Evolve and Adapt: The 2024 MLA Style Guide

The updated Medical Library Association (MLA) Publication Style Guide is now live after years of work and revisions! The MLA Publication Style Guide is considered the primary resource for publishing guidelines for MLA print and electronic materials. The style guide, formerly known as the style manual, outlines language and formatting specific to the Medical Library Association and should be used in all written and visual communications.

Maintaining a style guide is crucial for any organization that values branding, efficiency, and user experience. The last revision of the style guide occurred in 2019. In late 2020, following discussions with the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) Editorial Board, it was suggested that a group be created to evaluate how the guide could be updated to prioritize inclusivity and increase usability. Thus, the MLA Style Guide Work Group was formed in early 2021, and revisions began. Over the last few years, the MLA Style Guide Work Group has conducted a comprehensive review of the style guide; convened with members from the JMLA Editorial Board, JMLA authors, and the MLA publications teams; gathered survey responses from publication arms across MLA; and received feedback on DEI practices from the JMLA Equity Work Group in their journey to update the sensitivity, accessibility, and currency of the style guide.

This revitalization of the MLA Style Guide was a necessary step in the evolution of the Medical Library Association. Our language is alive and constantly evolving with the adoption of words and phrases, emergence of new technologies and cultural trends, and nuanced shifts in grammar and usage. Similarly, the MLA Style Guide should reflect these living evolutions, particularly in upholding MLA’s commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice.

The updated style guide better reflects currency, sensitivity, accessibility, publication styles, and author’s voice and is more accessible to users.

MLA reflects on the past to address and learn from our previous mistakes to create a better future. As MLA grows in the knowledge of correctness and adaptability, we hope you will join us in continuing to improve our style guide.

I want to thank everyone involved in the revision of the MLA Style Guide. We could not adapt or evolve without the help of our members and community, so thank you all!