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Rank: Member
Groups: Member
, Tenure - Moderator
Joined: 11/19/2007
Posts: 19
Points: 57
Location: New York
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Most of us on the tenure track are required, or highly encouraged, to publish. I've written a few articles and a book chapter, but I still struggle with possible topics. I find the most difficult part isn't the writing, but figuring out what to write about. I come up with ideas, but realize that I don't have enough experience in "said area" to write about it (or write well about it).
How do you go about finding something (interesting) to write about? Do you actively search out topics (look for "manuscript/article calls"), or do they usually just come to you -- as part of your job, unique skills, or daily experiences?
-Susanne
Susanne Markgren
Systems / Electronic Resources Librarian
Purchase College, SUNY
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Rank: Administration
Groups: Administration
Joined: 11/5/2007
Posts: 79
Points: -465
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Quote:I find the most difficult part isn't the writing, but figuring out what to write about. I come up with ideas, but realize that I don't have enough experience in "said area" to write about it (or write well about it). I think one of the coolest things about being a librarian writer is our ability to learn through the writing and research process. Rather than assuming we don't have enough experience to write about a given topic, why not use our research and networking skills to educate ourselves enough to write about it? Why not find a coauthor who has more direct experience, call on our connections for insights and advice, and mine the existing literature for background?
Rachel Singer Gordon / rachel@lisjobs.comFind a library job: http://www.lisjobs.comThe Liminal Librarian: http://www.lisjobs.com/blog
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 1/3/2008
Posts: 9
Points: 27
Location: Moscow, ID
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Suzanne,
I agree with Rachel about finding co-authors. I just started working in a tenure track position and was a little nervous about the publishing requirements. So I sent a message out to the NMRT listserv asking for collaborators on a project I had in mind. Quite a few people responded, and now I have some people to work with. We still have a ways to go with our research, but it is a relief already to know I'm not going at it alone. I imagine even without a particular topic in mind, quite a few people would be happy to team up to brainstorm about possible ideas for research.
Rami
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 1/31/2008
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Location: New York
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I haven't published much yet, but part of getting ideas is to just stay active within the profession. Go to those workshops, try to get in at least one conference a year, webinars are an easy way to get an idea about what people are talking about, and special interest group meetings. These are opportunities to network, throw around ideas, gather fodder for something that might be interesting to you, or pose your thoughts on what you consider important issues. I recently attended a symposium and several of the speakers' ideas gave me ideas for possible paper/article topics. So the ideas are out there, the trick is to give them a solid foundation upon which you can develop something worthy of publishing . . .
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