VIEWPOINT

Transitions and Embracing Change

Patricia K Baskin Editor-in-Chief, Science Editor
Patricia K Baskin
Editor-in-Chief, Science Editor

You’ll have noted CSE’s new logo on the cover of this issue of Science Editor. The logo is a fresh version of the pen in a flask in a circle that CSE has used since 1978. Along with a new logo, CSE recently released a sparkling new Web site and an updated version of the style manual Scientific Style and Format. You can read all the details of these changes in this issue.

Many articles in this issue address embracing change in various facets of publishing: semantic tagging of content for better discovery, implementing ORCID identifiers, moving journals online, developing social-media strategies, developing a new citation scheme, and adding postpublication peer review to the peer-review process. CrossRef is adding features, authorship policies are changing, and the Sunshine Act now requires reporting payments to physician–authors. Publishing continues to change quickly. In the midst of all this change, there are efforts to preserve scholarly content already produced; read the article about the CLOCKSS archive that seeks especially to assure libraries that as content transitions to online, they will have permanent access to the journals for which they have chosen to buy subscriptions.

We’ve added a glossary to this issue to help junior members (and even seasoned publication professionals) to swim through the alphabet soup of acronyms that they hear alluded to in publishing circles. Other special features include the report of publication topics discussed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting and a new Solution Corner focusing on plagiarism detection tools.

With this issue, I also announce a personal transition. This is the penultimate issue of Science Editor under my editorship. When you read this, I will be nearly finished putting together the summer issue, my final issue. However, my main goal as I rotate from editor-in-chief to the presidential track on the CSE Board of Directors will be to continue to find ways to ensure that the editorial model of Science Editor is sustainable and that it continues to provide educational and newsworthy articles for CSE members.

I thank all the members of the editorial team listed on the masthead below, whose photos are shown on page 71 and who have contributed their time and talents to help me bring Science Editor to our members during my tenure.

Viewpoint Spring 2014