UKSG, the international organisation that connects the knowledge community, has announced a new name and new joint editors for its flagship journal, Serials: connecting the information community. The new name, Insights: connecting the knowledge community, was chosen from 125 submissions to a competition for UKSG members, won by Jane Harvell, Head of Academic Services at the University of Sussex Library. 

The title change will take effect from volume 25, 2012, while the new editors, Lorraine Estelle (Chief Executive of JISC Collections) and Steve Sharp (Resource Acquisition Team Leader at the University of Leeds) will co-edit the journal from volume 24, 2011 and have already delivered their first issue (online now).

This first issue under the new editors helps to demonstrate the rationale for renaming the journal; it includes coverage of issues as diverse as usage statistics, open data, e-books and image collections, along with an innovative ‘day in the life’ feature drawn entirely from Twitter postings. “Serials has, for some time, been expanding into a much broader remit than its name would imply,” explains outgoing co-editor Dr Hazel Woodward, who is to become Chair of UKSG’s Publications Subcommittee. “When we surveyed our members, it became clear that while people understood the evolution in scope of UKSG as an organisation, they didn’t necessarily recognise that the same was true for Serials – hence it was becoming inappropriately pigeonholed.” 

Incoming co-editor Steve Sharp continues, “Partly for that reason, we wanted to involve the members in renaming Serials. We’re delighted that in Insights: connecting the knowledge community, we have found a title that so aptly reflects the role of the journal today, as well as our vision for its future.” The organisation will work with members and suppliers throughout the remainder of 2011 to ensure a smooth transition to the new title. 

UKSG would like to publicly record its thanks to outgoing editors Hazel Woodward and Helen Henderson for their many years of dedication to the development of Serials. We look forward to ongoing success as Insights: connecting the knowledge community!