IUCr 1996 Triennial Report - Commission on Journals

The journals of the Union, Acta Crystallographica, the Journal of Applied Crystallography, and the new Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, were all published on or close to schedule during the triennium. The number of papers published during the period increased in Acta Cryst. to 3911, and in J. Appl. Cryst. to 459. The number of papers in J. Synchrotron Rad. from its inception in late 1994 was 65. Median publication times for Full Articles were up slightly for Sections A and B, to 6.1 and 6.7 months, respectively, and Section D, inaugurated in 1993, had an average publication time of 5.5 months during the triennium. The median publication times for regular structural papers in Section C decreased to 6.2 months, mainly as a result of the installation of new computer and software facilities, centralized checking procedures, and an expanded editorial staff in Chester, all of which combined to clear a backlog of papers. The number of electronic submissions to Section C using the CIF format increased over the triennium to 85%. The median publication time for Full Articles in J. Appl. Cryst. increased slightly to 6.6 months, and for J. Synchrotron Rad. during its first full year of publication, the median publication time was 2.6 months.

New initiatives undertaken during the triennium included the naming of editors for the individual sections of Acta Cryst., including the new Section D which was first published in 1993. Editors appointed were A. Authier for Section A, Fundamentals of Crystallography, F. H. Allen for Section B, Structural Science, S. R. Hall for Section C, Crystal Structure Communications, and J. P. Glusker for Section D, Biological Crystallography. As Chairman of the Commission on Journals, C. E. Bugg remained as Editor-in-Chief of the Acta Cryst. series. A. M. Glazer continued as Editor of J. Appl. Cryst. and Co-Chairman of the Commission.

In response to the synchrotron radiation community's need for a dedicated journal, the Journal of Synchrotron Radiation was instituted with an Inaugural Issue in October 1994. J. R. Helliwell, S. S. Hasnain and H. Kamitsubo were appointed Editors, and an international Co-editorial board was assembled. The number of papers submitted was below projections, but it is expected that with an expanded editorial board and plans to publish a special issue of conference proceedings in the next triennium, the journal will attract more submissions.

All journals received new cover and contents format designs during the period. Acta Cryst. focused on expanding its Lead Articles to include more subjects of current interest to the crystallographic community and the introduction of Topical Reviews. Three new sections in J. Appl. Cryst. were introduced, one on CIF applications, one on crystallographic teaching and education, and one on cryocrystallography. Revised Notes for Authors for the individual Acta Cryst. sections, J. Appl. Cryst. and J. Synchrotron Rad. were published annually. Free offprints were reinstated for Section C papers, putting this section of Acta Cryst. in line with the other journals.

Special issues published during the triennium included the conference proceedings for Direct Methods of Phasing in Macromolecular Crystallography (Section D), 5th International Conference on Crystallization of Biological Macromolecules (Section D), Structure-Based Drug Design (Section D), and New Trends in Small Moiety Crystallography (Section B).

With the addition of the J. Synchrotron Rad. editorial board, the Commission on Journals reached nearly 90 members at the end of the triennium.

The editorial staff in Chester was expanded during the triennium to handle the increasing submissions of papers created by the new initiatives, and also to manage the increased use of electronic submissions and in-house checking and archiving of structural data. The enthusiasm and dedication of the entire Managing Editor's staff are gratefully appreciated during what was a challenging triennium that resulted in journals of exceptional quality.

12 April 1996 C. E. BUGG, Chairman

A. M. GLAZER, Co-Chairman

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