NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 21 number 1 - Fall 2000

By Peggy Hoon, Scholarly Communication

The Scholarly Communication Subcommittee of the University Library Committee and the NCSU Libraries sponsored a series of brown-bag lunch panel discussions on academic publishing. The sessions, conducted by NC State faculty members currently serving as editors or editorial board members of scholarly journals, took place on March 29 and April 3, 2000, in the Faculty Senate Chambers of the D. H. Hill Library. The primary goal of each session was to give interested faculty, staff, and graduate and undergraduate students an opportunity to obtain helpful hints on publishing in their respective fields.

"Getting Published in the Humanities and Social Sciences" featured Carolyn Miller (Rhetoric and Professional Writing), Edward Sabornie (Curriculum & Instruction), and Walt Wolfram (William C. Friday Professor of Linguistics and Dialectology). Miller stressed that scholarly writing and research constitute a social activity or "conversation" and writers must find their entrance into that conversation. Sabornie suggested that a "thick skin" is necessary in academic publishing and that it is crucial for young writers to learn from extensive editorial revisions and comments. Wolfram's presentation emphasized the advantages of mentoring young scholarly authors. Wolfram has assisted sixteen students in the publication and presentation of more than fifty journal articles and papers in the past seven and one-half years.

The second session in the series focused on "Getting Published in Science, Technology, and Engineering." Panelists included Carl Koch (Materials Engineering), John Scandalios (Distinguished University Research Professor of Genetics), and Jack Odle (Nutrition). Odle began the discussion by outlining categories typically addressed by journal review boards when evaluating manuscript submissions. Koch followed by stressing attention to detail and style in the writing of a manuscript, while Scandalios advised scholars to keep the research and topics as simple, distinct additions to existing research.

Visit the Scholarly Communication Center Web site at URL http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/scc/ for further information for the center's activities for 2000-2001.