NEWSLETTER
Society for the History of Children and Youth
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No. 13 |
Winter 2009 |
Results of the Newsletter Survey
For the Newsletter Editors, Kathleen W. Jones, Virginia Tech
The Look of the Newsletter
The Contents of the Web Pages
Into the Future
The Newsletter was initially created as a mechanism to foster a sense of community among the
members of a new organization. Publishing it has always depended on the work of
a group of dedicated volunteers who twice each year create the columns and
search out and cajole authors to draft the essays that fill the pages of the Newsletter. When Jim Marten and I took on the task of publishing an
electronic newsletter – well, it was back in the days when mere mortals
could still create webpages, and blogs were a thing
of the future! And there was no Journal of the History of Childhood and
Youth. As the organization has
grown and the Newsletter has evolved
and the JHCY has provided a scholarly
forum for the field, we who work to put out a newsletter twice each year want
to take stock of where we are and where we should be going. Do we need a newsletter? Is the current newsletter format the
best way to transmit “news?” What
news should the newsletter highlight? How can we interest more SHCY members in
helping to produce the newsletter? These questions gave rise to the “Newsletter Survey.” Here, I summarize the results of the
survey and share comments from the discussion among the editors as we put the
survey together.
The email announcing the survey went to about
290 addresses. We received 41
responses – about a 15% return. Of those who replied, almost everyone
thought the newsletter was somewhat (37%) or extremely (56%) valuable as a
means of communicating news about SHCY and the field. That result was gratifying to those of us who are invested
in producing what we hope is a quality product. But, it leaves open the question – do the other 85%
not read the Newsletter? Were they too busy to respond? Committed to never replying to surveys? Indifferent to the contents of the Newsletter?
The Look of the Newsletter
One of our concerns as editors of an
electronic publication has been the look and readability of the Newsletter. Most of you read the Newsletter from the history.vt.edu website where I first post it. About 20% said you looked at the pdf version, and another 20% at the archived newsletters at
h-childhood. Some of you are
double-dipping! Based on these
results we will continue to create both webpage and pdf versions.
Only a few survey responders offered comments
about the Newsletter’s appearance,
but it is something the editors have been discussing. One responder proposed that the articles, announcements,
etc., might be distributed by RSS feed to an online reader. Another suggestion was to distribute
articles individually, as email attachments, throughout the year, so as not to
overwhelm readers all at once. This comment, perhaps, also reflects the view of the responder who
requested that future newsletters be brief.
At the very least, the editors would like to
give the Newsletter a facelift, but
that will depend on finding a volunteer(s) with web design experience (Will the
unidentified responder who said he/she had such skills and could help us,
please, please email me at kjwj@vt.edu -- we
need you!) Our online version
resembles a paper newsletter, and for some of us, that is a good thing, but
others would like to see a newsletter that was more electronically, virtually,
sophisticated.
To quote one survey response, the Newsletter may need a “sensory
upgrade.” That could include, as
this respondent put it, both the
“sights and sounds of childhood.” This respondent recommends historical and contemporary photography,
illustrations, audio, and multimedia. Inclusion of more than text is certainly what makes an electronic
publication such an excellent format. The problem for our Newsletter,
however, is copyright law. We
published a cartoon in the Summer 2008 issue – it required negotiation
with the newspaper that resulted in permission to keep the cartoon online for
no more than one year. SHCY does
not have a treasury deep enough to pay for permissions, so everything we
include must come without copyright restrictions, be available at no cost, or
with cost borne by the author. But, if authors will do the legwork and supply us with the files, we can
add “sights and sounds.”
One unique feature offered by an electronic
publication but not to print newsletters is the prospect for interactivity, that,
to quote from a survey response, allows “members to communicate with
members.” We are making a first
step in that direction in this issue of the Newsletter;
later in March our new column about Children and Youth of Color will be the
subject of a listserv discussion through h-childhood. Information about the discussion is on the column’s webpage.
Using h-childhood for the discussion was not
our first choice. Other online
journals have “coffeehouses” and discussion rooms for readers to drop in and
leave comments, and both survey respondents and editors would like to see
something like this incorporated in the Newsletter. We will continue to investigate these possibilities; at the
moment we are stymied by the likelihood that such an endeavor will need a
moderator (with time to moderate). As always, we welcome your thoughts on how best to provide space for
discussion.
The Contents of the Web Pages
In addition to discussion forums, what did
the responders want to see included in future Newsletters? Our survey
asked for your reactions to contents in recent issues and also invited your
ideas for new content. Survey
responders thought the announcements of opportunities (90%) and news about SHCY
(88%) were the most important and useful parts of the Newsletter. But more than 75% of you wanted to read
in future newsletters news about the Journal,
news from members, recent dissertations, and feature articles. And more than half wanted us to
continue to include museum and conference reports, websightings,
and teaching columns.
Your comments praising the Newsletter are especially gratifying to
the volunteer editors. “Good job,” “impressed and pleased by the fine work
produced thus far,” “it’s a great newsletter!” “it’s always a treat.” We did
not set out to pursue ego-stroking, but for sure, we
appreciate the kudos.
Respondents also had some specific
suggestions for Newsletter content:
*more information about websites and full-text databases
*annotated syllabi
*cross-disciplinary connections
*book reviews
*more international content, reports from countries outside
of North America
*feature articles that take a different approach, perhaps
interviews with scholars or profiles of important figures in our discipline, or
with scholars from other disciplines who work with children.
*an account of how the budget crunch affects new fields of
scholarship
Into the Future
The editors will need your assistance if we
are to follow up on these suggestions. Some steps you can take to help us revamp the Newsletter:
If your regional
specialty is outside North America, or if you are part of a community of
scholars in a country outside of North America, consider writing a column
similar to Mona Gleason’s regular reports on what’s happening in Canada. Or interview a scholar for a feature
article focused on your area of the world.
Offer to
report on conferences you attend – where and how is the history of
children and youth represented in our scholarly organizations? What happens at the many specialty
conferences that most of us cannot attend? This is an excellent opportunity for graduate students as
well as senior scholars.
Continue to
send “news” of your publications, promotions, awards, good fortune.
Help us find
ways to bridge the disciplines. Our coverage in this issue of the roundtable from the American Studies
Association is a step in this direction. And it is reproduced here thanks to the suggestion of one of the
roundtable participants. Don’t be
shy about making suggestions that help us locate content!
If you have
web design skills, help us create a more appealing website for the Newsletter.
The request for book reviews is the only
suggestion we will not explore. Although it’s a good idea, we at the Newsletter
do not want to duplicate the fine work of the book review editors for
h-childhood and the JHCY!
And, finally, to all who wrote on the survey
that they’d be willing to volunteer for Newsletter duty– please get in touch!! A serious flaw in the survey was the failure
to ask for contact information from volunteers. We want to take you up on the offer.
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