Chemistry Journals Go Digital-Only

The American Chemical Society, which publishes several dozen academic journals, is moving to end print editions and produce journals only online. The move was noted by the journal Nature in late June after someone sent it a copy of a memo from a chemical-society official, but unfortunately you can’t read the complete report unless you pay a fee to subscribe or buy one-time access.

And that’s precisely the issue—making money online, and losing it in print—that drove the chemistry society’s decision, according to a recent story in Ars Technica, which you can read in full, at no charge. The Web site notes that the journal publisher said, in the memo, that “printing and distribution costs now exceed revenues from print journals.” Plus, scientists seem happier reading online, the society thinks. So this summer, all but three of its journals will become digital-only. No word on whether the society will pass on to subscribers the savings it realizes from buying less paper and fewer stamps. But don’t hold your breath. —Josh Fischman