Editorial note.(Editorial)

Twenty-nine years ago I assumed editorial responsibilities for this journal. In 1977 the four issues of volume 12 expressed some of the aspirations of a young and enthusiastic editor. As I prepare to turn the journal over to other capable hands, some reflections are in order. Since the summer 2005 (40, no. 3) issue will be an oversized special issue and a smaller issue with index will conclude the volume, this issue is the appropriate one for an expression of thanksgiving.

The guiding theme behind some of the directions outlined in those first statements was that this journal and library history in general needed to enter the mainstream of the historical profession as well as librarianship and to be a meeting point for those concerned with the role of libraries in society. Too often mainstream historians and library historians have not read, let alone grappled with, each other's relevant, scholarly literature. In short, library history deserves serious consideration by both historians and the library profession, not to speak of general readers.

Thus, the journal needed to serve as a catalyst in communication with cultural historians of archives, books, and libraries wherever…