Changes to the IFLA Journal

With effect from Vol. 29, no. 1 (March 2003), a number of changes have been made in the layout and organization of the IFLA Journal. The aim is to make the journal more attractive, easier to read and easier to use, while still maintaining continuity in its overall appearance.

The cover now carries an outline of the main contents, so that readers can see what is inside before they open it. In the interests of greater readability the layout of the Contents page has been modified, a double-column layout introduced for articles, and the type size and leading have been increased throughout.

The former three-column layout for the News section has been retained, but substantial reports are now to be found in a separate Reports section, set in double column. The News section now has its own separate table of contents, and the layout of the International Calendar has been modified to make it easier to use.

The changes are not confined to the printed version of the journal. Up to now, the PDF version on IFLANET has been presented in four parts: Table of Contents, Abstracts, Articles and News Section. The lack of links between and within these documents meant that it was impossible, for example, to identify an interesting item in the Table of Contents, or the Abstracts, and then go directly to the desired text.

To make the online PDF version easier and quicker to use, it now includes embedded bookmarks to enable readers to go directly to any article, report or news subsection in the issue. The contents are shown as bookmarks in the bookmark pane. To view an item, simply click on its title and the full text will appear.

Both the current and previous online versions of the IFLA Journal are available on IFLANET.

With effect from Vol. 29, no. 1, the IFLA Journal will be published four times a year, in March, June, October and December. The total number of pages in each volume will remain the same as before (320-360 pages) and the fourth issue in each volume will be an extra large issue containing a selection of the best papers from that year's IFLA Conference. The next issue for this year (Vol. 29, no. 2) will include, among other items, a survey of libraries in Germany by Claudia Lux, published as background to this year's Berlin Conference.