
The official publication of the ACL, The Christian Librarian serves to publish articles, provide a membership forum, and encourage writing. Issues include the Christian interpretation of librarianship, theory and practice of library science, bibliographic essays, reviews, and human interest articles relating to books and libraries.
In 1957, The Christian Librarian (TCL) began as a newsletter detailing the first official Christian Librarians Conference on the campus of Nyack Missionary College; information on conference presentations and solutions for library challenges were included. TCL continues to offer a variety of content including book reviews, articles, and peer-reviewed content. Articles are relevant to faith and librarianship and best practices in library science. The Christian Librarian is available in print format and through open access, which has increased its visibility outside of the Association.
The publication is indexed in the Christian Periodical Index, Information Science Abstracts, and Library Literature. The Christian Librarian is a member of the Evangelical Press Association. Issues are available in microform from UMI, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106.
ISSN for TCL print version: 0412-3131
Subscription Information
Individual membership in the Association of Christian Librarians includes a subscription to the journal. The Christian Librarian is available through several subscription agencies including WT Cox, EBSCO, etc. Subscription rates are $30 per year in the US or $35 outside of US. Contact info@acl.org to purchase past issues.
2022 Publication Schedule Update
The ACL Board of Directors approved a shift in the publication schedule to release articles throughout the year with a compilation of the articles printed into an annual issue that will be produced mid-December. This change will begin with volume 65 (2022).
We invite you to contribute to the publication!
WRITE
As a writer, publishing in TCL allows you to share your ideas with an audience that reaches beyond the Association. If you have ideas that can strengthen other libraries, consider submitting an article for the next issue of the journal.
The peer-review component is being offered with the goal to advance the scholarship of ACL members and provide a publishing option for those interested in the critique and feedback provided by the peer-review process.
REVIEW A BOOK
Reviews in The Christian Librarian are directed primarily to librarians, who use them in the selection of materials and in providing reference services. College and seminary faculty and students also make use of the reviews.
Librarians are invited to select a book from our list to read and then write a review for publication in our journal. Please note the specific guidelines.
Guidelines for Authors
Editorial Policies
- Content must be in accordance with the mission, statement of faith, constitution, and corporate viewpoints of the ACL. Additionally, it must reflect the purpose of the publication and ACL, and relate to the concerns of ACL and Christian librarians in institutions of higher learning.
- Statements in articles published are the responsibility of the author. Publication does not imply endorsement.
- Unless arranged in advance, manuscripts are accepted with the understanding that The Christian Librarian has first rights.
Reviewers may keep the books in exchange for their reviews. The following are expectations that the TCL editorial team has for all submitted reviews. Please double-check any reviews submitted to TCL to confirm that the submitted review:
- include the subject, scope of the book, and a statement of the author’s thesis.
- reveals the nature of treatment: reference book, introductory, scholarly, textbook,etc.
- includes a synopsis of the book’s content
- evaluate the book and identify the author if he/she is not well known.
- does not use unprofessional theological labeling like “heretical” or slang language to describe the book. You may use traditional theological identifiers like: orthodox, evangelical, Anglo-Catholic, conservative, classic liberalism, etc.
- addresses the question regarding whether or not the book achieves its purpose. If it does, please explain how it does so.
- compares the book being reviewed with others of its kind.
- addresses the question regarding how this book contributes to its field of study.
- addresses issues related to the clarity and thoroughness of the book.
- addresses whether or not the book is well-documented (endnotes/footnotes, bibliography, etc.)
Please make sure that book reviews do not include content outside of the scope of the book or irrelevant information, such as:
- the length of the book.
- your preconceived idea about the book prior to requesting it for review.
- personal observations on the topic.
- or other related topics.
Please see other reviews in previous issues of The Christian Librarian as examples:
http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/tcl/vol60/iss1/21
http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/tcl/vol60/iss1/30
http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/tcl/vol60/iss1/55
Please use the following guidelines when preparing the written reviews (if the review is not formatted in this manner, it will be necessary to return to the review for adjustments):
- Reviews should be headed with the appropriate format of the following samples:
Work
Author, A. A. (2016). Title of work. Location: Publisher. 200 pp. $20.00. ISBN
9781234567890
Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (2016). Title of work. Location: Publisher. 200 pp. $20.00. ISBN
9781234567890
Reviewer
Jane A. Smith, University of Higher Education
John A. Smith, Pastor, City Church, Chicago, IL
- Double-spaced, with one inch margins all around.
- General reviews should be 300 to 500 words in length, while critical reviews may go beyond 500 words and will deconstruct the thesis.
- Longer review essays which survey the literature of a topic should be submitted as articles to the Editor-in-Chief of the journal.
- Direct quotations are discouraged and please keep allusions to specific points in the text to a minimum. However, when using quotations and allusions they must be followed by page numbers in parentheses.
Reviews should be sent by email as an attached Word document (.doc or .docx) or text file (.rtf) to the Book Review Editor: Craig Kubic.
Reviewers should consider all the evaluation standards listed for non-fiction titles when appropriate. However, FICTION titles should make use of the designated form The Christian Librarian Popular Fiction Review Form. This form identifies particular genres of fiction as well as characteristics of the work which will be used to group/classify these titles in categories. Reviewers should use this Word (docx) document and return with the filled in areas to the Book Review Editor: Craig Kubic (ckubic@swbts.edu).

Issues dating back to 2000 are available through open access.
TCL Team
Joshua Avery, Interim Editor-in-Chief
Wheaton College
Craig Kubic, Book Review Editor
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Amy James, Editor
Baylor University
Lana Wilson, Associate Editor
Taylor University