Recent trends of biomedical offprint distribution.
The total number of substantive articles published in a random group of U. S. biomedical journals increased 34 percent from 1957 through 1962 and 52 percent from 1952 through 1962. Likewise, the total number of subscriptions increased 28 percent from 1957 through 1962 and 47 percent from 1952 through 1962. On the other hand, the rise in the number of preprints and reprints distributed reached its peak from 1952 to 1957 (37 percent); by 1962 the rate had declined, with an increase of only 4 percent from 1957 to 1962 and thus of only 43 percent for the entire period, 1952 through 1962. Replies from publishers indicate that at present the provision of preprints and reprints is merely a service in the case of almost 90 percent of the journal titles and not an enterprise undertaken for significant profit. The cause of the decline in offprint distribution should be investigated.
D003308:Copying Processes; D008511:Medicine; D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D011643:Publishing; D014481:United States