The Balance Point: Celebrating Twenty Years of a Serials Column

A co-editor of “The Balance Point” column looks back at its twenty-year history, its current function and its future in serving the serials professional and scholarly community. The author examines how the column emerged as an idea by then Serials Review editor Cindy Hepfer in 1988 to be a forum on important serials issues for practitioners who might not otherwise write formally on these topics. The column has continued though the 1990s and 2000s to provide that function, as well as serve as an important place where authors are invited to explore serial issues much in need of a balanced approach. The author shares comments from past “Balance Point” column editors, John Riddick, Mary Beth Clack, Ellen Finnie Duranceau, Karen Cargille, Markel Tumlin, and Kay Johnson on how they regarded the column, the rewards and challenges they faced, and how they see the future of this format in an evolving electronic communication milieu.