This is the first issue of volume 53 and the start of another exciting year for Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS). Please join me in welcoming our new editorial board members (Allyson Carlyle, Lewis Brian Day, October Ivins, Edgar Jones, Randy Roeder, Carlen Ruschoff, and Sarah Simpson) and thanking the board members who completed their terms at the end of the 2008 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim (Tschera Harkness Connell, Karla L. Hahn, Sara C. Heitshu, Judy Jeng, Bonnie MacEwan, Carolynne Myall, Pat Riva, and Diane Vizine-Goetz). Editorial board members help set the direction of the journal and serve an essential role as paper referees in the double-blind review process. The quality of LRTS depends on their dedication and diligence. I’m honored that the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) has reappointed me to serve an additional four years as LRTS editor. No one will deny that serving as editor of a peer-reviewed journal is challenging and hard work, but most editors will agree with me in also saying that it is interesting, informative, and (most of the time) fun. I am delighted that Edward Swanson has accepted reappointment as the LRTS book review editor. Do contact him directly (eswanson@eswanson.org) if you are interested in reviewing titles for LRTS.

This issue presents papers that cover the range of responsibilities that define the mission of ALCTS and its nearly five thousand members. Patrick L. Carr provides another installment in the familiar LRTS literature review series as he explores the themes and important works in the 2006–7 literature about serials librarianship. Steven A. Knowlton looks back at the history of cataloging codes and the often heated debates that characterized code reform in the 1950s and 1960s. His premise is that reviewing the debates of the past can prove useful as we engage in another spirited conversation about reforming the current cataloging code. Stephen Hearn suggests an alternative approach to gathering and analyzing catalog data, intended to serve as one possible measure of a technical services unit’s success in attaining its goals. Do spend some time studying the figures that accompany this article. They offer a new way to represent changes in headings over time. The final two papers in this issue are “Notes on Operations.” LRTS publishes papers in this section with the intent to offer innovative approaches to challenges faced in many libraries. Marielle Veve reports on a new solution developed at the University of Tennessee Libraries to support name authority control in Extensible Markup Language (XML) for digitized collections. Rebecca L. Mugridge and Jeff Edmunds share insights from the Penn State Libraries’ experience in developing processes to facilitate batchloading records into the online catalog. Much more than “how we did it good” stories, these papers present approaches that can inform practice in other libraries.

The success of LRTS depends on the quality of the papers published, and these papers are written by you! Consider the issues you have been pondering, the challenges you have been addressing, and the future of libraries and the profession of librarianship. Reflecting thoughtfully on these topics is the first step in writing a paper. Writing a paper enhances your knowledge and expertise. Why not write a paper and submit it to LRTS?