Pattern Recognition Letter (PRL) is the official journal of IAPR.  It publishes concise articles in a broad range of areas that roughly match the interests represented in the IAPR Technical Committees.  In 2004, PRL published 16 issues, including 3 special issues (Remote Sensing, Video Computing, and Discrete Geometry for Computer Imagery).  Due to the strong link between PRL and the IAPR, IAPR sponsorship has been considered one of the key features to accept a proposal for a special issue devoted to a conference.

On April 1, 2004, the journal moved to a new editorial system, which handles all submissions, reviews, editorial decisions and revisions over the internet (except for special issues). On the same date, Tin Kam Ho took over the Editor-in-Chief responsibility from Eric Backer, one of the two founders of the journal, who retired after 22 years of service as Managing Editor.  Currently, Tin handles the regular issues of PRL, while Gabriella Sanniti di Baja continues to be the Editor-in-Chief for the special issues.

The electronic editorial system (EES) enabled a fast editorial workflow, but, at the same time, the convenience encouraged a sharp increase in submissions.  The large volume as well as the enhanced scope of coverage made it necessary to invite many new members to the editorial board, including three area editors (Gunilla Borgeforrs, Horace Ip and Carl-Fredrik Westin) who are helping with a wide range of topics.  PRL is committed to a fast review process, but we expect that it will take a few more months to balance the demand with proper editorial resources for the desired speed.

A broad-reaching journal with a rapid review cycle is desirable to many of us.  We have all experienced frustration from long publication delays and not being able to attend as many conferences as we wish.  PRL intends to serve this need.  We believe this can be done, and we know there are other scientific communities where this has become a tradition.  But to achieve our goals, we need help from the community.  Specifically, we ask for:

1. More volunteers to sign up as reviewers.  The journal depends critically on speedy and high-quality reviews.  A broad base of reviewers is absolutely necessary to support this.  By being a reviewer, you can contribute your opinions to the community, and can benefit yourself as well in seeing the latest developments and other perspectives on a subject.  We ask anybody interested to send your contact information and area preferences to patrec@elsevier.nl.

2. Responsible submissions that make a genuine and substantial contribution to the field.  The quality of the journal is a function of the quality of the submissions.  PRL intends to publish papers that communicate the latest, significant results to a broad audience.  Poor quality submissions or plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, not only damage the journal’s reputation, but draw precious resources away from deserving papers.  We hope members of our community can enjoy and treasure this resource and do their part by refraining from sending premature works and by observing all professional standards of conduct.

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Pattern Recognition Letters

By:  Tin Kam Ho, Editor-in-Chief