A N A L Y T I C A L CH EM1S T R Y WALTER J. MURPHY, Editor
The 1955 Review Pattern years ago ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY published its first annual review;. The January 1949 issue covered 29 articles reporting aiid critically evaluating the outstanding fundamental developments recorded in the literature not only in 1948 but also during the World War I1 years, when great strides in analytical chemistry were accomplished under stress and strain. These were the years when outstanding analysts teamed together in the synthetic rubber program. These were the years when many of the country’s outstanding analytical chemists mere strangely silent ahout their work, and it was not until the atom bombs were dropped over Japan that they could disclose their relationship with the RIanhattan Project. In the February issue of 1949, 11 articles covered the newer applications of aiialytical developments in specific industrial fields, thus providing a very comprehensive background of reference information. The completeness of the two reviews is attested by the fact that the one in January on fundamentals required 170 pages, while the review on nely methods and techniques in industrial fields employed 89 pages. Very carefully prepared comprehensive bibliographies, of course, added immeasurably to the reference value. The service rendered by these review was quickly demonstrated by the demand for combined reprints. Obviously, analysts found it desirable to have such a reprint on the desk or on the bench for ready reference. The popularity of the reviews has grown by leaps and bounds during the past 6 years. In 1953 a plan of rotating the reviews was initiated and the industrial applications review was published in the January issue of that year, with the fundamentals review appearing in the January issue of the current year. That there has been no decline in research in the fundamentals of analytical chemistry is shown by the fact that the 1954 review covering just 2 years required 181 pages. This total is easily the equivalent of a 500- to 600-page book. These invaluable reviews are possible only because of the cooperation of a great many top-flight experts, who as a part of their responsibility to their profession spend hours and hours reading and evaluating hundreds of articles published each year in their respective fields of specialization. One author reported recently that just the man-hours required to produce the bibliography alone added up to a solid week of 8-hour days. With but relatively few exceptions, the authors selected in 1948 to prepare the reviews are still serving, a tribute to SIX
the project and ample reason why the 26,000 subscribers to ASALYTICAL CHEMISTRY are particularly indebted to these men mho are giving so unselfishly of their time in the interest of the profession. I t is difficult to envision any worth-while project that cannot be further improved. And so it is with the reviews. After a careful study of the way analysts use them and noting the large sale of reprints, a decision has been made to publish the reviews, which are really now biennial ones, as a Part I1 of the April issue. Of course, each subscriber mill receive both parts of the April number of the journal. Thus the review on industrial applications will come in 19.55 to subscribers entirely separated from the rest of the journal. The news of this important change in the method of presentation was enthusiastically received by the Advisory Board of ASALYTICAL CHEMISTRY at its most recent meeting. It was felt that the new plan will make the reviews even more valuable as handy “workbooks” for analysts everywhere. Essentially the same plan will be followed by Industrial and Engineering Chemistry in 1955 in presenting its annual reviews. A further service to subscribers aiid readers will be incorporated in Part I1 of the April issue and will be repeated annually. In addition to the review, Part I1 will include a directory of apparatus, instruments, chemicals, and other products of special interest to analysts. Thus the user of the review will also have at his fingertips a most valuable purchasing reference. Every individual who buys scientific apparatus, reagent chemicals, research chemicals, laboratory equipment, etc., or mho helps to select or specify these tools will find it very easy to obtain the names of the makers and suppliers of such items who are numbered among the large list of advertisers in ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY. These companies have placed their ads in this publication to increase the sales of their products and services. At the same time much of the information carried in the advertising pages is of definite value to analysts who must put to work the latest techniques and developments. A further great benefit of the advertising is that the revenue thereby made available to the ACS is used to help defray the publication of new information vital to modern industry. Partly as a result of advertising revenue it has been possible to keep up to date the publication of scientific and technical information in one of the fastest moving fields in scienceno small achievement in a decade of sharply rising publication costs. 1675
