Education Libraries, Volume 37, Number. 1-2, Summer-Winter 2014 4 E d u c a t i o n D i v i s i o n G u e s t E d i t o r i a l 40 th Anniversary of the Special Libraries Association Education Division By Gladys I. Dratch and Deborah S. Garson This year, 2014, celebrates the 40th anniversary of the SLA Education Division. As the Division was founded in June 1974 at the Annual Conference of the Association in Toronto, Canada, it was appropriate that we celebrated the 40th Anniversary at the June 2014 conference in Vancouver, Canada. In 1974, the Division’s founding mandate was to address the needs of “university education libraries, federal education libraries, school district professional libraries, education association libraries” as well as a wide variety of other libraries engaged with the field of education. Since 1974 the field of special librarianship has experienced and undergone transformations driven by an increasing technologically based global world. Librarians as professionals in the field of education ranging from schools to organization to academe have and continue to require the professional growth, networking, and shared vision of purpose offered by the Special Libraries Association, and specifically, the Education Division. The Education Division has a strong history of commitment to its membership’s professional development. This commitment is explicitly recognized with the Division’s 1991 establishment of the Anne Galler Award for Professional Excellence. Further evidence of the Division’s commitment is evidenced in its outreach to members, conference programming and activities, and by its peer-reviewed publication, Education Libraries. The premier issue, v.1, no.1, fall 1975, was published in Massachusetts. It was titled the Bulletin with a subsequent title change to Education Libraries. Guest Perry, Houghton Mifflin Company, was the editor, and Malcolm Hamilton, Harvard Graduate School of Education, was the Division’s chairperson. The first issue’s editor and chair’s remarks attest to the excitement of the officers and membership in launching a new initiative, a publication by and for the Education Division. With time the publication became peer-reviewed, online, and open access. The mission of Education Libraries has been and continues to be its contributions to knowledge and understanding of the field of education and the role of education librarians. The contents of the first issue in fall of 1975 included a bibliography on Teachers Teaching, a membership directory, an index of advertisers, and a book review. The first issue’s contents document the information important to the profession at the time. A membership directory was in support of outreach and networking. The bibliography on teachers teaching was to inform members on an important topic in the field. Education Libraries issues also addressed specific themes. The fall 1978 issue was titled “Women and Education.” It included articles on research trends in educational equity for women, a literature review of feminist perspectives, and a book review of “Women in America: A Guide to Books, 1963-1975” by Barbara Haber. This issue’s editorial took pride in noting the dramatic growth in circulation of what Education Libraries, Volume 37, Number. 1-2, Summer-Winter 2014 5 was once the Education Division bulletin into the “Cinderella Education Libraries.” The editorial claim that the publication filled a need no other publication was meeting is as true in 2014 as it was in 1978. Just as its Cinderella transformation in the 1970’s was due to the hard work of Division members, and not a fairy godmother, today’s publication continues to transform our work lives through contributors, editors, reviewers, and readers. Over the years Education Libraries has addressed topics of staff development, the virtual library, standards and assessment, core collections in education libraries, and specialized collections currently culminating in the winter 2013 issue which provides internet resources and articles on marketing and outreach. The publication’s content is documented testimony to current and central ideas and issues in education librarianship. With the 40th anniversary issue we decided to select from articles published over the years that reflect the transformation of education librarianship’s focus and mission. This issue also highlights the Education Division’s past chairs with individual profiles. We pay tribute to the journalistic integrity of our editors over the years. Their individual and collective influence has added extraordinary value to our professional lives. This issue is a salute to all of them and their efforts, and we thank them deeply for all their contributions. Their voices were and are crucial to everything that makes Education Libraries a vibrant and valued publication. Gladys I. Dratch Emeritus Monroe C. Gutman Library Harvard University Deborah S. Garson Head of Research and Instruction Services Lecturer on Education Monroe C. Gutman Library Harvard University