In an effort to move traditional peer-reviewed scientific publishing into the brave new world of online presentation, AIP Publishing has developed a strategic plan that calls for rapid migration of AIP's production facility to fully digital composition. At the same time, we are beginning a number of research projects to develop the techniques that will be required in the electronic future. Most prominent among these new ventures is Applied Physics Letters Online , a project to make our prestigious weekly letters journal available online. The online version provides substantial benefits to researchers in optical technology, semiconductors, surface physics, superconductors, magnetic physics and other disciplines. Articles will be available to research scientists 7-10 days earlier than the printed product would reach them.
Subscribers can search across entire volumes in a single search to locate relevant information.
AIP has molded the appearance of APL Online in response to the wishes of the subscribers to the current print journal. A survey of 650 current subscribers provided a wealth of information about the reading habits of scientists. We identified their needs and structured the product to meet those requirements. Subscriber feedback led to the decision to offer the journal for both OCLC's award-winning Guidon user interface and also the Mosaic user interface that is sweeping the Internet community and generating so much excitement. We can't wait to learn what features of each presentation method merit the most praise.