DECEMBER 1997 VOLUME 10, NUMBER 12 © Copyright 1997 by the American Chemical Society
Editorial Voluntary Page Charges Beginning with manuscripts submitted after January 1, 1998, authors will be requested to pay a charge of $30 per page for papers published in Chemical Research in Toxicology. This reflects the desire of the Editors and the Editorial Board to more equitably distribute publication costs. Currently, they are borne exclusively by library and personal subscribers. The ACS works very hard to keep the cost of subscriptions as low as possible so that its journals represent good value. High subscription prices are a particularly acute problem for libraries which have seen the purchasing power of their budgets shrink as they struggle to maintain subscriptions to a broad base of chemical information. This limits their ability to adopt new journals which ultimately restricts the dissemination of research results. Chemical Research in Toxicology began publishing in 1988 and has enjoyed the full support of the ACS from the beginning. We have an excellent computer system for tracking manuscripts that helps us maintain one of the fastest turnaround times in scientific publishing. This computer system was developed by the ACS and is the best editorial management and tracking system in publishing. The ACS subsidizes a good portion of the cost of publishing color figures in the Journal and enthusiastically supported our move to change the cover design for every issue. When the Editorial Board felt it was time for Chemical Research in Toxicology to go monthly, there was not a moment’s hesitation on the part of the ACS. And since September of this year, we and all the other ACS journals have been available electronically over the
S0893-228x(97)00484-0 CCC: $14.00
Internet. As this system develops, a number of very attractive features will be incorporated into the electronic version that will enhance the published articles. Despite these substantial improvements to Chemical Research in Toxicology, a library subscription to the Journal has increased from only $269 in 1988 to $453 in 1997. During this time period, the number of pages published has increased nearly fourfold and Chemical Research in Toxicology has consistently had the highest impact factor of all primary research journals in toxicology. The Editors and Editorial Board propose to distribute the cost of publishing the Journal a bit more equitably so we can continue to innovate and deliver a high quality product at a reasonable price. Thus, we join our senior ACS brethren such as the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, and Biochemistry in requesting voluntary page charges. The page charge will be requested after a manuscript has been accepted for publication so payment will never be a factor in the editorial decision. Authors who are unable to pay the charges can simply fill out a waiver. The Editors and the Editorial Board discussed the institution of page charges extensively and unanimously recommended their adoption to the ACS. We feel this will help us continue to provide high-quality research results to the broadest possible audience. Lawrence J. Marnett Editor TX970484L
© 1997 American Chemical Society
