I wanted to share with my colleagues at Auburn a really exciting moment for me last summer.  Some of you know that, for the last almost 30 years, I have been involved in various ways in the paper version of the Christian Periodical Index, published by the Association of Christian Librarians.  I was the editor for eight years, including the first years I was at Auburn.  Most of my friends were dragooned into helping proofread the typed copy.

 A few years after I turned the editorship over to another person, software was programmed especially for this process.  For the last ten years or so, all volunteer indexers submitted their work in this electronic form, but the product was still produced in paper.  ACL has been investigating an electronic format for several years and finally in June announced this new product called CPI-E.  It is a SilverPlatter TM product mounted for us by BCR (Bibliographic Center for Research) in Colorado.  BCR is the equivalent of Solinet in that area. We began taking subscriptions in July and within a month were at the “break-even point” financially.

 This was personally very exciting for me.  In the September 1999 issue of The Christian Librarian, I organized an interview article with input from past and current editors, the representative from BCR who attended our June conference for the ribbon cutting, and others from the CPI Editorial Committee.  If anyone is interested in more detail, I have a copy of that issue in my office.