Library Student Journal Volunteer Opportunities

Apply to work on Library Student Journal!

Library Student Journal is an international, open-access, peer-reviewed journal that is entirely student-run and student-written. Working for Library Student Journal is a way to be actively involved in supporting student research and open-access scholarly publishing. Besides the benefit of building your resume, you will learn about the workings of academic publishing and be exposed to a wide range of interesting student research. All LSJ staff members also have the opportunity (though not the obligation) to contribute to the blog.

All positions are voluntary, and work is done using the Open Journal Systems online interface, or via email. Because we review and publish articles on a rolling basis, the time commitment is variable, but it averages 10-12 hours/month. As this is a student publication, all staff must be currently enrolled in an LIS degree program.

To apply for any LSJ position, please send a cover letter and resume/CV to the Editor in Chief at librarystudentjournal [at] gmail.com. The name of the position you’re interested in should be part of the subject line. Priority will be given to applications received by March 20.

The following positions are currently available:

Editorial Review Board
LSJ seeks to publish the best papers from library and information science students worldwide, and to serve as a forum for discussion of LIS education, training, career paths, and future trends.  Editorial Review Board members play a crucial role in this process by reviewing several articles a semester for the journal and helping the editor when a reviewer is needed in a pinch.  LSJ replies on the experience of these members to evaluate quality research and maintain the high standards of the journal. Doctoral students in LIS fields are preferred for this position. LSJ is seeking 2-3 Editorial Review Board members.

Layout Editor
The layout editor will create HTML documents for the online publication of journal articles, using established templates and documentation, based on Microsoft Word documents that have been peer-reviewed and edited. These documents will be translated into printable PDF versions.  After this process, the layout editor will enter metadata into the online publication system (a Dublin Core-based scheme), edit the author-supplied abstract or create a new one as appropriate, and select subject terms from a controlled vocabulary to enable searching and browsing. LSJ is seeking 3 Layout Editors.

Section Editor
Section Editors guide manuscripts submitted to the Articles section of the journal through the peer-review process. Section Editors choose suitable reviewers for each paper then use the completed reviews to inform their acceptance decision. In the process, Section Editors work closely with authors of submitted manuscripts to revise their work to an acceptable standard, based on reviewer comments and their own revision requests. LSJ is seeking 2 Section Editors.

Copyeditor
Copyeditors work with authors of accepted manuscripts to improve the style, grammar, and organization of their papers. A successful copyeditor has an excellent eye for detail, an ability to see the big picture, and the ability to communicate revision requests to authors in a respectful manner. LSJ is seeking 2 copyeditors.

Proofreader
Proofreaders review copy edited manuscripts for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and proper LSJ format. A successful proofreader will have an excellent eye for detail. LSJ is seeking 3 proofreaders.

Marketing Manager
This is a new position. The person hired as LSJ’s new Marketing Manager will have the opportunity to shape and define the position and will work closely with the Editor in Chief, the Publisher, and the Webmasters to contribute substantively to LSJ’s content, image, and future. The Marketing Manager will be responsible for generating awareness and excitement about LSJ in the larger LIS community through building connections, enhancing LSJ’s presence on social media sites, helping to generate blog content, and participating in long-term planning. This is an essential position and thus will involve a commensurately greater time commitment. Applicants who can commit to at least a year in the position will be given priority.

Peer Reviewer
We need as many reviewers as possible representing as many different areas of LIS as possible!  Reviewers serve as referees in the peer-review process for articles and give valuable input on article submissions. They help editors decide whether to accept or reject a submission, and they give authors feedback on how to improve articles to make them publication-ready.