Letter from the Editors

It is with regret that I share that Marisha Kelly, ITAL's Assistant Editor, will not be extending her term of service beyond the end of her current appointment (June 30). Marisha is the first Assistant Editor of the journal and has been invaluable in shaping the role and making the journal better. Over her three-year term, we have expanded the contributed content of the journal and managed an ever-increasing number of submissions to the journal. It has been a pleasure working with Marisha and I wish her the best in her future endeavors. A call to Core members (the Assistant Editor must be a member of ALA and Core) interested in succeeding Marisha will be shared in early April.

Public Libraries Leading the Way Column

We are still accepting proposals for the "Public Libraries Leading the Way" column, a regular contributed feature in this journal that highlights IT in a public library setting. If you are involved in public libraries and IT, please consider submitting a proposal for a 1,000-1,500 word column for the second half of 2025 and beyond.

IN THIS ISSUE

In this issue, we have four peer-reviewed items:

* "Enhancing Discoverability: Transitioning a Board Game Collection from a LibGuide to a CollectionBuilder Site," by Hanwen Dong, Perri Moreno, Tyler Rodrigues, and Julia Stone, details a project in which the authors built a custom site for a board game collection using CollectionBuilder.

* "The Evolution of Library Automation Systems in Chinese Academic Libraries," by Guojun Li and Xiaohua Qiu, is an overview of the development history of automation systems in Chinese academic libraries and provides a forward-looking analysis of their future trends.

* "Chatbots and Scholarly Databases: Impressions from Trying Out Scopus AI," by Leticia Antunes Nogueira, explores Scopus AI, which allows users to engage with Scopus in natural language rather than via Boolean operators.

* "The 2023 Rhysida Ransomware Attack on the British Library: Prioritisation, Expertise, and Funding Issues," by Frank Houghton, Michael Winterburn, and Ken Oakley, details what is known about the attack and how such breaches might be prevented in the future.

This issue also includes our regular columns:

* "Weed Your Budget: Visualizing an Academic Library's Financial Position," by Lydia Harlan, describes the use of business intelligence technology to provide a transformative impact on financial operations of libraries. (From the Field)

* "Open for Who? Reality of Knowledge Access in the Prison Industrial Complex," by sam hidde tripp, discusses shortcomings in access advocacy when it comes to individuals within the prison industrial complex. (ITAL &)

* "Intergenerationally Accessible Makerspaces: How Carroll County Public Library's Exploration Commons Serves Our Local Senior Population," by Ian Trawinski, Lisa Picker, and Andrea Berstler, describes how a dedicated makerspace has attracted a surprising user community. (Public Libraries Leading the Way)

Kenneth J. Varnum, Editor [email protected]

Marisha C. Kelly, Assistant Editor [email protected]