The Research and Writing Life: A Snapshot of March 2015

For those interested in the writing life of an academic librarian who is on the tenure track, you may be interested in what my research and writing schedule looks like. If you include all of my writing for librarianship, professional conferences, my Ed.D. work, and my Ph.D. work, it adds up to a lot. I usually don't list it out this way, since it makes me want to hyperventilate, but it is helpful to see it in this form to (1) give myself credit for what I've accomplished, and (2) budget my time wisely for what remains.

Not much writing happened in January and February - largely my focus was polishing up the dissertation, and getting healthy after some wicked bouts of illness. Papers submitted for publication or a grade already this month (March 2015) include:

• "The Relationship between Academic Library Department Experience and Perceptions of Leadership Skill Development Relevant to Academic Library Directorship" (submitted to peer-reviewed journal in academic librarianship)


• "The Significance of the Stylistic Device of Repetition in Ritual" (Ph.D. in Mythological Studies paper)


• "A Close Reading of Joseph Campbell's Myths of Light: Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal" (Ph.D. in Mythological Studies paper)


• "An exploratory study of the relationship between academic library work experience and perceptions of leadership skill development relevant to the academic library directorship" (Ed.D. in Learning & Leadership dissertation)

Papers in progress that I intend to (read: am required to) submit before a March 31st include:

• A yet-untitled because it is a yet-to-be-decided-topic paper for my Dreams, Visions, Myths class (Ph.D. in Mythological Studies)


• "An Age of Abundance, an Absence of Control: The Intersection of Mythology, Technology, Discourses of Power, and Information Literacy" (intended for the peer-reviewed Journal of Mythological Studies)


• "Same-Sex Marriage in America: Ritual and Claims in the Mythic, Psychological, and Social Realms" (Ph.D. in Mythological Studies)


• "The Four Faces of Marvel’s Black Widow: A Model of Regenerative Mythmaking" - a book chapter for a collection on Black Widow


• "'Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing': Empowering Students and Rebuilding the Freshman Literature Syllabus with a Focus on Critical Thinking, Mythology, Creative Writing and Library Research" - a paper to be presented virtually at the The Fifth Asian Conference on Literature & Librarianship


• "Piety, Poetry, And the Pastoral Landscape: An Exploration of the Power of Place, Rhythm, And Religion in Maurice Manning's Bucolics" - a paper to be presented virtually at the The Fifth Asian Conference on Literature & Librarianship

Projects in-progress that require my vigilance include:

• Completing the paper "Academic Librarians Learning to Lead from the Middle? Not According to the Data" (intended for the peer-reviewed journal Academic Library Administration, probably before April 30)


• Editing a book titled "Mythology and Contemporary Women Poets: Analysis, Teaching, and Critical Reflection" to be published by Mcfarland (full manuscript due September 1!).


• I received a contract to edit a book for ALA Editions based on my dissertation research. The first chapters will be my research, the later chapters will be essays by library directors on their experience developing much-needed leadership skills in specific areas. I've already sent out the call for abstracts and have received some stellar pitches!

Not happening this month (thank goodness!) but on my to-do list for the coming months/year:

• Redesigning the Library's 3-credit course and co-writing that up for publication in a peer-reviewed journal


• Shoring up plans for a research project with a colleague in the Communication department on information literacy and research skill development that we're hoping to complete in the fall and co-write up for publication in spring 2016 for a peer-reviewed journal


• Continuing my research on academic library leadership (collecting more data, analyzing, writing up for publication)


• Writing on the idea of chronic illness as liminal space as it relates to ritual theory for a peer reviewed journal


• Re-/Self- publishing my three books of poetry (both small independent presses have folded, and I'd like for the collections to still be available)


• Finding a publisher for another completed poetry manuscript


• Completing a half-finished poetry collection

So, that's my writing and research life in a nutshell (or a blog post).

How does it all happen? Well, a few nights a week and one weekend day per week are dedicated to writing/research/class doings. I do literature searches in brief breaks during the workday, between instruction sessions and at the reference desk. It helps that my husband is working on his Ed.D. and understands the need for dedicated reading and writing time, since most of that work, for me, happens outside of worktime (though I do like to go into the office to do research on Saturdays, when it's quiet.)

Next time: a brief discussion of what my reading habits look like, given my weird and interdisciplinary work. For your amusement, a selection of a few of the textbooks for my upcoming Spring quarter at the Pacifica Graduate Institute:

[caption id="attachment_366" align="alignnone" width="300"] Just a few of the textbooks for my Spring 2015 quarter for the Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology.[/caption]