Letter from the Editor: Farewell 2020


LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 

Farewell 2020 
Kenneth J. Varnum 

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND LIBRARIES | DECEMBER 2020  
https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v39i4.13051 

I don’t think I’ve ever been so ready to see a year in the rear-view mirror as I am with 2020. This 
year is one I’d just as soon not repeat, although I nurture a small flame of hope. Hope that as a 
society what we have experienced this year will exert a positive influence on the future. Hope that 
we recall the critical importance of facts and evidence. Hope that we don’t drop the effort to be 
better members of our local, national, and global communities and treat everyone equitably. Hope 
that as a global populace we continue to get into “good trouble” and push back against 
institutionalized policies and practices of racism and discrimination and strive to be better.  

Despite the myriad challenges this year has brought, it is welcome to see so many libraries 
continuing to serve their communities, adapting to pandemic restrictions, and providing new and 
modified access to books and digital information. And equally gratifying, from my perspective as 
ITAL’s editor, is that so many library technologists continue to generously share what they have 
learned through submissions to this journal. 

Along those lines, I’m extending my annual invitation to our public library colleagues to propose 
a contribution to our quarterly column, “Public Libraries Leading the Way.” Items in this series 
highlight a technology-based innovation from a public library perspective. Topics we are 
interested in could include any way that technologies have helped you provide or innovate service 
to your communities during the pandemic, but could touch on any novel, interesting, or promising 
use of technology in a public library setting. Columns should be in the 1,000-1,500 word range and 
may include illustrations. These are not intended to be research articles. Rather, Public Libraries 
Leading the Way columns are meant to share practical experience with technology development 
or uses within the library. If you are interested in contributing a column, please submit a brief 
summary of your idea. 

Wishing you the best for 2021, 

Kenneth J. Varnum, Editor 
varnum@umich.edu 
December 2020 

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