Southern California Association of Law Libraries Newsletter

Publication analysis

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About the publication

Title: Southern California Association of Law Libraries Newsletter (SCALL Newsletter)

ISSN: N/A

Website: https://scallnet.org/newsletter/

Purpose, objective, or mission: The SCALL Newsletter is the official association newsletter of the Southern California Association of Law Libraries, which aims to keep members up-to-date with goings on in the society.¹

Target audience: Law librarians and other information professionals working in the legal industry in the Southern California area, especially those who are members of SCALL.²

Publisher: Southern California Association of Law Libraries, a division of the greater organization, American Association of Law Libraries (AALL).³

Peer reviewed? No.⁴

Type: Professional LIS newsletter.⁵

Medium: Online.⁶

Content: SCALL Newsletter contains many reviews and discussions of programs and conferences, both those sponsored by SCALL and others of interest in the community. It also publishes articles about new technologies or issues in the legal profession.⁷

Frequency of publication: Five times per year. The issues are September/October, November/December, January/February, March/April, and May/June.⁸

About the publication’s submission guidelines

Location of submission guidelines: https://scallnet.org/newsletter/

Types of contributions accepted: The publication is interested in a broad range of articles and submissions, as long as they are of interest to the law library community.⁹

Submission and review process: Articles should be submitted to the newsletter editor via email. Deadlines for submission are published on the website and are also included in each issue along with current editor’s contact information.¹⁰

Editorial tone: Though not specifically stated, the tone seems to be informal. Many of the articles are divided into shorter sections, so the reader can quickly and easily decipher the most important points or see an outline of the ideas presented in a conference.¹¹

Style guide used: There is no mention of a specific style guide requirement however, none of the articles in recently archived issues contained bibliographies or footnotes.¹²

Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors

This publication is useful for information professionals in the legal industry, especially those who are based in Southern California. It provides up-to-date information on events held by the SCALL as well as discussions of other local law conferences and programs. Also, this newsletter is very effective in keeping the members of SCALL informed as to what is taking place within the association, especially with regards to its officers and upcoming events.

This publication seems to be very receptive to author contributions. Most likely those who are members of the association would be especially welcomed to contribute. It seems that it would be a promising publication for an information professional who may not yet be comfortable writing academic research papers, but who is interested in discussing a presentation or conference he or she attended.

 

Audience analysis

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About the publication’s readers

Publication circulation: This newsletter is a benefit of SCALL membership and according to their call for advertisers, there are over 400 SCALL members.¹³

Audience location and language or cultural considerations: The readers of this publication are primarily in the Southern California area. Many of the events discussed in the newsletter are specific to this locale.¹⁴ However, there is a separate division, San Diego Area Law Libraries, or SANDALL, for the San Diego area members of AALL, so SCALL may be said to include only Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Because this is not an international publication, authors do not have to be concerned with language or cultural discrepancies. As the readers are concentrated in a limited area and work in a specific field, it is likely that they will have a similar understanding of library issues and the words used to describe them.¹⁵

Reader characteristics: Individual characteristics of SCALL members are not available, but members of SCALL work in academic, professional, private, state, and county law libraries.¹⁶ It can be assumed that the statistics for SCALL readers are close to those of the wider association, American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). According to the AALL 2018-2019 Media Kit, the most common workplaces for members are private or corporate law libraries (35%). A  smaller, but still significant portion, 13.9 percent, work in government or other types of law libraries. The highest percentage of members (36%) are still in law school. ¹⁷ Information professionals who are likely to read SCALL Newsletter are interested in the legal field, and judging by the scope of the articles, they seem to have an interest in technology as well.¹⁸

Knowledge of LIS subject matter: It can be assumed that readers of the SCALL newsletter are very familiar with LIS related subjects. According to the information about AALL, which all SCALL members are a part of, 38% of readers work in positions that involve high-level decision making and direction of law library services.¹⁹

Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors

The most important characteristic of this audience is their common interest in the legal profession. Because this is not a scholarly publication and it is intended to spread news and share information, potential authors should keep in mind that their pieces can be more casual in nature but should still be informative and thought-provoking in their viewpoints. Writers should remember that readers of this publication are interested in law libraries and the specific technological issues and advancements that affect their work. While many readers have years of experience working with legal materials, electronic resources are being introduced frequently which change the way many SCALL members are doing their jobs. These changes in the field present opportunities for authors to explain new developments, discuss up-and-coming technologies, and educate the readers.

Last updated: June 24, 2019

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