Changes

This is a decisive time for libraries. In our constantly the changing social and technological environment, libraries must adapt to fulfill their missions and satisfy their users. This pressure is acutely felt by those working with library technology. Digital services, content and tools have become a part of nearly every aspect of library operations. The "digital library" is here, and most of us work in one.

This mission of this journal is to cover "the intersection of libraries, technology, and the future." We plan to provide practical information to help the library community envision and achieve our technological future, to bring libraries' tradition of collaboration to bear on new challenges. We want the digital libraries of today to be transformed into the digital libraries of tomorrow, providing quality information while meeting new and changing needs. This A course might have its of rapid transformation has risks, but maintaining the status quo brings its own, greater , risks. Libraries must take a leading role beside their vendors in the technological innovation that effects must accompany this needed transformation.

One locus of pragmatic innovation has been the Code4Lib community [1]. Inspired in part by the social dynamics of distributed open source projects, Code4Lib is an annual conference and, more importantly, an informal online social and professional network embodying values of transparency, cooperation, and pragmatic problem solving. This dynamic community fosters collaboration and encourages the sharing of skills and ideas [2,3,4]. But paradoxically, this amorphous informality can make it hard for someone new to the field—or wanting to take a new look at the field—to find a comfortable entry point to the community and the resources it has to offer.

We hope the Code4Lib Journal can embody the successful values of the Code4Lib community, while providing increased access to the collective knowledge and experience held throughout our diverse professional networks and local organizations, increasing cross-pollination and collaboration among library technology innovators.

The Code4Lib Journal project is very in that sense much like some of the innovative library technology projects many of us work on in our daily lives, balancing competing values and priorities with limited resources. And we've tackled this project the same way we do those, with a 'can do' spirit and an agile development approach—in other words, we're making it up as we go along.

So how is the experiment working out? We think we've got a great first issue. This is due to the great work of our authors, and of the Editorial Committee. I am not alone among the Editorial Committee in discovering that inventing a journal—even one solely online which is intended to be relatively informal and agile—is more work than I personally expected. All of our authors and editorial staff deserve to be proud of what we've produced together through hard work [5]. But ultimately only the judgments and actions of you, our readers, can measure our success. If you think this first issue is evidence of a worthwhile endeavor, you can contribute to its future success.

===Code4Lib Issue 1 Founding Editorial Committee===