Editorial
Another volume year débuts with this issue. We welcome our new readers and hope that we can continue to offer you interesting content about a variety of library technology applications that are being tested and utilized in libraries around the globe. That is our goal and, if you can make suggestions for specific content, appropriate conference reports and ways that you are conducting business or performing tasks in your libraries, we will be most appreciative. We expect to continue our successful coverage of columns about trends, visits and new product development but we always welcome new input.
In this issue, we have several conference reports that confirm our international coverage, as they come from Berlin, Nigeria, California, Memphis,Charleston, Geneva and Amsterdam. The themes of these reports reaffirm the mission of our publication, as they entertain lively current debate about timely considerations of topics such as digital censorship, ethics in an electronic environment, library education, archiving, to name just a few issues that impact librarians and information technologists everywhere, as well as some very personal reflections about conference attendance and participation. We also have an "Around the World" column that reports on how an Australian librarian participated in a fascinating volunteer experience that provided professional development and many personal rewards with her service to a special library in Vietnam for a period of time.
The features are equally varied and timely, reflecting issues of the past year. They include a description of VITLE, an eLearning experience and program about SARS at Hong Kong Baptist University Library; a case study of a new Web enhancement at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, Greece, where library staff pioneered a way to introduce new library acquisitions; and a library-driven PDA experience at the James Madison University Library. Columnist Howard Falk explores more about the ePublishing industry and Gerry McKiernan submits the last part of his trilogy on Open Archives Initiative Service Providers.
We belatedly wish everyone a safe, healthy and peaceful 2004 and look forward to ten exciting issues of work in library technology. Beginning this year, our issues will be fully searchable via the Emerald database and should make referencing content already read far easier.
Julia Gelfand(jgelfand@uci.edu)Colby Riggs(cmriggs@uci.edu)Co-editors
