In the last issue of PNAS, we announced that we would be one of the charter participants in PubMed Central, an on-line repository for peer-reviewed primary research reports (see www.PubMedCentral.nih.gov). We are pleased to announce another online initiative that will also be of great benefit to authors and readers. Starting soon, PNAS articles will be published electronically at www.pnas.org in a new feature called “PNAS Early Edition” as soon as they are accepted and final author changes are made.
At the outset, release of articles will be weekly, progressing to daily as we gain experience with this process. The date of online release will be posted on the web site and will be the official date of publication.
Papers may be published online 1–4 weeks before they appear in print. We will be able to offer electronic publication in as little as 5 weeks after acceptance to authors who return their proofs quickly.
These two innovations, publishing online in PNAS Early Edition and in PubMed Central, complement each other. The former speeds up publication; the latter increases the audience for the science.