Here at Hack Library School, we are constantly in contact with people who are interested in sharing their story or perspective about library school with the readers of the blog. Some of these prospective writers have their own blogs, contribute to other blogs in and outside of libraryland and some write us emails saying “I’ve never written a blog before, but I read them a lot.” In any case, we welcome your ideas and conversation. This is what Hack Library School is:
This is an invitation to participate in the redefinitions of library school using the web as a collaborative space outside of any specific university or organization. — Micah on About HLS
With that in mind, if you are considering contacting us to write, and we are oh so excited to hear from you, here’s what we’ll be asking you for! Of course every post is different, so consider these suggestions rather than rules or guidelines.
- a bio – We (the editors and readers) want to know who you are, what your interests are and how or if we can find you other places on the internet! When I read a bio, I connect more with the content and I am more likely to jump into the discussion in the comments area.
- your voice – A blog isn’t an essay or paper for class (thank goodness! and that’s why we also say shoot for 750 word max). Sure we may ask you to do a little “research” to provide other perspectives (see next on list) relating to your post, but we want YOUR voice. We want your i’m-sick-and-tired-of and your i’m-so-geeky-i-did and your my-classmates-rock-my-socks-off-cuz posts. That’s what being a student is about. Use your words. Use your voice to tell your story.
- other perspectives – Bringing in (linking to, providing a short citation of an author, journal, etc.) an outside perspective (or 3) not only provides more information for the readers but also jump starts the conversation. Even linking back to previous HLS posts throws us back into the archives; you know we will always have something to say. It’s difficult to fully exhaust a topic.
- visuals – If a visual (anything other than words) fits with your post, don’t be afraid to share it with us. Visuals make an impact. We have a diverse audience and some of them greatly appreciate the visual aspect of posts. If it’s a doodle you drew while you were supposed to be taking notes and were instead daydreaming about HLS (oh we know you do!), include it! Here’s the result of one of my HLS daydreams.
- discussion – Take responsibility for your own opinion and respect other opinions. One way to do this: join in on the discussion on your post (and other people’s) by commenting and expressing your thoughts. Posts that raise questions are at the heart of HLS. We need the discussion and sometimes discomfort and disagreement in order to dig into the heart of (L)IS.
Are you ready? Send any of us an email, tweet, Facebook message, etc. and let’s get you started! And when we hear your ideas, we’ll get a first draft from you, send you our comments (edits, revisions, etc.), and work toward scheduling your post in our calendar.
Please feel free to comment here with any questions and other blog-writing suggestions. And if you’d like to take on a larger role as a contributing writer (writing a couple times a month), we can talk about that, too.
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