Once again, this ever-popular Advances in Nursing Science ANS issue topic is packed with stimulating, interesting, and timely articles that carry forward works published in ANS in the past. And just as this traditional featured issue topic carries forward into the future, the journal itself continues to grow and develop in synchrony with the latest developments of our time.
Of course, I am referring to the ever-growing importance of the World Wide Web in every facet of life, including the life and publication of professional journals. The ANS publisher, Lippincott William & Wilkins has developed a remarkably dynamic and future-oriented Web resource for the journal (http://www.advancesinnursingscience.com/). Here you will find the common things you might want to know about the journal-information for authors, a list of future topics and due dates for manuscripts, and information about the current issue. In addition, the Web site provides access to every article published in the journal since the first issue in 1978. If you are an ANS subscriber, this access requires no additional cost. If you are not a subscriber, there is a fee to download article PDF files.
In addition, there are a host of features that will give you instant access to important ANS resources. One of my personal favorites is the "Most Popular" feature. Here you can select to view the articles that have been the "Most Viewed" and the articles that have been the "Most Emailed". This gives you a snapshot of ANS resources that your colleagues and peers are noticing and using.
Another of my favorites is the "Collections" section. Here you will find a number of collections of articles published in ANS that have lasting importance. Examples of the Collections include "ANS Classics," "Ethics," "History," "Feminism," "Research Methods," and a host of other topics that will inspire you to explore further.
Another exciting feature is the "Published Ahead-of-print" section. In this section, you will have access, free of charge, to the PDF version of articles that will not appear in the journal for several weeks or months. And if that is not enough, you will be able to see the full table of contents for the next issue to appear in print.
These Web enhancements to the journal provide readers with important and timely resources. But the real significance of these tools lies not in the bells and whistles of the Web but in the substantive ANS content that the Web leads to. The process of selecting the material to include in the "Collections" made me aware again of the long-standing significance of the scholarship that has been published in the journal over the years. There was hardly an issue, in all 32 years covered by the collections, in which there was not at least 1, and usually at least 2 or 3 articles, that met the standard of "lasting importance." The authors who have contributed to the journal have given it this hallmark status. Their works have made a tremendous difference beyond the simple fact of publishing their ideas. They have left a legacy that will continue for years to come. Access to their work is now only a mouse-click away!! I hope that all of our readers will take full advantage of all that the Web and this amazing journal have to offer--past, present, and future!!
Peggy L. Chinn, PhD, RN, FAAN
Editor