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Editor's page.
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| Article Type: | Editorial |
| Author: | Geruschat, Duane R. |
| Pub Date: | 12/01/2009 |
| Publication: | Name: Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness Publisher: American Foundation for the Blind Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Health Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 American Foundation for the Blind ISSN: 0145-482X |
| Issue: | Date: Dec, 2009 Source Volume: 103 Source Issue: 11 |
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| Accession Number: | 215786849 |
| Full Text: |
If it is true that the older you get, the quicker time flies, then
I must be very old! It seems like yesterday that we were planning the
Louis Braille Bicentennial Celebration, recruiting manuscripts for the
2009 Special Issue on Literacy, and generating the language for the call
for papers for the 2010 Special Issue on Vision and the Brain. Since the
end of the year is traditionally a time to slow down and reflect a bit
on the year's activities, please bear with me as I reminisce. The highlight of the year was the celebration of Louis Braille. Susan Spungin led this effort and, as usual, did a stellar job, even from the distance that is provided by retirement. Dr. Spungin recruited the authoritative voices of the field and, with the opportunity to write on a variety of interesting topics related to braille, she and her authors did a truly excellent job of both educating and entertaining the readers of the journal. Thank you, Susan, for your hard work. Life would not be any fun if it did not include periodic challenges and roadblocks. Other than the untimely passing of my predecessor Alan Koenig, 2009 presented JVIB with its biggest challenge since I became editor in chief. The financial realities of the worldwide economic downturn became apparent when our biggest group of readers, members of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind or Visually Impaired (AER), found that AER's board had eliminated JVIB as a membership benefit. For the journal, this resulted in a substantial loss of readers. With every challenge comes the need to think creatively, and those of us who produce JVIB had to quickly devise a strategy to retain AER members as subscribers. We initiated a massive communications campaign and an unprecedented low individual subscription rate as part of these efforts. The journal's loyal readers have continued to benefit from the scholarship published in the pages of JVIB by becoming individual subscribers. I hope you are one of them. The December editorial would not be complete if I did not say thank you to all the individuals who made the journal possible this year. I would like to simply acknowledge that although my name sits atop the masthead, I am humbled when I consider of the amount of time and energy that is required of so many people to produce the journal. I begin by thanking the authors and peer reviewers. Since approximately 50 percent of the authors who submit their work for peer review never see their manuscripts published in JVIB, I honor all authors for their diligence in continuing to write and submit their work to JVIB. The peer reviewers--288 in number, according to the current database--toil quietly and anonymously simply because they want the field of visual impairment and blindness to have the best literature possible. From AFB Press, the unwavering support of Maureen Matheson, Natalie Hilzen, Rebecca Burrichter, Ellen Bilofsky, and Jenese Crosdale is always appreciated. The journal is blessed to have a very creative and dedicated chair of its Editorial Advisory Board, Stuart Wittenstein. I thank my associate editors, Maureen Duffy, Jane Erin, Carol Farrenkopf, and Ellen Trief, who manage each manuscript with a steady yet delicate touch. An editor is only as good as the person with whom they work the closest. Kyoko Fujiwara is, without question, the glue that holds it all together. I can't imagine doing this job without her by my side. This year, I especially appreciate and thank JVIB's subscribers. In fact, all of us who contribute to the journal thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support. The journal has a number of exciting opportunities on the horizon and it is my hope that sometime during 2010 some of these will come to fruition and I can have the pleasure of announcing them to all of you. Until that time, happy holidays and happy reading to each of you. DUANE R. GERUSCHAT, PH.D. EDITOR IN CHIEF |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |
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