| We are very pleased that the next issue of Museum Anthropology Review, volume 2, number 1, has just been published. Thanks go to everyone who contributed to this issue, especially to the authors of the two peer-reviewed articles that anchor it. These papers are the first articles to appear in the journal. The many materials gathered under the banner of the first volume were rich and diverse, but publishing full fledged peer-reviewed articles is another exciting significant step in MAR's development. These papers were accepted for publication last year and I am grateful for the author's patience as we reformatted the content from 2007 for re-publication in volume and issue format within the Open Journal Systems framework as part of IUScholarWorks Journals. While we are quite happy with the journal's new format, this work, and the technical challenges of getting the journal up and running in OJS, took more time than we would have liked. I think that these fine contributions will prove worth the wait. Jin Feng's article explores the form and local religious significance of a beautiful set of temple murals from the village of Dang jia shan in China's northern Shaanxi provence. The article's file size is relatively large (33MB), but it features a stunning set of color images. To be able to freely offer Professor Feng's article, with these wonderful photographs, to any interested reader with internet access speaks directly to the advantages of open access publishing for museum anthropology and all of the fields that border on it. C. Kurt Dewhurst, Narissa Ramdhani, and Marsha MacDowell's report on an important bi-national heritage sector enhancement project in South Africa is similarly rich. Given that the paper will be of special interest to museum professionals working in South Africa and in other locales where access to expensive toll access professional journals is particularly limited, open access publication again holds special relevance. At the time of its release, this issue's content is being published in PDF format only. We hope to also prepare and publish the content in HTML format soon, but we are still working on developing the right strategy for this purpose within the Open Journal Systems framework. As always, we hope that visitors to the journal will consider registering as readers. Its free, it offers the chance to get Table of Contents sent via email, and it greatly helps us demonstrate growing support for the journal. Click the "For Readers" link on the right side of the main page for information on registering. Volume 2, Number 2, to be published later this year, will feature several additional articles along with a large number of reviews in all genres. We look forward to sharing this next issue with the journal's growing readership. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to making MAR a success. |
ISSN 1938-5145