From the time in 1958 that this journal began as the Journal of the Institute of Wood Science until publication was taken over by Maney in 2010 and by Taylor & Francis in 2015, it was published in-house. As a result, the journals from 1958 to 2010 are not searchable even though copies of individual articles are easily obtainable from IOM3 library services. Digitization of these journals is in hand, but my first step was to catalogue all the articles. This task took six months not only because there are quite a lot of articles but because I found myself reading many of them! I was struck immediately by the quality of laboratory work being undertaken and the quality of photographs, particularly micrographs, taken before the advent of digital cameras. The journal also published a number of historical papers that were truly fascinating. A history of wooden bridges and a history of hyperbolic paraboloid timber roofs are two that come to mind. So, I would like to remind readers that IWPJ is pleased to consider the broadest range of papers especially if they arouse natural curiosity.
Somewhat ironically I also noted that concern about the lack of training for the wood industries has been a topic that reoccurs every 15–20 years; articles on that topic would be most timely. Meanwhile, in keeping you abreast of research and developments it is worthy of note that we are a truly international journal with contributions at present from 28 countries.