Editors' Note

Over the past few years, a number of readers have asked, "Why doesn't the Bulletin review films and exhibitions?" To put it another way, "Why does the Bulletin review only books?" As films, CD-ROMs, websites, and exhibitions (many of which may be used for teaching) proliferate, the editors believe that it's time to devote space to other types of information, which are of interest to the Bulletin's readers, and often used in teaching. Russell Maulitz began the process of opening the Bulletin to new media with his column, "NetNotes," which discussed the developing Internet and its usefulness for historians. Now, with this issue, we inaugurate another section in the Bulletin: "Media Reviews," which will cover mainly museum exhibitions and films. Michael Sappol has agreed to be the section's general editor, and we're grateful for his assistance. He writes:

Historians of medicine are doing serious and important work right now in the media of exhibitions and films. Some of these feature original research, some feature source material and databases, others are primarily derivative or interpretive. But whatever the case, these media now attract much larger audiences than the typical academic article or monograph. We need to think critically about these new media in the same way that we think about books and articles.

The collection of reviews in this issue is a start. We're refining our criteria for selecting exhibitions for review (in the future, we'll choose only those with catalogs or websites, so that readers who can't visit the exhibition can nevertheless experience it in some direct way). The editors hope that readers will keep Dr. Sappol apprised of exhibitions in their cities that would be likely subjects for review (his e-mail address is: sappolm@mail .nlm.nih.gov). And, as always, the editors hope that readers will send us their responses to the new section, with suggestions and advice.

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Each year, the Spring issue marks a change in the membership of the Advisory Editorial Board. In 2006, the editors welcome David Barnes, Anne-Emanuelle Birn, Chris Feudtner, and Christopher Hamlin to the board. We also thank departing members Howard Kushner, Ann LaBerge, James Mohr, and Karen Reeds for their help with the journal over the past three years.