From Ice Age to Global Warming: How Special Issues Have Evolved at AMS

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From Ice Age to Global Warming How Special
Issues Have Evolved at AMS

• Michael A. Friedman
• American Meteorological Society
• 17 May 2010
• Council of Science Editors Annual Meeting
• Session 11 Hot Topics and Cool Collaborations
  Special Issues and Collaborative Publishing

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The Ice Age (or rather, Paper Age)

• Old style, inefficient workflow
• All issue-based and user-driven
• Result Long publication times that authors and
  publishers dislike

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Old Workflow
PEER REVIEW
Workshop results
Accepted manuscripts
PRODUCTION
Manuscripts awaiting editing
Manuscripts awaiting publication
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Result

• Ticked off S.I. authors who have had to wait for
  all to be accepted
• Ticked off other authors who have had to wait
  longer for publication
• Ticked off journals staff who had to put aside
  tasks to handle many S.I. papers
• Thrown off production time metrics to accommodate
  special manuscripts

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Causes

• Having to deal with the special papers as a
  discrete set, both in peer review and production
• Having special issues be a regular issue of the
  journal

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Climate Change (or Electronic Age)

• Electronic workflow has allowed us to address
  both of these causes
• Early online releases allow results to be cited
  prior to formal publication
• Handled and published as individual papers, and
  gathered online as a SPECIAL COLLECTION
• Can still have a hard copy print of entire
  special collection, but not a regular issue of
  journal

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New Workflow
EORs
Individual submissions
Accepted manuscripts
Individually published
Optional (digital) print run
Gathered online
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Result

• Much more efficient
• No disruption of regular workflow (processed
  article by article)
• Faster publication of all manuscripts from
  integrating S.C. papers as part of regular
  process
• (gt happier authors and publishers)
• More flexibility in defining new collections
• Allows collections associated with multiple
  journals

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More Results

• Increased flexibility and possibilities
• Instead of outside in creation of collection
  themes, can also have inside out collections
• Best of AMS
• Topical reviews of emerging disciplines
• Etc.
• Take advantage of digital printing for small
  print runs

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Now where?

• Build on our Personalized Online Library member
  benefit
• Personalized journals (saved searches and virtual
  bookshelves)
• Print on demand capability
• Author retrospectives
• Class packets
• Broader collaborations with other societies

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Thank you!

• Links for more information
• AMS Journals Online home page http//journals.amet
  soc.org
• AMS Special Collection Index http//journals.amets
  oc.org/page/collection
• AMS Personalized Online Library info
  http//journals.ametsoc.org/page/pol

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Michael A. FriedmanJournals Production
ManagerAmerican Meteorological Society45 Beacon
St.Boston, MA 02108617-227-2426, ext.
255mfriedman_at_ametsoc.org