Accolades For ACS Journals

AMERICAN Chemical Society journals Biochemistry and Journal of Medicinal Chemistry have been voted among the “100 most influential journals in biology and medicine over the past 100 years” by members of the Biomedical & Life Sciences Division of the Special Libraries Association (SLA), an organization of librarians, information managers, and publishing industry representatives.

“For the library community, what they are saying with this recognition is that these are must-have publications,” says Matt Price, ACS director of marketing and library relations for the publications division. “This essentially is testimony that ACS is really a trusted source of interdisciplinary knowledge.”

SLA generated the list of 100 most influential journals as part of its 100th anniversary celebration. More than 400 journals competed in 64 different scientific categories.

Tony Stankus, director of SLA’s Biomedical & Life Sciences Division and life sciences librarian and professor at the University of Arkansas Libraries, says that Biochemistry and the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry were chosen because they’re trailblazers in their field, they’re heavily cited, and they dominate the science library collections in the U.S. and across the world.

These journals are “proof that ACS never rests,” Stankus says. “Whenever a new field in science opens, ACS will do what it takes to develop a journal that will become a world-class player in the field.”

Biochemistry began publishing in 1962. Editor Richard N. Armstrong says that the journal has “gained a reputation for very rigorous and fair peer review standards and for publishing exceptionally high-quality papers.”

The Journal of Medicinal Chemistry began publishing in 1958. “Recognition by SLA is a testament to the outstanding support provided by the ACS Publications Division and to the high standards of all of its editors over the years,” says Philip S. Portoghese, who has been editor of the journal since 1972. “This is reflected by the fact that it is the world’s leading medicinal chemistry journal in terms of the quality and quantity of original research publications in medicinal chemistry.”

Biochemistry is among the three winners in the biochemistry category. The others are the Journal of Biological Chemistry and Biochimica & Biophysica Acta. The Journal of Medicinal Chemistry is one of two winners in the drug discovery category; the Journal of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics also won.

SLA will reveal its top 10 journal picks, as well as the “Journal of the Century,” during an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on June 16. The complete list of the 100 most influential journals is available at units.sla.org/division/dbio/publications/resources/dbio100.html.