Editor William K. Macdonald presents several essays on contract archaeology, or archaeological work done by companies or agencies on sites that typically are about to be destroyed by construction. Thomas J. Riley reports on contract archaeology and the academic world; James E. Fitting writes from the perspective of a state archaeologist; Macdonald and Alex H. Townsend report on problems in corporate archaeology; Townsend writes about how contracts are acquired; and Steven A. LeBlanc reports on the need for regions to have an overall research design and to follow best practices in hiring, technological improvements, and storage.