A NA LVTICA L CHEMISTRY EDITORIAL December 1964,Voll. 36, No. 13
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY Director of Publications, Applied Journals, A C S , Richard L. Kenyon Director of Business Operations, Applied Journals, ACS, Joseph H. Kuney Executive Assistant to the Llirector of Publications, Applied Journals, ACS, Rodney N. Hader Assistant to the Director of Publications for Editorial Development, Applied Journals, A C S , William Q. Hull Director of Editorial Research, Applied Journals, ACS, Robert F. Gould Editor, LAWRENCE T. HALL:EW
EDITORIAL HEADQUARTERS Washington, D. C. 20036 1155 Sixteenth St., N. W. P h o n e : 202-737-3337 Tel.etype WA 23 Associate Editor: G. Gladys Gordon Assistant Editors: Anne Conrad, Arnold E. Levitt, Virginia E. Stewart Editorial Assistants: Patricia Banko, Josephine Pechan Production Staff- Washington Joseph Jacobs ( A r t Director) Production Staff-Easton, P a . 18043 20th and Northampton Sts. Associate Editor: Charlotte C . Sayre Assistant Editor: Elizabeth R. Rufe
REGIONAL EDlITORIAL BUREAUS Eastern Manager: Walter S. Fedor (New York) N E W YORK, N. Y. 10017 733 Third Ave. PHILADELPHIA, Pa. 10103 1725 John F. Kennedy Blvd. PITTSBURGH, Pa. 15230 530 William Penn Place M i d c o n t i n e n t and W e s t e m Manager: Arthur Poulos (Chicago) CHICAGO, Ill. 60603 36 South Wabash Ave. CLEVELAND, Ohio 44114 1367 East Sixth St. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. 94104 57 Post St. LOS ANGELES, Calif. 90005 422 South Western Ave. HOUSTON, Tex. 77002 1121 WalkerSt. Washington Southeastern WASHINGTON, D. C. 20036 1155 Sixteenth St., N. W. European FRANKFURT/MAIN, West Germany 32 Groase Bockenheimerstraase LONDON, W. 1, England 77 South Audley St.
Contributing Editor: R. H Muller Advisory Board: R. N . Adams, G. H. Ayrea, J. E. Barney 11, J. C. Giddings, R. F. Goddu, P. B. Hamilton, G. A. Harlow, F. W. McLafferty, M . W. Mallett, G. HL Morrison, J. D. Neusa, W. H. Reinmuth, Irving Shain, J. K. Taylor, J. C. White Advertising Management R E I N H O L D PUBLISHING CORP. (for Branch Offices, see page 129 A)
Significant Scientific Literature WITH of the page charge by scientific publiTHE GENERAL ADOPTIOS
cations, authors are finding it relatively easy to publish their scientific findings. Journals having a high standard and a reviewer system may force the authors to publish in journals of less prestige. Journals published by private concerns may not have a page charge but rely on high subscription rates to achieve a profit. The limited subscribers are mostly private and industrial libraries. The pressure to publish regardless of quality is largely created by the government sponsored project. It is natural that requests for additional grants are conditioned on what rejults were obtained with past requests. If publication in any journal can be listed, it creates a favorable impression. While a tough editorial policy is prerequisite in a prestige journal, it does not prevent publication by journals seeking doubtful material to turn into a profit. All this makes it more difficult for the readers and abstract journals to keep up with the flood of scientific publications. Is there any remedy for this aspect of free enterprise? Certainly none that could be called democratic. It is conceivable that with the computer storage of information which would be coded and stored in a national center of information, some measures could be taken to eliminate trivial contributions to our scientific literature. This would require a staff with sufficient scientific background to make such decisions but it would give scientific stature t o such a national center which would be comparable to a journal with a reputation for well-reviewed scientific contributions.
e VOL. 36, NO. 13, DECEMBER 1964
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