Journal of Literacy Research

As the Journal of Literacy Research (formerly Journal of Reading Behavior) commemorates its 30th anniversary, this article offers a collection of reflective essays written by past presidents of the National Reading Conference, the journal's parent organization. They write with reference to the year they served as president of the organization and consider such issues as the nature and character of the organization at that time and the major research topics under investigation. The compilers of the essays attempt a synthesis of the reports that focuses on recurrent themes and issues as the organization and the field of inquiry have evolved over time.

The National Reading Conference has a long and honored history spanning a period of nearly 50 years. This article delves into the birth, childhood, and adolescence of the organization with direct attention given to the germination of the Journal of Reading Behavior.

Each volume/issue of the past 30 years of the Journal of Reading Behavior/Journal of Literacy Research, the journal of the National Reading Conference (nrc), was hand-searched to examine trends in literacy research. Perusal of research articles and special features of the journal revealed trends across decades in authorship, participants, methods, themes, and topics. Findings include that the major themes of text, tests and assessment, and instruction shifted in importance over the three decades. Unlike results of an earlier review of nrc yearbooks, the nrc journal has contained more reports of quantitative than qualitative research. Recommendations are made to conduct more integrative reviews and qualitative studies, including special populations, varied ethnic and cultural groups, and second-language learners.

The Social Science Citation Index was used to gather data concerning the frequency with which articles published in volumes 1 to 25 of the Journal of Reading Behavior have been cited in professional journals. The nature and range of those citations were also examined. These data were used to track the impact of the journal over the first 25 years of its history and to identify the 30 most frequently cited articles. These were analyzed by content, and the top 10 were examined in greater detail. A summary and a recommendation are offered.

Preparing this anniversary issue strengthened our connection to our predecessors who have served as editors of the journal. As a group, they represent an impressive array of distinguished scholars and leaders in the field. In commemoration of their service to the journal and to the field, we were able to contact some of them. We asked them to respond to two questions: What was most memorable about your term as an editor? What was going on in the field at that time that affected the journal or your editorship? Their independent responses struck us as being extraordinarily contemporary to our own experiences and sentiments. We hope that the following brief sampling of their comments provide a glimpse into the challenges and rich rewards of the editorial experience.

- The Editors