New Web technology transforms American Chemical Society’s online journals

New delivery platform and software capabilities provide state-of-the-art online experience for information discovery, interactivity and research productivity for scientists and professionals worldwide

WASHINGTON Nov. 17, 2008 — The Publications Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) (http://pubs.acs.org) has announced the launch of a dynamic new online resource for the hosting and delivery of the Society’s flagship Journal of the American Chemical Society and its preeminent portfolio of peer-reviewed scholarly journals covering the major subdisciplines of chemistry as well as interface areas of scientific inquiry.

Developed by ACS in conjunction with software partner Atypon Systems (www.atypon.com), the new online offering, powered by Atypon’s Literatum technology, provides a fully integrated Web platform rich with new features and functionality, customized to deliver a more robust electronic journal and to enhance the online reading experience for ACS customers and their end-users.

Building on the ACS’s reputation for editorial excellence and the Society’s commitment of service to its members, authors, and readers around the globe, this new technology initiative reinforces the Society’s position as one of the leading innovators in scientific publishing. The new Web site delivers enhanced searching and browsing capabilities, better user navigation in aid of reader comprehension, and improved administrative features for librarians and other institutional customers.

Responding after an external beta testing period that involved a group of ACS customers, Terry Bucknell, Electronic Resources Manager at the University of Liverpool, remarked, “I would just like to emphasize what a fantastic, state-of-the-art site this is. It combines rich functionality with clarity and simplicity. Congratulations all round. I look forward to our users being able to get their hands on it!”

A Flash-based demonstration available from the ACS Publications Web site at http://pubs.acs.org/flashdemo showcases many of the features and benefits of the new site. The following are but a few of the new capabilities:

• Enhanced PDF and Full-Text HTML functionality (e.g. Related Content Recommendations, Figure Browser, Forward Citation listings)
• Enriched Tables of Contents (e.g. Figure Thumbnail Previews, Multiple Abstract and Citation Downloads, Navigation to CAS SciFinder^® Resources)
• Advanced Search Interface (e.g. Simple and Advanced Search Capabilities, Tabbed Results for Research Articles and News & Features Content, Filters Column to Refine Results, Related Snippets on Displayed Content)
• New Home Pages for All ACS Journals (e.g. Content Highlights Area, Search by Citation, Graphical Abstract Highlights, Syndicated Articles displayed from Chemical & Engineering News)
• Abstract-Level Display for ACS Legacy Archives  (e.g. Improved Navigation Options from Archive Content, First Page of Articles Displayed within New Abstract Template for Increased Functionality

The development of this platform has transformed and made more flexible our ability to display and deliver the high-quality peer-reviewed research information published by ACS in service to the community of scholars worldwide,” said Brian Crawford, Ph.D., President of ACS Publications. “This is a significant accomplishment, and one that is integral to our commitment to be the world’s most trusted source of the comprehensive knowledge needed to cultivate the chemists of tomorrow.”

“The innovative approach taken to this expansion of our Web publishing capabilities has been achieved not only through our partnership with Atypon Systems, but also the ingenuity of ACS’ own IT staff, and the dedicated talents of the entire Journals Publishing Group, led by Senior Vice President Dr. Susan King,” Crawford added. “This initiative continues to benefit from close collaboration among information professionals throughout the Society, including our colleagues at Chemical Abstracts Service, with whom we share the ACS goal of providing indispensable information resources for chemists and other research professionals worldwide.”

Reflecting on the nearly two-year endeavor required to build the new platform, John Sullivan, Chief Information Officer for the ACS, said, “Technology innovation and measured change are essential to the long term success of any organization. Looking back to 2005, it was clear that the Society needed to update and replace the internal information systems and underlying technology that had supported the online delivery of journals ever since the inception of the ACS Web Editions in 1995.”

“Culminating with this release of our new Web delivery platform, we have now realized our vision of an end-to-end digital publishing workflow,” he said. “This transformative effect on our processes puts ACS in a very strong technology position moving forward, and promises to facilitate many more publishing innovations, such as richer linking and integration of ACS Web Editions journals content with the Society’s diverse information resources, and with community-based Web 2.0 interactive online services of the sort made possible by the ACS Member Network.”