyst at RLG for four decades, he previously wrote Library Technology Reports vol. 41, no. 2, “Policy and Library Technology.”