Newswise — AMES, Iowa, and RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (Oct. 31, 2013) – Scientists’ Bookshelf, which had appeared in print for nearly 60 years, is now an online-only publication (http://scientistsbookshelf.org/), its publisher, the nonprofit Krell Institute, announced today.
Like its print predecessor, which had been a staple of American Scientist magazine since 1943, the new webzine presents in-depth reviews by field experts and science writers on books in the physical and life sciences, technology, biomedicine, math, policy and the history and philosophy of science.
“When we learned last year that Sigma Xi (the scientific honor society and American Scientist publisher) was eliminating its uniquely comprehensive book review section, we took steps to preserve this important and independent voice in science book commentary,” said James Corones, Krell Institute president. “We signed a cooperative agreement with Sigma Xi to keep the Scientists’ Bookshelf name alive, then we got to work building the site.”
“We are really excited to partner with Krell and promote Scientists’ Bookshelf,” said Jerry Baker, executive director of Sigma Xi. “This allows us to participate in a new venue promoting scientific book publishing.”
The website’s editor is science journalist Bill Cannon, who edited the print book review section for American Scientist from 1998 to 2000, introducing such popular features as “nanoviews,” brief reviews that have been adapted for the online version as “nanoraves.” Yet, Cannon said, “our signature will continue to be long reviews and essays that the scientific community and other readers of science books are finding harder and harder to come by.”
Corones said Krell has funded the start-up costs and initial maintenance of the site, with in-kind support from Sigma Xi. “For the long term, we’ll be relying on a mix of support – mainly sponsorship and advertising – from publishers, foundations, agencies and the scientific community.”
Since its inception in 1997, the Krell Institute, a 501(c)(3) corporation, has provided technical resources, knowledge and experience in managing media and technology-based education, including two of the most successful fellowships offered by a U.S. science agency. Krell is named after the advanced civilization from the classic 1956 science fiction movie “Forbidden Planet.”
RSS