 
9. PUBLICATIONS
A. Polymer Preprints
B. Symposia Proceeding
C. Newsletter
D. Polymer Education Newsletter (PEN)
E. Macromolecules
A. Polymer Preprints
The Division continues to publish Polymer Preprints, started in 1960, twice a year just before each ACS National Meeting. The publication has the largest circulation of any in the polymer field and is considered the largest benefit that the Division offers to its members. A 1989 survey showed that 80% of POLY members joined the Division primarily because of the quality of symposia and availability of Polymer Preprints. A 1993 survey has confirmed that members would agree to a dues increase from $15 to $20 to enable POLY to continue providing all members with Polymer Preprints.
It is not an exaggeration that Polymer Preprints have been referred to as POLY "flagship".
A special third issue was published in 1991 to cover papers presented at the "Polymer Technology Conference" celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Division. That issue included Jesse Hwa's POLY history for the period 1951-1991.
Over the years, each Executive Committee and every Treasurer have struggled with the increasing costs of providing Polymer Preprints to the members, and with the various ways to accommodate these without an adverse impact on other programs: increased dues, increased subscription charge to libraries, change of page size and format, change of paper, securing advertisements, automation and streamlining of production, improved ways of packaging, labeling, and mailing, different delivery format (print versus compact disk versus online access).
From a relatively thin booklet (5.5 x 8.5"), the printed issue of Polymer Preprints grew to enormous volumes (8 x 11.5") containing at times over 1300 pages, with a spine size of 2". This simply corresponds to a phenomenal growth of symposia presented from just 6 in 1960 (about 110 papers) to over 30 in 2000 (over 1300 papers).
POLY has been very fortunate in having dedicated and innovative editors of Polymer Preprints. Bill M. Culbertson served in that capacity from 1982 to 1997 and Robson F. Storey from 1998 to 2000. In 2001, Patrick E. Cassidy and Stanley C. Israel at the Southwest Texas State University will take over the challenge of Polymer Preprints editorship.
Circulation management is an equally important function. In 1979, Frederick Dammont took over that position and over 20 years later is still serving the Division in that capacity with undiminished enthusiasm.
Rob Storey, Robert B. Moore, the Associate Editor, and their coworkers at the University of Southern Mississippi have achieved within a few short years a complete conversion of a basically "manual" process of submitting camera-ready hard copies, followed by conventional printing of the preprints, to an electronic process starting with a submission of soft copy through the Web and ending with a CD and online searchable version.
Part of that process was a partnership with the ACS Publications Division in developing a web-based submission process which was ready for the 219th ACS National Meeting in San Francisco in Spring of 2000.
The March 2000 issue was the first ever published with 100% manuscripts submitted electronically. While the printed copies have been distributed to members, the issue became available online on the Web with a search capability for author's name and words in the title or text.
Beginning in 2001, members will receive access to the Web-based version of Polymer Preprints and a CD version in the mail. Those wishing to continue receiving a hard copy must pay an additional $20.
B. Symposia Proceedings
Innumerable symposia presented before the Division have been published as proceedings by the ACS Books Department and by other publishers. The Division encourages such a dissemination of information for those who are unable to attend the symposia. As incentive, 10% royalties for the first 1500 books sold and 12.5% for books in excess of 1500 are distributed as 50% to the editor(s) and 50% to the Division. The royalty period was extended as of December 1999 from a three-year period to a five-year period, thanks to the negotiations of Frank Blum.
Examples of the ACS Symposium Series volumes from the last decade are:
"Water-Soluble Polymers" (Vol. 467, 1991)
"Fullerenes" (Vol. 481, 1992)
"Colloid-Polymer Interactions" (Vol. 532, 1993)
"Polymers of Biological and Biomedical Significance" (Vol. 540, 1994)
"Polymers for Second-Order Nonlinear Optics" (Vol. 601, 1995)
"Liquid-Crystalline Polymer Systems" (Vol. 632, 1996)
"Photonic and Optoelectronic Polymers" (Vol. 672, 1997)
"Controlled Radical Polymerization" (Vol. 685, 1998)
"Semiconducting Polymers, Applications, Properties, and Synthesis" (Vol. 735, 1999)
"Specialty Monomers and Polymers" (Vol. 750, 2000)
"Controlled Drug Delivery; Designing Technologies for the Future"(Vol. 752, 2000)
C. Newsletter
The Division continues to publish twice a year a Newsletter, edited by the Secretary (Frank D. Blum for 1990-1995; Mary T. Baker for 1996-2001), which contains a wealth of information for POLY members. It invariably starts with the Chair's message, outlining challenges and plans for the current year, followed by various announcements about the POLY awards, special meetings, and topical workshops, detailed Committees' reports, programs for the forthcoming POLY-sponsored meetings, and a very useful listing of other meetings of interest.
D. Polymer Education Newsletter (PEN)
First published in 1980, PEN continues to be published regularly by POLYED.
Since it is primarily concerned with education, it is also highlighted in Section 8, "Educational Activities".
E. Macromolecules
The ACS continues to publish Macromolecules, a journal covering research papers on all fundamental aspects of macromolecular science, started in 1968. While the journal is not an official organ of the Division and has pursued its own independent editorial policies, its Editors, Associate Editors, and members of the Editorial Advisory Board have been prominent members of the Division. Its first founding editor was Field H. (Stretch) Winslow, who was most responsible earlier for starting Polymer Preprints in 1960. Winslow was succeeded as the Macromolecules Editor by Robert W. Lenz in 1995, who in turn is to be succeeded by Timothy P. Lodge in 2001.
|