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Ann Thorac Surg 2000;70:1-2
© 2000 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
a Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Address reprint requests to Dr Edmunds, Editor, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 5000 Ravdin Court, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19104–4283; Phone: (215) 349-5542; Fax: (215) 614-0416
e-mail: ats{at}mail.med.upenn.edu
This is the first issue of The Annals edited by the Philadelphia office. Tom, Carol, Heide, and I hope you won’t notice. The transition is over, made smooth and efficient by the cheerful dedication of Tom, Carol, Elsie, Carol, Tammy, and Cookie in St. Louis. We deeply thank them for ourselves, our publisher, our advertisers, and for all of you.
During its stay in St. Louis The Annals grew from 7,784 subscribers to 10,313, from 1,214 pages a year to 4,628. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons grew from 2,285 members to 4,241 (Fig 1). Most importantly, both The Annals and the Society became international institutions and pioneered information transfer by electrons. This growth and these initiatives have charted our course for the future. What’s next?
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Thus The Annals must change, not for the sake of change, but as a part of it. It must experiment in developing content and in presenting the writing in attractive, usable formats. Successful experiments will keep the journal connected to our authors and readers, who we hope will include every practicing thoracic surgeon in the world.
As we contemplate the future, some realities deserve emphasis. The Annals is a participatory scientific journal: all subscribers are potential authors, reviewers, readers and advisors to the editor. Your ongoing input is the heart and soul of the journal; the editor is your servant. Your participation is vital.
What opportunities and hazards does the Internet present? This question has prompted a lively debate among communication scholars, journal editors, publishers, institutional officials, librarians, Internet providers, politicians and, of course, lawyers [2–6]. Electronic publishing is here and eventually will become the primary means of information transfer [7]. The vitality and virtuosity of instant, ubiquitous distribution; instant access and retrieval; rapid topic searches; dynamic graphics and sound; frequent updates; interactive dialogue; unlimited capacity; and eventually lower costs are too seductive to resist. Meanwhile the publishing industry needs to resolve several thorny issues, among which are establishing standards, agreeing on transmission protocols, perfecting search engines, defining copyrights, resolving competing technologies, developing permanent archives, defining liability, and getting paid [6, 8]. At the moment, most of these issues do not directly involve The Annals and CTSNet, but some do.
Getting paid is a constant concern for The Annals, Elsevier, CTSNet, and Highwire Press. Revenue traditionally comes from subscribers and suppliers who advertise and sponsor our scholarly activities. The relationship with suppliers is symbiotic: suppliers want to sell; The Annals and CTSNet need the subsidy. In the past surgeons who used various products determined what was bought; for the most part this is still so, but increasingly nonsurgeons are preempting purchasing decisions or demanding justification for requested items. For a lot of very good reasons besides The Annals and CTSNet, thoracic surgeons deserve to be involved in and influence buying decisions. If we are, our patients will receive top quality goods and suppliers will continue to develop their wares, display them in our journal, and sponsor our scholarly efforts.
Another issue concerns peer review. The Annals is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original material from credible sources for the benefit of our readers and their patients. Peer review has long been established as the primary method of assuring originality and credibility of scholarship, and it is used as a measurable criterion for recognition within our profession and for promotion within academic communities [2, 8]. Peer review is not infallible, delays dissemination of information, and is expensive, but it serves to assure quality in terms of content and format. Peer review is also a filter—some say censor—but nevertheless, it "credentials" the published article [2]. Electronic publishing offers the possibility of peer review by either no one or by anyone willing to post comments. Does The Annals need peer review? And what impact would the absence of peer review have on our practices?
The editor and reviewers are not the only guarantors of quality articles from credible sources. Authors are the primary guarantors, but real or perceived pressures in the competitive environment of cardiothoracic surgery nurture the devil’s temptations. Duplicate or near duplicate publication, plagiarism, and salami publication (slicing up an article into multiple offerings) are shortcuts to a long, fluffy bibliography designed to fool promotion committees and hoodwink peers. Although the editor and reviewers exercise reasonable prudence, authors control quality and credibility, and The Annals reflects their success.
Electronic publishing magnifies the problems of quality and credibility and introduces new problems. With only limited time available how does a busy surgeon separate the good stuff from the not-so-good stuff and how does he or she find the good stuff in a haystack of information [1, 4, 9]? For authors seeking recognition or promotion how will the quality of their contributions be assessed and how will they attract others’ eyes to work buried within that haystack? Are "hits" on an article the same as "careful reads"? Eventually these and other user issues created by the new medium will be resolved; for now, however, peer review and self-policing by authors ensure author recognition, quality, and originality in The Annals.
How long will print editions of The Annals continue and does it matter? The Annals is about information and communicating information. Evolution developed sound as the principal means of communicating information between individuals. Basically, writing is visual sound. This relationship, discovered in the city of Erech (Uruk) in Mesopotamia about 3300 BC, is known as the rebus principle [10]. Apparently, an unknown Sumerian realized that a picture could represent both an object and the spoken sound designating the object. After progressive refinements, multiple picture/sounds became multisyllabic words, and symbols for those sounds (the alphabet) replaced pictures. The connection between writing and sound is fundamental to all written languages; therefore, the method used to produce writing—whether stylus, quill, printing press, or computer—is secondary to the information the writing contains. The quill passes, but the information endures. We need not be concerned whether The Annals is published in print, on the web, or both; the value is information, not the cart that brings it.
Thus the mission of The Annals is to continue to publish original information of high quality from credible sources for the benefit of patients. This should not change, except to get better.
References
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  R. Gerrah, A. Brill, S. Tshori, A. Lubetsky, G. Merin, and D. Varon Using Cone and Plate(let) Analyzer to Predict Bleeding in Cardiac Surgery. Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann, August 1, 2006; 14(4): 310 - 315. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 S. Pothula, V. T. Sanchala, B. Nagappala, and M. A. Inchiosa Jr. The Effect of Preoperative Antiplatelet/Anticoagulant Prophylaxis on Postoperative Blood Loss in Cardiac Surgery Anesth. Analg., January 1, 2004; 98(1): 4 - 10. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 L. H. Edmunds Jr Tuning a Stradivarius Ann. Thorac. Surg., May 1, 2001; 71(5): 1407 - 1408. [Full Text] [PDF]
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