African Journals Online
INNOVATION

appropriate librarianship and information work in Southern Africa

Instructions to authors…./ Instructions aux auteurs….

Potential contributors to Innovation are invited to submit work for consideration as articles (3000-4000 words) or shorter contributions (up to 1000 words) which fulfil the following criteria:

Written in a lucid style, addressing the needs and concerns of the working librarian, and demonstrating at least one of:

• practical approach to library issues of general interest

• original, controversial or even provocative viewpoints

• critical understanding of the socio-political, educational and economic realities of contemporary South and Southern Africa

• commitment to library and information work in a post-apartheid South Africa.

Each article should be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 100 words.  The author-date system of referencing is used.  Book reviews are also welcome.

Contributors will receive two free copies of the issue.

Style Summary

A more comprehensive style summary is available. It is based on the Chicago manual of style (CMS).

Quotations in text

a) Run in or set off (blocked) quotation.  If a quote is five typed lines or more it can be set off as a block quotation, i.e. indented with no quotation marks.  Use no punctuation between a block quotation and the text if not syntac­tically required. The text reference is included at the end of the block quotation prior to the final period (full stop).

b) Initial letter of a quotation.  If a quotation is syntacti­cally part of a sentence, it begins with a lowercase letter, even if the original is a complete sentence beginning with a capital letter.  If the quotation is not syntactically dependent, then use a capital initial letter if in the original.

c) Double and single quotation marks.  Use double quotation marks for direct quotes, with single quotation marks for quotes within a quotation.  e.g. "To say that 'I mean what I say' is ...".  CMS uses single quotation marks for words or phrases used ironically and for a so-called function, e.g. 'privatizing'.  If the term so-called is used prior to the term, no quotation marks are needed.

Endnotes, rather than footnotes are used.                                                                           

Capitalization in titles.  For titles of books, journals, newspapers and journal articles, use minimal or sentence capitalization, e.g.  Index to South African periodicals, Financial mail.  Also do not use a capital initial letter after a colon in a title.  (Both these practices differ from CMS.)

Use of -ise or ize

Previous practice has favoured -ise, e.g. organise rather than organize, but consistency of usage within an article is the most important consideration.

Author-date citations and reference lists

The author-date (Harvard) citation system is used. Text references state in parentheses the author(s) surname(s) and the publication date and page numbers, eg: (Berger 1997: 23).  The list of works cited, headed “References”, arranged alphabetically by author, appears at the end of the article.

a) Reference to a book. 

Author. Year. Title. Place: Publisher.

Berger, Peter L.  1977.  Pyramids of sacrifice: political ethics and social change.  Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Note: List works by the same author(s) chronologically by publication date. Two or more works by the same author(s) published in the same year are distinguished by letters after the date, e.g. 1977a and 1977b.

b)  Reference to a chapter in a book.

Author of chapter. Year. Title of chapter. In editor(s) name (ed.) Title of book. Place: Publisher. Page(s).

Oasa, Edmund K.  1987.  The political economy of international agricultural research: a review of CGIAR's response to criticism of the 'Green Revolution'.  In Glaeser, Bernhard (ed.)  The Green Revolution revisited: critique and alternatives.  London: Allen and Unwin. pp. 13-55.

c)  Reference to an article in a periodical

Author. Year. Title of article. Title of journal. Volume no. (part no.): page(s).

Mchombu, K.J.  1992.  Rural development information communication in Africa: creating conditions for success.  Information trends news magazine  5(2): 51-72.

d)  Reference to an unpublished thesis.

Author. Year. Title. Dissertation, Institution.

Stilwell, Christine.  1995. An analysis of staff perceptions of the provincial libraries in the light of socio-political circumstances, 1990 - April 1994. Ph.D. University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.