Every spring, Inside Self-Storage compiles the data for its new annual Buyer's Guide and Top-Operators List, which gets published as the magazine's August issue. And every spring, we have companies thatfor whatever reasonmiss the boat on these free opportunities. Perhaps they never received the fax or e-mail invitation to participate; or their form got lost in the cybersphere; or the person responsible for handling these things was on vacation, sick, too busy, or baffled as to why he should care.

And this is fine. Except one thing never fails: After we go to print on this valuable resource, we are inevitably contacted by one or 100 companies that say, "How come I'm not in your guide? How come I'm not on your list?" Our response: Hmmmm. Good question! Why aren't you? It's tough to say. Thankfully, there's always next year!

We can even do one betterwell, on the Buyer's Guide anyway. If you are a provider of self-storage products or services, and you were not included in the 2006 print edition of the guide (subscribers, look for it in your mailbox over the next couple of weeks!), you can still be added to our wonderful web version, which is updated regularly. Simply fill out the online form.

If you're a self-storage owner, operator, developer or property-management company, and you're absent from the 2006 Top Operators-List, I'm sorry to say you're out of luck until next spring. The list is ranked by total square footage as provided by each participant, and our automatic database is not equipped to "reshuffle the deck" each time a new operator enters the scene. HOWEVER, you should also fill out an online form, providing company name, fax number and e-mail address. This will allow us to invite you for publication in next year's list.

So keep an eye out for the new 2006 edition, which will circulate to subscribers in the next few weeks! If you're antsy for Buyer's Guide info, our online version has already been updated. The new Top-Operators List will go live on August 1.

But please ... If you missed the boat this year or you find an error in your listing, don't blow your top and send some scathing e-mail. Our editorial team aims to please, and they will be happy to do what they can to assist you in rectifying the situation. Editor Kimberly Hundley can be reached at [email protected]; Managing Editor Drew Whitney can be reached at [email protected]. Be nice to them.