How to submit a blog post

We’d love to hear from library and information professionals, whether you’re starting out in your career or you're a well-established member of the community. We’re interested in blogs relating to any aspect of the information and library profession. Please read the article guidelines below and when you’re happy with your blog post, email it to us at libfocusblog@gmail.com

Here are some blog post ideas to get you started:

• Recent library projects, initiatives, events, and exhibitions you were involved in
• Library-related research and applied projects (research as practice) you conducted 
• A condensed version of a conference paper you presented/submitted
• Summaries of library talks/conferences/events you’ve attended
• A review of a library or information-related book or journal article 
• A discussion of current trends in the library field
• Reflections on a new library role
• Insights into working in a specialist library or niche information-related area
• An article relating to professional development or continuous learning
• Useful tips from a course or training session you attended

General article guidelines

Blogs between 500-1000 words work best; check that your spelling and grammar are accurate before submitting your article to us.

Libfocus will promote the post on our social media platforms - please provide your Bluesky and LinkedIn credentials if you'd like to be tagged in these posts.

Images

Please include at least one copyright-compliant image with your submission. Two to four images work well to break up the text and add visual interest to post. Avoid stock images or AI-generated images where possible. Unique images featuring people work best and images of interesting library collections or spaces also work well.

Please provide captions and alt text for each image.

Captions

Captions should give the title of the image and list the creator or rights holder and a date where possible/relevant. Link to the image where it’s been taken from an online source, including stock image websites. 

Here are some examples of captions from previous posts:

• Gaia artwork, Old Library, Trinity College. Picture credit Anne Charlotte Danhiez, 2025.
• Cape Clear Island, overhead view, from the Cork County Council website.
• Using AI to generate business ideas by MangKangMangMee via Shutterstock

Alt text

Images providing additional context or information to the blog post should have alt text included with them. This makes the blog posts as accessible as possible for people using screen readers. 

If there is text that is relevant visible in the image, that should be transcribed into the alt text.

Images that do not provide extra information or context and are used for layout purposes only are called decorative images. Alt text is not required for these images but do add alt="" in the alt text box instead so that the reader knows that it is a decorative image. 

Find more information about how to include alt text on the centre for excellence in universal design website.

Alt text examples:

• A large illuminated globe suspended between wooden rows of bookshelves
• Four people sitting at a table with a banner behind them with the text Academic and Special Libraries printed on it.
• A Japanese print depicting a market scene

Link text

Avoid adding external links by linking words and phrases like ‘here’ ‘click here’ or ‘read more.’ A link text should explain clearly what information the reader will get by clicking on that link i.e. 

Find out more about the Erasmus programme on the CONUL website vs find out more about the Erasmus programme here. 

References

Provide references to the original source when you're backing up an argument, using a direct quotation or when you are summarising someone else’s work etc.

This can be done more formally with in-text citations and a reference list at the end of an article as with the All Hallows Campus and Woodlock Hall Library article.

Alternatively, where you're referencing online sources, you can do this using linked text within the article instead. See examples in Academic & Special Libraries Conference 2024 ‘Fair for all: creating Equitable and Universal Access to Information’

Please choose one method or the other, avoid mixing the two styles of referencing.