Some of you will have noticed changes in The Daffodil Journal. Those of you who have not seen it yet, page through the December 2012 issue, when it arrives. There is not only more color but it is scattered throughout the issue instead of being ganged together on only certain pages. This and the next March issue are trials to see if the membership will approve moving to an “all color” format. Thanks to modern technology, printers no longer charge by the number of color pictures printed, but by the number of pages that have color. The increase in cost, however, is modest. In part, some of this additional cost can be borne by funds that the ADS already possesses, are earmarked for education and need to be spent to justify our non-profit status.
An all color journal that has pictures on or near the pages where they are discussed is easier to read and actually makes the editor’s job easier too, as she will no longer need to juggle where articles and pictures are to be placed. It allows us to blow up the pictures to full page size if deemed desirable, because we are no longer limited by the few pages for color that we had previously. If we move permanently to all color you can expect the journal to evolve and change like anything else. These changes will reflect both the editor’s and readers’ preferences. It is our hope that the journal will become a more powerful tool in recruiting and conserving membership.
In addition, in the ADS, we have one of the strongest web presences of any society. The publishing industry, itself, is in the midst of a gigantic upheaval as society moves from a paper to electronic records system. Freed from paper restraints, journals are no longer confined to a set number of pages and some specialty plant societies are already producing ejournals. When one does that, the whole world can see and read the issue at the moment of publication without waiting for the vagaries of the postal delivery system. We see this already in the American Orchid Society and the North American Rock Garden Society journals. We expect this trend to continue, and moving to an all color system is the first of several steps in that direction. However, we are going to be quite tentative before moving solely towards epublication.
Let us know what you think about the changes in the journal.
I received my mail copy of The Daffodil Journal yesterday. I’m so happy that ADS was able to share some of the beauty of the New Zealand daffodil season by including so many color photos in this issue! Congratulations, also, to Loyce McKenzie, the Journal editor, for taking on the full color challenge (with not much notice) and producing such a wonderful issue.
If you’re not a member of ADS, the “Join the ADS” button at the top right of this page will allow you to join today. You don’t want to miss this issue of The Daffodil Journal or the next one! Loyce has great plans for the second trial full color issue approved for March 2013!
Friends,
The December issue of The Daffodil Journal is beautifully done. Loyce McKenzie has done, and continues to do, a marvelous job as editor of The Daffodil Journal. Yes, I do hope that we can go an all color journal ASAP.
Ted Snazelle
As of yet, I have not received my journal. I look forward to see the new changes.
I can understand the prediction of future ejournals. There are still many people who do not have computers. For me, I so enjoy reading the journal books as hard copies. They are especially comforting in the winter as bedtime reading and dreaming of Spring daffodls..