As I sit drafting this letter on September 21, 2001, it is not possible for me to write this introduction without reflecting on the events of September 11, 2001. First, let me thank all of you from around the world who sent messages of concern and goodwill in the hours and days following the attacks. These were very comforting messages for all of us here at JSTOR, and we appreciated them greatly.

Union Square, which is a park over the subway stop closest to our New York office, and the station many of us at JSTOR use, was turned into a kind of shrine following the tragedy. Thousands came to the park posting tributes to the people lost and missing. It was a very moving and emotional place. On September 20th, as I emerged from the subway, I noticed that people were taking down many of the posters, banners, placards, flowers, etc. A park police officer asked if I would help, and explained that it was about to rain, and that all of the tributes were going to be ruined. They wanted volunteers to get them down so that they could be preserved. As much as I wanted the materials to stay, because they were really the property of those who had posted them there to honor their loved ones, it was also obvious that they would be lost if they were not removed. Like life, they weren't going to be there forever. The Museum of the City of New York will preserve the materials to help us remember the supportive sense of community that bloomed in the wake of the attack. Several of us at JSTOR were thankful to play even a small role in this act of preservation.

In the wake of these awful events I hope we will all look for opportunities to help a neighbor, a friend, or a stranger. We cannot change what has happened, but we can try to overcome the horror of it through countless individual acts of caring and kindness.

Kevin M. Guthrie

Last updated on September 8, 2006