Thanks for your interest in contributing to the ASLE bibliography!

Given the wide availability of on-line library catalogs and specialized bibliographic databases such as the MLA International Bibliography, the unique value of the ASLE Bibliography lies in the fact that ASLE members have chosen to include works of particular value to their scholarship, teaching, and public service, written abstracts that articulate the value of those works, and assigned keywords to the citations that reflect the interests of ASLE members and allow users to find related works in the database. In short, the bibliography is only as valuable as the information added by ASLE members such as you.

How you can help. |  How to submit contributions.

You can contribute to the bibliography (1) by becoming a contributing editor who regularly submits entries for work associated with a specific topic, region, author, journal, press, or other assignment of your choosing; (2) by becoming an assistant editor who enters submissions into the database via the web when the editor receives submissions from members who do not have access to the on-line submission form; and (3) by submitting entries on an ad hoc basis as you read books and articles, view films, listen to music, and engage other work related to ASLE's various areas of interest.

Special Note: We especially need contributing editors and ad hoc contributors to help us work through a backlog of some 850 title cataloged by the ISLE editorial team since the last ASLE bibliography was compiled in 1998. To browse a list of those works, click here.

Please contact the ASLE bibliographer, H. Lewis Ulman <ulman.1@osu.edu>, if you are interested in becoming a regular contributor to the ASLE Bibliography.

• If you are interested in becoming a contributing editor, please check the Contributing Editors' Page to see what assignments have already been made, then send me your name, your requested assignment, and your contact information (e-mail, phone, or postal address). If you would like to share responsibility for a topic, region, author, etc. that is alread assigned, please contact the contributing editor(s) directly and then communicate to me whatever division of labor you have worked out. Note: your contact information will be listed on the Contributing Editors' Page unless you request that it be withheld.
  
• If you are interested in becoming an assistant editor, please contact me. Your assistance will enable ASLE members who do not have access to the World Wide Web to contribute to the bibliography. When the volume of submissions via e-mail or in hard copy exceeds my ability to deal with it in a timely manner, I will send submissions for assistant editors, who will enter the submissions using the on-line submission form.
  
• If you are interested in contributing to the ASLE bibliography on an ad-hoc basis, submitting entries for work in the field as you encounter it, please be sure to check the latest version of the database on-line to see whether someone has already submitted an entry for that work. In addition, you might want to check with any contributing editor whose assignment might include the work you plan to write up. Finally, feel free to check with me to find out whether anyone has submitted an entry for that work since the last time the on-line database was updated.

As work on the bibliography progresses, I will do my best to avoid any duplication of effort by contributors to this on-going project. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

How to contribute entries to the ASLE bibliography.

You can contribute entries to the ASLE Bibliography either by filling out an on-line submission form on the World Wide Web (the preferred method) or by sending me entries via e-mail, fax, or regular mail. Because I do not have the time or support to handle a substantial volume of entries submitted via e-mail, fax, or regular mail, I ask that you use the on-line submission form if at all possible. Remember, you can use any Web browser on any computer, including those in academic and public libraries.

Using the on-line submission form.

To contribute to the bibliography, point your Web browser to the following page:

http://linux.cohums.ohio-state.edu/ulman1/bp/

On that page, choose one of the nine reference types currently supported:

• Journal Article
• Book
• Chapter or Essay in Book or Anthology
• Edited Book
• Thesis
• Newspaper Article
• Magazine Article
• Internet Resource (including web)
• Film or Television Show

Note: Eventually, we will add more reference types. Suggestions?

On the submission form for each reference type, fill in all the fields for which you have information, leaving the others blank. In general, you should not include any punctuation surrounding fields or try to indicate italics for titles—our bibliographic software will take care of those formatting details. However, most of the fields require that entries follow certain conventions.Help for many fields (for example, proper format for authors' names) is available by clicking on the question mark to the right of the field.

You will choose search terms for genre, subject, and keywords from pop-up lists. Right now, the choices for Subject and Keywords 1-3 are identical. Think of the difference between the Subject and Keyword fields as one of emphasis: the subject choice should reflect the primary emphasis of the work. You can identify one subject and up to three additional keywords. While the usefullness of the bibliography depends in part on a standard set of search terms, we can add to the lists as needed (see below).

When you have filled in all of the fields that you can, click on the "Contribute" button at the bottom of the form. To clear the form and start over, click on the "Clear" button. Tip: for fields such as the "Abstract" field, you can compose in a word processor or notepad, then copy and paste into the field.

I would appreciate any suggestions or questions you might have. I am particularly interested in feedback about the following features:

• Help windows. These are still under development. Please let me know if the help windows that do exist answer your questions or leave you uncertain about how to proceed. For fields that don't have help windows yet, let me know what questions you have.
  
• Genres, Subjects, and Keywords. We are working with slightly modified versions of the lists developed for the previous bibliography, but these lists should evolve with the field. What designators did you need but couldn't find in the lists?
  
• Navigation and feedback. As you progress through the process of submitting a bibliographic entry, you should
  
• know what you can do next as you work through the process
• know what you must do next in order to successfully submit an entry
• know how to do it (where and what to type, where to click)
• know whether your action was successful (do you get clear feedback?)
  
• Proofreading errors.

To send comments to me, you can (1) fill out the "Notes to the Editor" field at the bottom of the form or (2) send e-mail to me at ulman.1@osu.edu.

Submitting entries via e-mail, fax, or regular mail.

If you do not have access to the World Wide Web, you can submit bibliography entries to me via e-mail, fax, or regular mail (see the contact information on the ASLE Bibliography home page). However, I cannot guarantee a timely turnaround on such submissions—I'll do the best I can.

For submissions via e-mail, fax, or regular mail, simply include (1) a complete bibliographic citation in MLA format; (2) a one-sentence abstract; (3) a genre designator, a subject designator, and up to three keywords, all chosen from ASLE's standard lists of genre and keyword search terms; and (4) optionally, a longer abstract. Also be sure to include your name and contact information.

Thanks for your help! The success of the ASLE Bibliography depends on you.