Another publishing cycle of the KGS draws to a close with the completion of the this November/December issue of the Bulletin.  We are steadily working towards having the majority of our readership view the Bulletin on-line.  If we can increase  this percentage each month, we can slowly reduce our printing and mailing costs.  Our advertisers off-set the majority of our costs, but with reduced revenue from advertising in recent years, we need as many members as possible to help us in reducing the production costs.  Most of the time the on-line version of the Bulletin will contain photos IN COLOR that are not put in the printed Bulletin due to a shortage of space.  Please call or write the KGS if you are able to receive your Bulletin in this manner.  E-mail notice can be sent to one of the addresses on page 13.  E-mail must not be in HTML format if sent to KGS e-mail addresses.  One can also e-mail yours truly at whansen@southwind.net.  One can view past issues of the Bulletin at our website www.kgslibrary.com.

     The most important news I want to emphasize in this issue is the election of the 2003 KGS Board.  The candidates for office are shown on pages 14-16 of this issue.  Ballots for the election will be mailed about November 1.  You must return your votes before December 1 for tabulation.  Historically, the KGS does not receive a high percentage of out-of-state member votes.  I realize that many of our membership do not interact with many of our Wichita area members, but I urge each of you to review the candidates and vote for the ones that you feel are most qualified to serve the membership.

     The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays will come and go before I write this page again.  I'll take this opportunity to wish each of you safe travels and happy times the rest of this year.  Please be careful traveling.  Make safe decisions when driving.!  I draw attention to safety because 2 young people who traveled the same road I travel from home to office have lost their lives in less than a weeks time.  At least one of the accidents was the result of choosing poorly.

      I don't want to close on a somber note, so I will use the rest of my space to urge the membership to support the Kansas Geological Foundation's efforts to fund the scanning project of the KGS Library's data for the Robert F. Walters Digital Library.  Many of you have already been contacted directly asking for your support.  Please consider giving personally or in memory of a deceased colleague.  This digital library, when up and running on the web, will enable all of us to have access to the library's data after hours and on week-ends.  Those out of state members working Kansas will be able to access the data they need from their office computers without the expense of travel to Wichita.  I do not at present know any precise dates for the initial offering of this service, but it will hopefully be around the first part of 2003.  Watch the Bulletin and website for additional details.

 Again, I wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year!

Bye for now, 

Wes

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