Page 46 - Volume 9, Issue 3

Search Committee for Editor of Acoustics Today
Shortly after the ASA learned of the death of Dick Stern (who died on June 19, 2013), the ASA President, Jim Miller, on June 24, appointed a com- mittee to search for a new Editor. The appointed Search Committee consisted of Brenda L. Lonsbury-Martin (Chair). Marjorie Leek, Martin Siderius, Gary Elko, and Michael G. Heinz, with the Editor-in-Chief (Allan Pierce) as an ex- officio member. The Committee subse- quently held several tele-conference meetings and drafted a new job description and an advertisement. The results were posted online at the site <http://acousticalsociety.org/content/e ditor-acoustics-today>.
The ad that was posted is as fol- lows:
Editor, Acoustics Today
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) seeks applications for the position of Editor for its popular magazine, Acoustics Today. This is a contract position; the Editor will not be an employee of ASA. Acoustics Today is a full-color, quarterly print publication that provides technical and Society information to ASA members. The magazine includes tutorials, technical articles, position and commercial advertisements, and highlights the activities of members, Technical Committees, and Standards. The mag- azine is also reproduced in the ASA’s Digital Library shortly after a print copy becomes available for members and non-member subscribers to down- load for their personal or professional use. The Editor is responsible for plan- ning the content of the magazine, solic- iting and receiving articles and other materials from authors, writing and rewriting materials, and coordinating with the publisher. The Editor, who reports to ASA’s Editor-in-Chief and the Executive Council, attends the spring and fall meetings of the Society, and acts as an ex officio member of the Acoustics Today Advisory Committee. Duties associated with this position are expected to require an average time commitment of two days per week. A general knowledge of acoustics is required along with demonstrated
writing ability. A broad awareness and appreciation of publication production processes is desirable. The ASA’s Publications Office provides adminis- trative and clerical support. Candidates should submit a cover letter describing their interest in and qualifications for the position, curriculum vitae/resume, and the names and contact information for at least three references. Nominations of qualified individuals are also welcome. Applications and nominations should be sent by e-mail to: Chair, Search Committee for the Editor of Acoustics Today, asa@aip.org. Review of applications will begin in September, 2013, and continue until the position is filled.
It is anticipated that the Committee will interview selected applicants at the ASA meeting in San Francisco in early December 2013. It is possible that the position will be filled by the beginning of January.
In the meanwhile, the ASA President Jim Miller appointed Allan Pierce, the Editor-in-Chief, to serve as Acting Editor. Pierce anticipates being responsible for the content of the October 2013 and January 2014 issues, as well as being partly responsible for the content of the current issue. A goal has been set for getting the magazine back on schedule by the October issue.
A candidate for the ASA Press logo
Springer logo
Acoustical Society to partner with Springer to co-publish books
At the recent meeting of the Executive Council of the Acoustical Society in Montreal, it was announced that David L. Bradley, acting with the authority of his being the ASA President, had signed a Publishing Agreement with Springer. This Agreement, between Springer Science and Business Media and the Acoustical Society of America, Inc., was signed by the ASA on May 29, 2013. The Agreement was the outgrowth of a motion brought to the Executive
Council by the ASA's Books+ Committee during the meeting in Kansas City during the week of Oct. 22 to 26.
The Books+ Committee, chaired by Kenneth Foote, had been discussing ways in which the ASA might publish new books for some time. For the most part, the books published by the ASA up until now were reprints of older books that had previously gone out of print. While the ASA had published a few gen- uinely new books in the recent past, there was a feeling that the ASA could not do this at the level that seemed appropriate for the ASA without the involvement of a commercial publisher. It was noticed that many of our sister organizations had done such partnering (such as the IEEE with Wiley, and the American Chemical Society with Oxford University Press). There was also a feeling that the ASA as a self-con- tained publisher could not be attractive to authors because it could not do an adequate marketing of new books.
Consequently, the Committee began discussions with professional publishers, and after several publishers showed interest, proposals were solicit- ed. At the Kansas City, the Books+ Committee discussed the various options, and voted on accepting a pro- posal that had been put forth by Springer. The recommendation was put forward to the Executive Council as a formal motion. The Executive Council approved the motion, and left the matter of negotiating a suitable agreement up to the President and the Executive Director, with possible con- sultation with Chair of the Books+ Committee.
The agreement that was eventually signed was close in form to that which had been approved by the Books+ Committee. Authors will submit book proposals to an ASA Editorial Board, and the board will give feed-back and consider the merits of having the books published with the ASA logo and the ASA Press trademark. Once the board has decided that publication is merito- rious, the proposal will be passed on to Springer, which will negotiate with the author on eventual publication. Authors will be able to collect royalties, just as they would be able to do for any
Acoustical Society News 45