Editor's Letter
Spreading the word
As the new Editor of PLJ, I feel very privileged to have been appointed to this post and to have played a part in bringing this issue to you. I hope that I will be able to maintain the high quality achieved by previous Editor Mark McCree, and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mark for all his efforts in making the handover a smooth one!
Prior to becoming Editor, I was (of course!) a regular reader of PLJ, both for research purposes in my Librarianship degree and subsequently to maintain awareness of best practice and interesting initiatives in other library authorities. However, with membership of CILIP and PLG continuing to subside, I found myself wondering how best to disseminate such knowledge to individuals at all levels who play a key part in delivering services, but who may have no links with any professional organisation or even with other library staff outside their own authorities.
PLJ is currently undertaking one very timely initiative: to make articles available online, as well as in the paper format. Three articles from each future issue will be published online – beginning this summer – and will be accessible to all, irrespective of CILIP membership status. We are also starting a longer-term project which will involve putting all articles from back issues online – again, freely available to everybody.
However, the power of word-of-mouth communication should not be underestimated. If you find the Journal useful, please encourage your workmates to read it! Leave a copy in the staff room or on the enquiry desk; or tell colleagues about articles relevant to them. They may be encouraged to join themselves, once they see what we can offer. Also, do keep feedback coming – this helps to ensure that the Journal is topical and useful to its readers.
The current issue will hopefully fulfil those criteria, with several articles following up from the recent Library + information Show in Birmingham. Services for diverse communities form another theme of this issue, with Nikki Bi on the Muslim Writers Awards, Eileen Hyder on VIP reading groups, and Helen Carpenter on the role of libraries in multicultural relationships. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed editing it!
Elizabeth Chapman
Updated: 05 September 2008