ACS Publications - Journals

Living up to their reputation as “most trusted, most cited, and most-read,” ACS Journals continued their preeminence in citations and Impact Factors while continuing to develop new and enhanced content and delivery options.

The 2011 Journal Citation Reports® were released by Thomson Reuters in June 2012.  ACS journals continued to perform extremely well, receiving more than 2 million total annual citations and posting a #1 ranking in either Impact Factor and/or Total Citations in 16 categories.

With 2012 marking the first full calendar year of publication for ACS Macro Letters and ACS Synthetic Biology, ACS Publications also launched an early editorial and marketing introduction of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering prior to its subscription-based availability in 2013. David T. Allen of the University of Texas at Austin was named editor in April 2012. The latest journal to secure Governing Board approval is ACS Photonics and Optoelectronics, with publication planned for 2014.

In a strategic collaboration between ACS Publications and ACS Membership and Scientific Advancement, the Society significantly expanded its journal subscription options for members.  These ranged from offering all members a pre-determined number of free article and chapter downloads from ACS journals, archives and book collections, to new “Passport” collections that duplicated access rights previously limited to institutional libraries. In a survey conducted six months after its introduction, more than 54 percent of respondents said that this new member benefit made them more likely to renew their ACS membership in future years. 

The Web Editions platform saw record web usage in 2012, delivering over 80 million full text article downloads.  The platform now provides 130 million free abstract views a year to over 20 million unique visitors.  Some 200,000 researchers have chosen to register with ACS and receive subject specific email alerts to new material posted on the ACS Web Editions within hours of publication. The ACS Mobile app—available on both Android and iOS devices—has more than 40,000 active users who downloaded over a million abstracts.  This is the result of moving the app into the “freeware” category and the explosion in web-capable smartphones and iPad devices in use in 2012.

ACS Publications continued to serve an expanding customer base in Asia, South America, Europe, and the Middle East.  A contingent of ACS editors and Publications staff made a two-week editorial outreach visit to India, where they met with more than 3,000 scientists and students to discuss emerging trends in chemical science and the publication of scientific research in ACS journals. 

The Publications-initiated ACS on Campus (ACSoC) program also expanded in 2012.  With new content, ACSoC is now a broader, cross-divisional outreach and skills development program of the Society, serving research and author communities. In 2012 nearly two dozen sessions were held across the U.S., Europe, Asia and South America.