News from the Managing Editor: Looking Ahead

In the spring of 1997, the St. Louis Fed published the first issue of Bridges. In the winter of 2009-2010, we embraced the digital format and included even more information in each issue with the addition of online-only content. Now, 15 years after its launch, we are pleased to announce the transition of the newsletter to an online-only publication, beginning with the Spring 2013 issue.

Over the years, our intention has remained the same—to provide an informational tool for bankers, community development organizations, representatives of state and local government agencies and others interested in community and economic development issues and initiatives. This will not change with the transition from print to digital. In addition to our editorial staff, we also receive input from external advisers and expert contributors, with the goal of delivering the most helpful, useful and accurate content available to a broad range of readers.

By concentrating our efforts on a digital publication, we can take advantage of the many benefits of this electronic format, some of which include:

• Expanded coverage — While the length of an article will remain important in terms of overall balance, the amount of coverage we can offer will not be limited by the space constraints of print.
• Links to external web sites — Rather than having to physically go to a different source, cross-reference links can be followed effortlessly with a few clicks of a mouse.
• Supplemental materials — A digital format allows the addition of supporting materials (e.g., sidebars, primary documents) to any article.
• Multimedia — Technology encourages the use of multimedia content (e.g., videos, interactive illustrations) to bring stories to life and to provide greater depth and understanding.

Going digital also means going green—eliminating print offers a more environmentally friendly service to our readers.

In order for you to continue reading Bridges in a timely manner, we need to ensure that we have an accurate way to alert you when issues are available. Please take a moment to provide your e-mail address by visiting www.stlouisfed.org/subscriptionspage so you won’t miss a single issue.

We enthusiastically look forward to this next chapter, and thank you very much for your continued support of our newsletter.

Glenda J. Wilson