\title{Journal}
\author{Tyler Mitchell, Editor-in-chief}

\maketitle

\section{Key Accomplishments}

2008 for the OSGeo Journal project\footnote{OSGeo Journal website: \url{http://osgeo.org/ojs}} was a year of testing on several fronts.  After producing 3 exciting volumes in 2007, it was not possible to do much more in 2008.  This was largely due to some decrease in available editors and a few changing positions.  Several new editors, reviewers and proofreaders have stepped forward to help fill the gap.

There was only one new volume produced in 2008 which was focused on producing the first OSGeo Annual Report.\footnote{OSGeo Journal Volume 4 - 2007 Annual Report: \url{http://www.osgeo.org/ojs/index.php/journal/issue/view/25}}.  This edition of the Journal included dozens of reports from projects, committees, sponsors and more.  It was exciting to have all those status reports and ideas available in one place.  I especially like hearing from our sponsors and giving them the opportunity to share their thoughts through this medium.

\section{Moving to the Open Journal System}

Throughout 2008 the previous volumes of the Journal were slowly moved into the Open Journal System  (OJS) \footnote{Open Journal System is an open source journal management project: \url{http://pkp.sfu.ca/ojs}}.  The main purpose for using this software, instead of just the wiki or a static HTML page, was to facilitate receiving articles directly from authors as well as engaging editors, reviewers and proofreaders in a more cohesive manner.  It also supports various communication tools and multi-language translations.  While catching up to speed on using the system, work on the Journal has decreased.  Once editors and reviewers are caught up to speed it should dramatically improve the ability to receive new articles and have them reviewed and edited consistently.

\section{Peer Review}
We struggled throughout 2008 to move forward on, or commit to, handling a peer review process for some parts of the journal.  Using OJS would make this much more feasible and could even handle blind reviews when necessary.  We found there were many authors interested in having their articles peer reviewed, just no process defined to handle it.  Implementing a broad peer review process will be a focus for 2009.

\section{French Editions!}
The OSGeo Francophone Chapter\footnote{Francophone chapter: \url{http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Francophone}} continued to charge ahead with French translations of the Journal.  All four volumes have been translated and available online\footnote{French translations of the journal have not all be ported into OJS, but are available at: \url{http://www.osgeo.org/journal}}.

\section{Sponsors / Advertising}
The Journal is still a volunteer effort, with significant OSGeo staff support from me.  However, every year someone suggests looking at selling advertising or looking for Journal sponsorship opportunities for helping fund printing, staff, etc.  There hasn't been a lot of discussion on where this could lead, but it deserves some mention here just to keep it in the conversation.

\section{Join Us!}
There are lots of opportunities to work on the Journal project with us.  If you are interested in any of the following, please join the Journal {aka Newsletter} mailing list\footnote{Journal mailing list: \url{http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter}} and introduce yourself.  You are also always welcome to contact me directly\footnote{Contact Tyler: tmitchell at osgeo.org} to see if the Journal would be a good fit for your interests and abilities.

We have openings for volunteers to help with:
\begin{itemize}
	\item Writing articles
	\item Assistant Editors or Section Editors to help oversee processes
	\item OJS system management
	\item Graphic design and/or layout in LaTeX system
	\item Reviewing or Editing or Proofreading articles
	\item Promotion to various sources outside of OSGeo
	\item Translation
\end{itemize}