Life Begins at Volume 40

This issue completes our first volume year as editors of Reference and User Services Quarterly and the fortieth year of the journal that began publication as the mysteriously titled RQ. We want to take this opportunity to thank all those individuals who have contributed in many ways to the journal during the last year. Our board members have done yeoman's service this year. In addition to actively soliciting articles, addressing policy matters, and advising on content issues, the board acts as our first line of referees. We know many of you don't read the masthead (some of you probably don't read the editorials, but we can't help that), so we want to use this space to say thanks to: George Gaumond, Dean of Libraries, Valdosta State (Ga.) University; Patrick Grace, Coordinator for Magazines, Newspapers, and Government Publications, Seattle Public Library; Melissa Gross, Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies, Florida State University; David F. Kohl, Dean of Libraries, University of Cincinnati; Roger G. Verny, Deputy State Librarian, Ohio State Library; and Amy Tracy Wells, Digital Projects Coordinator, Michigan State University. Dave Kohl, who retires from the board this summer, deserves special recognition for his substantial contributions to the journal and to the association. Our referees, too numerous to enumerate, provide the essential service of commenting on articles submitted for consideration. You know who you are and we thank you. We owe much to the work and ability of our column editors. Diane Zabel, who has been so effective in identifying topics of interest for The Alert Collector; Karen Diaz, whose columnists have addressed the changing format of reference materials in Off the Shelf and Onto the Web; Carolyn J. Radcliff, who assumed the difficult and time-consuming job of editing the Databases and Reference Books sections of Sources with efficiency and panache; and Judy Dye, who continues to give us timely and pointed reviews of our own literature with the Professional Materials section of Sources. Two new columns have been added: Kathleen de la Pena McCook's Community Building gives us insight into implementing projects that underscore the library's role in producing sustainable communities while Mary K. Chelton's Reader's Advisory provides us an opportunity to explore recent trends and current issues in this popular area of service. The irregular From Committees of RUSA column has carried entries emphasizing free reference sources on the World Wide Web, readers' advisory services, the annual listing of ALA Notable Books, the annual listing of outstanding reference sources, the annual list of best bibliographies in history, and a summary of RUSA's recent self-assessment survey. …