Library Trends Call for Proposals

Please view our open calls for proposals for upcoming issues in Library Trends.

• Gaming in Libraries
• Beyond Social Services: Libraries and People Experiencing Housing Instability

No longer a niche recreational activity, gaming has evolved into a mainstream cultural activity that intersects with literacy, digital citizenship, STEM learning, and community building. As libraries continue to redefine their roles as community hubs and centers for informal learning, many have embraced gaming through circulating collections, programming events, and dedicated gaming spaces. From tabletop role-playing games to esports tournaments, from vintage console collections to virtual reality experiences, libraries are leveraging games to engage diverse populations, build 21st-century skills, and create inclusive social spaces.

This issue of Library Trends seeks to examine the current state and future directions of gaming initiatives in libraries of all types. We welcome articles and case studies that explore how libraries are building, managing, and assessing game collections and gaming programs, as well as the impact of these initiatives on library users and communities.

We invite proposals for original articles (4,000-8,000 words) that address gaming in library contexts. Proposals for articles should be submitted via an online proposal form. Proposals are due September 21, 2026. 

The proposal process will be anonymous until proposal review is complete. Please do not include identifying information such as name, institution name, grant references, URLs, etc. in your proposal abstract. You may reference types of institutions (public library, private university library, etc.) to provide appropriate context, but do not name or abbreviate institutions. If you identify yourself or your institution in the descriptions, your proposal will not be considered.

If you have questions about article topic ideas during the submission period, please email Grace Murdock at gkmurdock@noctrl.edu. Grace, a student library intern, will anonymize your inquiry for us and send you our response. For non-topic questions, please contact the editors: Carl DiNardo, carldinardo@usf.edu, and Rebecca Strang, rdstrang@noctrl.edu. 

More information about the journal, including author instructions, is available on the Library Trends website. 

Submissions may include

• Case studies detailing innovative gaming programs or collection development strategies
• Theoretical or conceptual articles examining frameworks for understanding games in library contexts
• Practice-based reflections offering evidence-based insights from gaming initiatives

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Collection development strategies for video games, board games, and tabletop RPGs, including selection criteria, cataloging practices, and preservation challenges
• Historical and archival game collections, addressing preservation of digital and physical gaming history, retro gaming collections, and games as cultural artifacts
• Staff training and development for gaming initiatives, including building gaming literacy among library staff and overcoming institutional barriers
• Gaming and information literacy, exploring how games can teach research skills, digital citizenship, media literacy, and critical thinking
• Equity and accessibility in gaming programs, including serving neurodiverse populations, adaptive gaming technologies, and addressing representation in game collections
• Esports in academic libraries, examining collegiate esports partnerships, tournament hosting, and the role of academic libraries in competitive gaming communities
• Tabletop gaming programs and their role in building community, supporting social connection, bridging cross-generational age gaps, and promoting face-to-face interaction in digital age
• Makerspaces and game creation, exploring programs that teach game design, development, and modding as creative and technical learning opportunities

Article Length: 4,000-8,000 words (not including bibliographic references)

Citation Style: For proposals and manuscripts, authors must use Chicago Manual of Style 18 author-date.

Submission of proposed articles

Prospective authors are invited to submit a 500-word abstract outlining their proposed article by September 21, 2026. Decisions about the abstracts will be communicated by October 5, 2026, and authors of successful submissions invited to write their full articles during winter 2026-27. 

Proposals for articles should be submitted via an online proposal form.

Peer review

The issue will use an anonymous peer review process in which article authors review two manuscripts by other contributors. As part of submitting an article proposal, authors will be asked to commit to participation in this process as both an author and a reviewer. 

Important dates

• August 3, 2026: Call for proposals
• September 21, 2026: Article proposals due
• October 5, 2026: Author acceptance notifications
• March 1, 2027: Article manuscripts due
• March 15, 2027: Peer reviewers assigned (accepted authors will peer review)
• April 19, 2027: Peer reviews due to editors
• May 17, 2027: Feedback sent to authors
• July 5, 2027: Article revisions due to issue editors
• August 30, 2027: Manuscripts due to Library Trends editor in chief
• February 2028: Publication

While much has been said about libraries and homelessness, is this the whole story? The recent LIS discourse around homelessness looks primarily at the provision of social services in public libraries. Though these services may broaden access to the (often limited) resources available for people facing homelessness, scholarly and practitioner focus in this area limits how we understand housing insecurity and its intersection with libraries. Additionally, critical approaches are missing from LIS research, homelessness research, and the points where they connect. Specifically, the reliance on clinical interventions as means of managing homelessness, underlying social and economic structures that lead to widespread inequity, the use of housing as commodity, and how libraries figure into these complex dynamics, are areas worthy of deeper, more critical investigation.

This special issue seeks to explore how the growing number of people experiencing homelessness, including adults, families with children, youth and young adults, and older adults, are being (or could be) served by libraries in ways not focused on social service needs. Conceptually, the issue considers these overarching questions: why are libraries relying on social workers to meet the information needs of people with housing instability? why haven’t social justice frameworks like those supporting prison abolitionist librarianship been applied to library homeless services? why are race and racism often left out of the library literature looking at homelessness?

We seek proposals for articles that explore these questions and more through original research studies but will also consider essays and contributions in other formats. Perspectives from outside the US are welcomed and encouraged. 

Possible topics for articles include, but are not limited to:

• Information behaviors/information seeking of people who are unhoused (however this is understood)
• Library community engagement with encampments and tent communities
• Reading and literacy with people experiencing homelessness, including “traditional” library programming
• Critical explorations of social work and social services in libraries
• Parallels between prison abolitionist library work and serving people who are unhoused
• Implications of race and racism when we talk about homelessness and libraries
• Action research with folks who are experiencing housing disruptions
• Family and student homelessness and P-12 school libraries
• College student homelessness and library services
• Library workers as allies in the struggle for affordable housing
• Interrogating library funding, homeownership, and implications for housing equity

Article length: 7,000-10,000 words (not including bibliographic references)

Submission of proposed articles

If you are interested in contributing a paper to this special issue, please submit a proposed title, a 500-word abstract, and a list of the authors and their affiliations to: Dr. Vikki C. Terrile at vikki.terrile@qc.cuny.edu by December 1, 2026. 

Decisions on the proposals will be announced by January 4, 2027. Articles based on accepted proposals will be due June 23, 2027.

About the Guest Editor

Dr. Vikki C. Terrile, Associate Professor at the Queens College School of Information Studies, CUNY, was a public and academic librarian for 25 years. Her research explores how families and adults experiencing homelessness engage with libraries and reading. 

Peer review

This issue will use an open peer review system in which authors review manuscripts from other contributors in addition to editorial review by the issue editors.