Genetics, Vol. 179, August 2008, Copyright © 2008
Announcement
Dear Colleagues,
Our journal has gone through some significant changes in the past few years. Most were planned, of course, and are decidedly positive; one was unexpected and tragic. We are now carrying the baton of progress handed to us by our esteemed and very dedicated Editor-in-Chief, the late Elizabeth W. Jones. We intend to be good stewards of Beth's legacy of excellence while we search for her successor.
Over the next months we will tell you about several substantive enhancements that have recently been made to our editorial process. Here we describe significant improvements in the appearance and accessibility of the journal.
We are pleased to announce the launch of GENETICS's new website. Nearly a year ago a group of dedicated Genetics Society of America members1 took on the challenge of redesigning the journal website. Under the very capable leadership of Suzanne Sandmeyer, our colleagues responded to the need to redesign the journal's web pages to reflect the journal's steadily increasing standards and to showcase our content with a contemporary aesthetic and clean form and delivery. In 2007, 613 articles appeared in over 7200 pages of the journal, an average of 51 articles each issue. Such volume and breadth demands that our readers be able to swiftly locate and use these articles.
We first watched, listened, and learned: We conducted interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires with authors, readers, non-readers, and GSA members. We then retained one of the finest designers—Elizabeth Kairys Design from San Francisco—with a wealth of experience working with academic journals and nonprofit organizations. We collaborated with the designers on minute aspects of color, usability, readability, and form to provide a website design that reflects the excitement of modern genetics while holding true to our identity, integrity, and our long and illustrious history of "investigations bearing on heredity and variation." To implement our ideas, we partnered with our technology provider, HighWire Press, a division of Stanford University Libraries and a well-respected host of the largest repository of online scholarly content, representing over 1100 journals and 140 scholarly publishers.
Most important, we redesigned the website primarily to highlight what lies between the virtual covers of GENETICS: its content. We've made it easier for you to find, read, and use research articles. The table of contents is organized by section subheading; distinct colors quickly orient the reader. We provided issue highlights with summaries targeted to our diverse readership, hoping to foment the good fortune of serendipity that might arise as a population geneticist happens upon a relevant article published in our Genome Transmission and Integrity section.
With one click, you can access article collections like Reviews, Genetics Education, and Most-Read or Most-Cited articles. The new web interface enables easy downloading of figures for use in teaching. We offer cover-to-cover PDFs for a more accurate historical record. Our color covers—started just two years ago—form a stunning collection of visually arresting images that also highlight individual articles.
We are grateful to Suzannne Sandmeyer and the members of her committee for achieving this significant improvement in our journal. Whether you've not seen us in years or you published an article last week—take another look. We expect you'll be back.
Beginning with the first paper published in the journal—Calvin Bridges's classic demonstration in 1916 that chromosomes carry genes—GENETICS has led the way in our field. From Beadle, Haldane, and Luria and Delbrück to Hartwell, Kimura, and Sulston and Brenner, the leaders of our field have chosen GENETICS to present some of their best work. We expect to attract the papers of tomorrow's leaders, in part by providing an online forum for the presentation of their newest, most-exciting findings.
Visit the NEW GENETICS online at www.genetics.org! Tell us what you think—we welcome your comments and questions as our journal continues to evolve.
Sincerely,
Mark Johnston, Acting Editor-in-Chief
Tracey DePellegrin Connelly, Managing Editor
FOOTNOTES
1 Board of Senior Editors, 2006–2007:
Suzanne Sandmeyer, Chair; Vicki Chandler; Andy Clark; R. Scott Hawley; Mark Johnston; Terry Magnuson; Paul Sternberg. 