The International Journal of the Commons congratulates Elinor Ostrom with the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics ("The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel"). Lin's work serves as one of the major intellectual inspirations for the community of scholars and practitioners that our journal intends to serve. By means of her continued active engagement with the journal - as guest-editor, author, and member of our Editorial Board - Lin is a quintessential part of the group of people that is dedicated to guaranteeing the generation and dissemination of cutting-edge knowledge about the commons. The Nobel Committee's choice to celebrate Lin's work, confirms that what the International Journal of the Commons has set out to accomplish - i.e. accommodate the body of knowledge that adds to the understanding and improvement of institutions for the management of resources that are (or could be) held or used collectively - matters!