Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian

Editor: Necia Parker-Gibson
University of Arkansas

About the Journal:
This landmark, peer-reviewed journal publishes articles on all aspects of behavioral and social sciences information, with emphasis on librarians, libraries, and the users of social science information in libraries and information centers. No other journal covers the field, and no other journal attempts to reach both the professional information specialist and the scholar.

From its inception in 1979, Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian has focused on the production, collection, organization, dissemination, retrieval, and use of information in the social and behavioral sciences. The broad scope of the audience includes librarians and information specialists, collection development administrators, and library educators, as well as scholars, teachers, policymakers, publishers, and database producers—all professionals with a common interest in the use of information in the behavioral and social sciences.

Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian continues to publish unusual or interesting bibliographies and checklists as well as descriptions of collections or other institutional resources. The journal also seeks articles that study characteristics of social sciences literatures and studies of user behavior. In addition, B&SSL publishes manuscripts analyzing Internet resources and electronic databases in the social and behavioral sciences. It features a wide range of material befitting its audience, including:
•descriptive and critical analyses of information resources within particular fields
•publishing trends
•reference and bibliographic instruction
•indexing, abstracting, thesaurus building, and database construction
•bibliographic and numeric databases

The professional disciplines that are specifically targeted for inclusion in this influential journal include the core fields of anthropology, sociology, economics, psychology, education, political science, and those parts of history relying on social scientific methods and approaches—language and area studies and the study of special populations, such as Latin American studies, ethnic studies, and women’s studies.

Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian includes the more applied fields in the social sciences, among them business, public administration, social work, criminal justice, and psychosocial approaches to health care. If it deals with human social life and behavior and is focused on information, it is relevant.

Guidelines for submitting manuscripts

“The articles are well-researched, lucidly written, and thoroughly documented. An impressive editorial board.”
Serials Review

“All of the articles project thorough research on the topics. The topics chosen are excellent as they help to identify problems and clarify materials in the library literature.”
Maria A. Camadella, MLS, Corporate Librarian, Advanced Health Systems, Irvine, California

“An excellent professional journal focusing on a neglected specialty. The reviews and articles pertaining to bibliographic sources are great for collection development ideas.”
Tyrone Heath Cannon, MLS, MSW, Social Sciences Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington

“Should be in the collection of any librarian working in social and/or behavioral science.”
Carol A. Breugging, MA, Medical Librarian, Nevada State School and Hospital, Missouri