This is my last issue as Editor of Reference Reviews as I am retiring. It will also be the final issue of the journal, as it is to cease publication.
The journal has run for 32 years incorporating Electronic Resources Review along the way. I have had the privilege of editing it for about half this time. It is the reviewers who have sustained it above all else, a dedicated team who has been guided by its mission of providing “reviews of new reference materials for librarians prepared by librarians”.
In expressing thanks to all those who have been involved with the journal, I must start with the reviewers and contributors. There have been so many over the years that it would be impossible to name and thank everyone. All reviewers, recent and past, freely gave their time and expertise. I have learned a lot from them as, I am sure, have the many librarians who read our columns. Some reviewers have been with the journal for a very long time, in a few cases since its inception. Special thanks are due to these stalwarts, they know who they are!
Mention should also be made of the first editor, the late Nick Moore and my predecessor as editor, Stuart James, to whom I will always be grateful for recommending me for the editorial role. I have also been fortunate to have been supported by two very capable North American regional editors over my tenure, Sarah Johnson, who also edited Electronic Resources Review, and the late David Oberhelman.
While Reference Reviews was aimed at a library audience, it was also often avidly read by publishers keen to see our opinions of their products. I would like to thank all those in the publishing community who have made their products available for review. The journal could not have existed without your cooperation – I hope you found our reviews helpful! And, while mentioning publishers, I should conclude by thanking Emerald Group Publishing Limited for supporting me to edit the journal and, especially, Eileen Breen at Emerald who has shepherded the journal for many years and has never failed to provide help and assistance.
