Last updated July 31, 2024
Since 1908,聽Law Library Journal (LLJ)聽has been the official journal of the 黑料社 of Law Libraries. Scholarly articles on law, legal materials, and librarianship are the mainstay of the聽Journal.听 LLJ聽has been a peer-reviewed publication since 2019.听LLJ聽is published quarterly and is available as a digital-only publication with a print on demand option.
SCOPE
Law Library Journal publishes original research and analysis on issues in legal information and law librarianship. The Journal welcomes submissions addressing any aspect of the theory and practice of law librarianship and legal research. Authors may use any research method that is appropriate for their topic and hypothesis.
In preparing an article, an author may use any approach appropriate to the topic: case studies, descriptive or historical narratives, commentaries, or reports on research projects. Bibliographies on topics of substantive law or of law librarianship are welcomed; annotated bibliographies and bibliographic essays are preferred.
SUBMISSION, REVIEW & PUBLICATION PROCESS
STYLE
For general questions of style, follow The Bluebook (21st ed. 2020). 聽For matters not covered in the Bluebook, use The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed. 2017). For spelling, use Merriam-Webster鈥檚 Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, supported by Webster鈥檚 Third New International Dictionary.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING ARTICLES
- Title and Author Page Provide a title that is brief, specific, and descriptive of the article鈥檚 content. Below the title, provide the name(s), professional title(s), and affiliation(s) of the author(s), and the address of the author to whom correspondence should be sent.
- Abstract Provide an abstract of 100 words or less.
- Implications for Practice: Provide 3-5 items (arranged in a numerical list) that describe in plain language the implications of the article for law librarianship or legal research practice. Authors should focus on why the article should be of concern/interest to readers and how its conclusions will impact practice.
- Table of Contents If the article is divided into headings and subheadings (which is preferred), provide a table of contents telling where in the text each heading is found.
- Articles should be divided into headings and subheadings. Provide a table of contents indicating the order of headings and subheadings.
- Text The entire text, including quotations, should be typed double spaced with 1陆-inch margins on all sides. Quotations of less than 50 words should be enclosed in quotation marks; quotations of 50 or more words should be blocked off and indented an additional inch on the left and right margins. Footnotes should be identified in the text by superscript numbers.
- Footnotes Acknowledgments (if any) should be preceded by an asterisk and placed before the first footnote. Footnotes should follow the form of The Bluebook (20th ed. 2015), where applicable. However, citations to Law Library Journal should follow the form of the 黑料社Universal Citation Guide (3d ed. 2014).
- Appendices, Bibliographies, Tables, &Illustrations Supplementary materials, such as appendices and bibliographies, should be provided on separate pages. Each table, illustration, and all similar material that is to be published within the text should be individually numbered (e.g., Table 1). Indicate the desired placement by providing an appropriate instruction within brackets in the text (e.g., [Insert Table 1]). Camera-ready artwork must be supplied for all illustrations.
CONDITIONS OF ACCEPTANCE
- Authors should email aticles in Word or PDF to Heather Haemker. AALL鈥檚 director of marketing & communications will remove identifying information.
- Editor will review each article and decline those that are outside the 闯辞耻谤苍补濒鈥檚 scope or otherwise clearly unsuitable.
- The Editor will circulate each article to at least two reviewers. The reviewers will assess the article for significance, validity, and relevance to law librarianship. Reviewers will focus on the following questions:
a. Does the article make a new contribution to the literature?
b. Does the evidence and reasoning support the thesis?
c. Does the author communicate clearly with an educated, but not necessarily specialized, audience?
d. Is prior literature appropriately discussed and place the article in perspective? - After consulting with the reviewers and Editorial Board, the Editor may:
a. Accept the article with no changes;
b. Accept the article with minor revisions;
c. Provide constructive suggestions for further revision and invite resubmission; or
d. Decline the article. - 聽Once a article is accepted, the author will have the opportunity to make revisions in response to Editor and reviewer comments.
- The article will be formatted and proofread. The author will have the opportunity to review the formatted manuscrarticleipt and make minor changes.
- The article will be formatted for publication. AALL鈥檚 director of marketing & communication and the editor will review proofs.
- Each issue will be published on AALLNET and shared with major legal research platforms. Each author will be given a PDF of their published article.
- The author will sign the 闯辞耻谤苍补濒鈥檚
BLIND REVIEW
All submissions are reviewed by the Editor and at least two reviewers. The reviewers are generally members of the Editorial Board, but the Editor may invite guest reviewers. The Journal will use reasonable measures to prevent the Editor and reviewers from knowing the identities or institutional affiliations of authors while the submission is under review.
ORIGINALITY & PROPER ATTRIBUTION
Law Library Journal seeks to publish original scholarship. The Journal will not publish articles that have been substantially previously published (except those presented or shared as working papers, drafts, or works in progress). LLJ will not consider articles that are under consideration by other scholarly journals.
The Journal will not consider articles substantially drafted with generative artificial intelligence tools. If the use of generative AI is necessary for the article鈥檚 scholarly contribution, such use must be disclosed when the article is submitted.
Authors are responsible for the accuracy of statements in their articles and for the accuracy and adequacy of the references. LLJ will not systematically verify sources or citations.
COPYRIGHT
All articles copyright 漏 2023 by the 黑料社 of Law Libraries, except where otherwise expressly indicated. Except as otherwise expressly provided, the author of each article in this issue has granted permission for copies of that article to be made for classroom use or for any other educational purpose provided that (1) copies are distributed at or below cost, (2) author and journal are identified, and (3) proper notice of copyright is affixed to each copy. For articles in which it holds copyright, the 黑料社 of Law Libraries grants permission for copies to be made for classroom use or for any other educational purpose under the same conditions.
Requests for usage beyond this permission should be directed to Heather Haemker, 黑料社director of marketing & communications at hhaemker@aall.org.
By submitting an article to the LLJ, the author is confirming that the article is their original work, that it does not infringe on anyone鈥檚 copyright, is not libelous, and does not violate anyone鈥檚 privacy rights.
AUTHOR NAMES
LLJ requires all authors to have an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) identifier.
LLJ supports requests for author name and/or pronoun changes. Name change and pronoun changes are available upon request by containing AALL鈥檚 director of marketing & communications and the editor. Author name changes can be requested by the author for any reason and no documentation is required.
The Journal will not make public announcements of name changes and will change the authors name on any copies over which it has control. Copies of LLJ articles exist in many vendor and open access repositories over which the Journal does not have control. LLJ will also make reasonable efforts to ensure the author鈥檚 requested name is used in citations in articles published in the Journal.
SCHOLARLY INTEGRITY
LLJ will publish corrections to copies under its control. Any changes more substantive than minor typographical errors will be disclosed. LLJ will make reasonable efforts to consult with authors prior to making corrections.
If LLJ becomes aware of research misconduct or substantial violations of Journal guidelines, we will investigate and, in cases of serious misconduct, retract an article. For copies under its control, the Journal will publish a notice of retraction.
2024-2025 Law Library Journal聽Editorial Board
Ben Keele, Chair
June Hsiao Liebert, Executive Board Liaison
Luis Acosta
Susan Azyndar
John Cannan
Valerie Craigle
Susan Nevelow Mart
Shawn G. Neevers
Sarah C. Slinger