Brain-Work is the blog of the Centre for Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (C-EBLP) that publishes posts related to research, evidence based library and information practice, and librarianship.

Guidelines

• Post length: 350-1,000 words
• Focus: Given the shorter length of the post, focus on a specific topic and highlight a few main points.
• Bullet Points: Listing your ideas in bulleted format is completely acceptable and can also make the writing process easier if you are finding it challenging. When sharing a few highlights about a specific topic, this can be a great way to get information to your audience in a compact and readable format.
• Style: Unlike academic writing, blog posts tend to be more informal and Brain-Work encourages a casual, conversational style of writing.
• Linking: Blogs are interactive entities and so linking out to other information (journal articles, other blog posts, website, etc.) is beneficial and encouraged. Links can be distributed throughout the blog post or consolidated at the end. That said, there’s no pressure to pack your posts with links. If you have links to add, please include them in brackets where you would like it added and the blog administrator will make the link active.
• Creating a dialogue: Comments will be open on the blog posts, encouraging readers to interact with the posts. Your blog post can include things that encourage conversation, i.e. questions, thoughts for discussion, etc.
• Posting procedure: When you have a blog post ready to go, send it in a word document to Catherine (catherine.boden@usask.ca). She, as blog administrator, will take care of scheduling and posting activities. Your blog post will be credited to you (i.e. by Sally Librarian, Head, Soil Sciences Library, U of S)
• Images: If you have pictures you would like added to your posts, please send them to Catherine in addition to the blog post text. Please ensure that the photo can be used (i.e. CC licensing, your own photo, etc.)
• Why blog? If you google “value of academic blogging” you’ll find many recent posts that indicate the value and virtue of blogging from this perspective. One academic blogger has stated that “in terms of intellectual fulfillment, creativity, networking, impact, productivity, and overall benefit to [his] scholarly life, blogging wins hands down.” ((http://chronicle.com/article/The-Virtues-of-Blogging-as/131666/)

Who Can Contribute?

Brain-Work currently features posts from librarians and librarians emeritus from the University Library, University of Saskatchewan (U of S), and by librarians in other libraries across Canada. Authors external to the U of S are considered Adjunct Members of C-EBLIP. You can find a list of contributors here. If you would like to participate as an Adjunct Member of C-EBLIP by contributing to Brain-Work, please get in touch with Catherine catherine.boden@usask.ca

These guidelines are based on the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research’s Thoughts on Writing a Blog Post http://www.ccghr.ca/programs/networking/virtual-platform-laboratory/academic-benefits-blogging/