Beginning in 2001, members will receive access to the Web-based version of Polymer Preprints and a CD version in the mail. Members or affiliated who wish to receive a paper copy of Polymer Preprints must pay an additional $20. Payment can be made when ACS membership is renewed by adding Polymer Preprints as an additional product; in subsequent years, members will see that product listed on their dues statement as a renewal product. This new divisional policy applies to all members and affiliates.

The decision to change the preprint policy was made by the POLY Executive Committee. This decision was made with careful consideration of the impact on our members. A major motivation for this policy change was financial. The cost of providing paper preprints to a member of the Division exceeded the amount of dues paid by that member. For several years, the Division has incurred a deficit because of the rising cost of preprints. Our success in programming (more papers), coupled with increasing production costs, put the Division in a precarious financial position. As careful stewards of the Division, the Executive Committee was faced with two alternatives: 1) raise dues, or 2) alter the medium of preprints to be more in line with the level of dues income. Fortunately, the advent of electronic publishing coincided with our financial predicament.

I am proud to say that POLY has been a leading Division in the ACS in the electronic dissemination of information. Hopefully, you have noticed a drastic improvement in the quality of paper preprints. Due to the tireless efforts of Rob Storey and Bob Moore at the Univ. of S. Miss., the Division moved from hard-copy submission of preprints to all-electronic submission. This was a time-consuming effort that required hundreds of hours of volunteer efforts of the preprints staff. The quality of preprints is now equivalent or superior to many print journals.

The decision to eliminate paper preprints as a default membership benefit was not made lightly. The new default membership benefit is web-based preprints AND a searchable CD. We have an obligation to our members to use the dues income wisely and leave some reserve for our other membership activities like national meeting programming and workshops. We understand that members regard preprints as their most valued benefit. For members who still wish paper preprints, we have asked that they pay an additional charge that will cover the costs of printing.

I welcome your comments regarding this policy change.

Best regards, Bill Brittain

POLY Chair-Elect

Voice 330-972-5147

Fax 330-972-5290

Email: brittain@polymer.uakron.edu