Blog Policies

This blog is provided by and for the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Chapters Council and associated state chapters.  Anyone with something to contribute is invited to participate. There are only a few basic rules:

  • No content unrelated to the goals, missions or activities of ACRL and its Chapters;
  • No defamatory remarks about other people;
  • No advertisements or spam;
  • No politics;
  • No organizing boycotts.

Content violating these rules will be removed. That still leaves a lot of space for active sharing, so enjoy!

Mission

The mission of the ACRL Chapters Blog is to advance the ACRL mission dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals to serve the information needs of the higher education community and to improve learning, teaching, and research.

Scope

A volunteer community of bloggers will be recruited from Chapters Council and the state chapters’ membership to report on activities and information related to the ACRL mission and how it is being implemented at the state/chapter level. This includes reporting on state library conferences, local programming, information literacy initiatives, and any other news of interest to the ACRL community.

Policies and Procedures

1. Blog Moderators

A volunteer steering committee composed of ACRL Chapters Council members will be responsible for overall blog administration. It is recommended that at least two moderators be assigned to blog management at all times.

2. Bloggers

Bloggers must be members of ACRL and associated state chapters, or invited guests. The ACRL Chapters Council officers (Chair, Past Chair, Chair Elect, and Secretary) will be responsible for content at least twice per year. Each state chapter chair will be invited (but not required) to appoint a blogger to provide content on a rotating basis.  Other blog authors and categories may be established by the steering committee/blog moderators as needed.

The blog may have ongoing bloggers, as well as bloggers who are provided access to the blog for specific conferences or events.

Regardless of experience, all bloggers will have their posts edited and approved by the Blog moderators. This will consist mostly of the posts being published by the moderators, correcting for spelling, grammar, and format only.

Only select individuals will be granted access to the back end of the blog; these individuals include current ACRL Chapters Council officers and others who will be submitting content on a regular basis. All other contributions to the blog will be submitted via email to the moderator(s). If an individual account is not used for one year, it will be downgraded to subscriber and that individual will not have access to the back end of the blog. This policy is in place to keep the number of people who have access to the blog down to a reasonable number for security and technology reasons.

3. Acceptable Use

The blog is an ACRL Chapters Council sponsored tool for use within ACRL and associated state chapters. Lively opinion and commentary are welcome in blog posts. However, it is expected that blog postings will be professional and reflect well on ACRL and its membership. Bloggers are strongly encouraged to check facts, cite sources, present balanced views, acknowledge and correct errors, and check spelling and grammar before making a post live. Moderators reserve the right not to post any blog post or to later remove it.

Links to related posts are encouraged, but bloggers should post original content rather than reposting entire items from other blogs or lists. Blog posts should not repeat announcements distributed to discussion lists read by ACRL members. Blog posts should not be used in place of the Chapter Topics newsletter or the listserv, but instead should be used to provide more in depth and differing information.

4. Comments

Comments are open to all but may be moderated by the blog steering committee/moderators. Commentary, opinion, and reaction to posts are welcome. Comments should be relevant to the specific post they are attached to. Spam, flaming, personal attacks, and off-topic comments are not permitted. The blog moderators reserve the right not to post any comment.

5. Pages

Frequently requested information, informational pages, etc. will be placed on blog pages.

6. Blogroll/links

Links to ALA and ACRL and to other ACRL-affiliated websites and blogs will be provided. Other links to notable websites or blogs may be added to Links or Blogroll sections if the consensus is that they would be useful to readers.

7. Copyright

Content on this blog is governed by a Creative Commons license. Bloggers should not use copyrighted material without permission. For images, use those with Creative Commons license such as Flickr (limit to “Advanced Search/Only search within Creative Commons-licensed photos.”)

Formats for Posting

Posts should support the mission and goals of ACRL and the state chapters.

1. Content

Please remember your audience and the focus of the Chapters blog when creating posts.  Always include appropriate tag words to make every post searchable and always sign your blog post and provide your contact information, job title and institution. Be careful not to post information that is specific or helpful to only one library or institution.

2. General Formatting
  • Capitalize all words in the post title except for articles.
  • Do not change the default font size/color in blog posts.
  • Keep the title and content brief. Use concise text.
  • Always review your blog post in the “preview” mode before publishing.
  • Always use neutral, objective language and remember that you are representing ACRL.
  • When possible, use bulleted or numbered lists for easier reading.
3. Images

Every post should include one image related to the content.

  • Do not enlarge images (this causes pixilation and distorts the image.)
  • Add “alternate text” to each image.
  • For images, use those with Creative Commons license such as Flickr (limit to “Advanced Search/Only search within Creative Commons-licensed photos.”)
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