We felt that posting a comment regarding the cessation of the Public Library Journal would be appropriate at this time.
First and foremost, let us assure you that the PLJ Editorial Board have campaigned and worked very hard to try and
avoid this turn of events, and that a range of alternative options and ideas have been put forward to the new (and previous) PLG Committee for exploration in order to sustain the Journal in some way.
As Michael Stead (Chair of the Public Libraries Group) has said, PLG is changing and the offer to members will be
changing. PLG income has been needed to pay for the Journal in recent years, and this income is largely no longer
there. PLJ Editorial Board have tried hard to reduce Journal costs in recent years whilst maintaining access but print
production costs have become increasingly difficult for Group finances to cover.
The Group felt that ceasing publication of PLJ was a necessary course of action at this stage. An edition was due back in
the summer and we have been unwilling to ask for articles over recent months, when we knew the future of PLJ was not
secure.
The PLJ Editorial Board have offered support to the PLG Committee during this transition period.
Thank you for the comments and messages that we've received since the announcement. We appreciate that many
people have given a great deal of time and effort to the Journal over the years. PLJ, as has been said, was a
voluntary undertaking on the part of the Editor, Board and contributors, and we are proud of what this commitment
has delivered over the years.
Best regards,
Simon Smith, PLJ Editor
Mark McCree, Chair of the PLJ Editorial Board
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