Scholarly publishing (also known as scholarly communication) is the means by which people involved in academic research inform their colleagues about the results of their work. Scholarly communication can take many forms. Article 20.4 b (1) of the 2010 - 2015 Agreement of University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 states "Each department shall have a statement of Department Criteria, describing the standards, materials, methods, and procedures to be used in evaluating performance of employees eligible for retention, tenure, and promotion." Faculty are evaluated based on their Teaching & Primary Duties, Scholarly & Professional Activities and Service. Scholarly & Professional Activities includes research, publications, presentations, grants and other creative activity.
Illinois Public Act 098-0295, titled the Open Access to Research Articles Act, required WIU to set up a task force to "review current practices and design a . . . policy regarding open access to research articles."
According to the Online Dictionary of Library & Information Science, scholarly communication can take many forms, including books, journal articles, presentation at conferences, writing grant reports, maintaining academic web sites and communicating with peers through e-mail and discussion lists. Ideally, scholarly communication should also involve evaluation by one's peers (peer review) and preservation of the work for future users.
For information on finding potential journals for publication, see the library guide on Choosing and Evaluating Journals.
