I want to take this opportunity to officially welcome LeGrande Fletcher as co-editor of this column. In his column in the September issue, LeGrande did an excellent job of highlighting Brian Striman’s many contributions to this column and in getting first the OBS/TS Research Roundtable and then the OBS/TS Joint Research Grant established. I have worked closely with Brian in some of those activities over the years, so I think I sometimes tend to take his efforts for granted. But in reading LeGrande’s summary of Brian’s accomplishments, I was amazed all over again at Brian’s energy and enthusiasm. I will certainly miss Brian’s specific input on this column, but our loss is OBS’s gain, as Brian takes on new challenges in the area of leadership. And in so doing, Brian illustrates that it is essential to keep pushing ourselves to try new things.

I look forward to the fresh perspective that LeGrande has already brought to this column and to the Research Roundtable. LeGrande is wellqualified to speak to us about research and publishing. His prolific contributions astound me. As just a sample of his recent work, LeGrande has authored:

"Nevada Government Documents Online: An Easy-To-Use Guide" in the June 1998 issue of Nevada Lawyer.

"200 Nevada Legal History References: A Selective Annotated Bibliography and Introduction" in the Spring 1998 issue of Nevada Law Review.

A book review of The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy in the June 1998 issue of Trends in Law Library Management and Technology.

"Library of Congress Versus Supreme Court: Some Thoughts on Law Librarianship’s Dual Nature" in the September 1998 issue of AALL Spectrum.

In addition, LeGrande is a recipient of the Joint Research Grant in support of his research for an annotated bibliography of Nevada legal practice materials, which he will submit for publication to Law Library Journal. Wow! I cannot think of a better person for this column.

And speaking of the Joint Research Grant, I just want to remind everyone that Corinne Jacox (University of Orlando, cjacox@uo.edu) is now the chair of the Joint Research Grant Committee. See Julie Stauffer’s report of the Research Roundtable meeting in Anaheim in the September TSLL for more detail about the grant and contact Corinne if you have any questions. There’s money, so let’s use it!

Next is my plug for the AALL/Matthew Bender Call for Papers Competition, as I am a member of the Call for Papers Committee. Being a member has opened my eyes to the value of this competition, both in terms of fostering research and then communicating it during the program at AALL annual where the winners present their work. I attended this program in Anaheim (for the first time, I confess) and I was very impressed. I learned a lot by listening to the winners. I learned about the specific topics, of course, but I also learned about individual ways of choosing a topic, conducting research, and writing.

I encourage all readers of this column to at least attend the Call for Papers program in Washington. But beyond that, please also consider entering a paper for the Competition. Check out the details on AALLNET or give me a call if you have any questions. The deadline has been moved up to March 1, 1999, in order to give the Committee members more time to read the papers. I do not have the list of previous winners in front of me as I write this, but I think I can confidently say that it does not list many technical services papers. But why not? I hope that there are some such papers in the pool this year and I look forward to reading them. The winning papers are forwarded to Law Library Journal for publication consideration. Actually some of the non-winners are too, so even if you don’t win, you could end up having your paper published. And I’ve saved the best news for last--you can actually receive a cash award of $750 if your paper wins! Now there’s motivation.

As I write this column in late October, a discussion on the CRISTAL-ED mailing list is winding up its two week treatment of the topic "Library Research: Wasting Time Productively?" As you can tell from the title, the discussion leaders (Paul Wiener and Uwe Jochum) threw out some rather provocative comments and questions to get the conversation flowing. I really don’t have the space here to do it all justice. Check out the Web site http://www.si.umich.edu/cristaled/discussions.html. All postings are listed there in their entirety in chronological order.

Congratulations (!) to our published colleagues:

Kevin Butterfield spoke on "Roles of Cataloging and Metadata in Electronic Resource Development" at a conference on "Metadata and the Dublin Core: Harnessing the Internet Through Bibliographic Control" presented by the Michigan Library Consortium in Lansing in May 1998.

"New Horizons in Collection Development: Approval Plans," a report of the Anaheim program by Rachel Pergament is in the September 1998 issue of AALL Spectrum.

Two Anaheim reports by Wendy Nobunaga, also in the September 1998 AALL Spectrum, are: "Shattered Shelves: Effective Emergency Preparedness" and "New Horizons: New Schemes for New Regimes: Understanding and Implementing JZ & KZ." And speaking at the latter workshop were a number of our colleagues: Carol Shapiro, Jolande Goldberg, Rebecca Guenther, Brian Striman, and Christina Tarr.

Janice K. Shull authored "The Library As Storyteller" in the Spring 1998 issue of Law Library Journal.

Edna S. Dixon contributed "Librarian Chic Is Not An Oxymoron" to the February 1998 issue of AALL Spectrum.

Joni Cassidy has contributed "Cataloging Tips: Doin’ the Publisher Shuffle" and "Cataloging Internet Resources: Don’t Worry, It’s Easier Than Rocket Science" to the Law Library Resource Exchange ^TM in Spring 1998. (http://www.llrx.com/).

Mary Dzurinko co-authored with Nina Platt "Using Database Management Systems to Implement an IOLS" and contributed "A Few Successful IOLS Project Tips" on her own to the September 1998 issue of Integrated Library System Reports. Mary co-edits this electronic newsletter with Nina. It must be she had too much time on her hands after her successful stint as TSLL’s editor ended -- good luck, Mary!

And if these inspiring contributions haven’t given you enough ideas of places to publish, here are a few more:

Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services (LCATS) is the new title of Library Acquisitions: Practice & Theory. According to its editor, Carol Pitts Diedrichs, the title was changed "to reflect shifting content and to reflect the merging of the lines between various collection management and technical services functions." The change begins with volume 23 (1999).

Library Philosophy and Practice is "a new peer-reviewed electronic journal" that "publishes reports of successful, innovative, or experimental library procedures, methods, or projects in all areas of librarianship, including both public and technical services." (http://www.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/lp&p.htm).

Another new peer-reviewed publication is the Annals of Information Technology and Librarianship, edited by Gregory A. Crawford and Gary W. White. (http://www.idea-group.com/libann.htm).

The Journal of Systems and Information Technology "provides a systemic or holistic perspective in relation to areas such as information systems development, information technology and information systems management." Contact editor-in-chief, Dr. Craig Standing c.standing@cowan.edu.au.

The Journal of Library Services for Distance Education is also a peer reviewed electronic journal. (http://www.westga.edu/library/jlsde/).

In Internet Reference Services Quarterly, there is a regular feature "Hot Bibliographies." In its appearance in the v. 3, no. 2 (1998) issue, its editor, Deborah Curry, is "actively seeking ‘Hot Bibs’ for future issues." Contact her at dcurry@Oswego.edu. In the same journal, there is a new book review editor, Hollis P. Near hnear@seattleu.edu.

A special issue of the Journal for Global Information will be entitled "Libraries and the Internet: An International Agenda." The deadline for submissions is January 10, 1999. (http://www.idea-group.com/jgim.htm).

Ann Branton ann.branton@usm.edu is looking for contributors to her "Tech Notes" column in Mississippi Libraries.

MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship has issued a call for contributors to its special issue focusing on academic media centers and the Web. (http://wings.buffalo.edu/publications/mcjrnl/call.html).

I have a handout prepared by one of my colleagues here at the University at Buffalo Health Sciences Library entitled "Getting Published." Cindy Hepfer is the editor of Serials Review and she made a presentation on our campus last spring on this topic. It’s an excellent handout and I will check with Cindy for her permission to share a copy with anyone who contacts me for it. There’s a good bibliography at the end too.