The name both of the Society and its journal came under scrutiny on the grounds that both names were inconveniently long and unwieldy in a period when a more modern image was sought for the purposes of publishing the Society s objects. This difficulty was discussed informally and formally and, in October 1979, it was decided to rename the Society The Society for the History of Natural History and to adopt a new title for the journal the Archives of natural history . At first the newly titled journal was published as two parts a year, but later it became a regular three parts with about 424 pages annually. Papers published in the Archives cover all disciplines in the earth and life sciences and are concerned with the publishing history of many well-known books and the lives of naturalists and their books. Historical studies have largely replaced bibliography, although some papers still concentrate on the date of publication of scarce books.
All papers are refereed.
The Society has an international membership and regularly arranges meetings and conferences. Where there are sufficient members to attract an audience, informal local meetings are held.