Chemical Abstracts celebrates its 75th anniversary - C&EN Global

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ACS News

Chemical Abstracts celebrates its 75th anniversary Chemical Abstracts marked its 75th birthday on New Year's Day. At age 75 CA is not only robust and healthy, it's still growing. CA came into being primarily because U.S. chemists felt that European abstracting journals were neglecting U.S. chemical research. The first issue carried a cover date of Jan. 1,1907. From the beginning, the American Chemical Society charged CA with abstracting the complete world's literature of chemistry. The exponential growth of chemical research and publication in the ensuing years led to a parallel growth in CA and the organization that produces it. The first year's issues of CA contained just under 12,000 abstracts, almost half of them reporting on work done in Germany. Today, Chemical Abstracts Service abstracts, indexes, or cites more than half a million scientific papers and patents annually, and each weekly issue of CA contains almost 9000 abstracts. The 9 millionth abstract to be published in CA appeared in the first issue of 1982. The early issues of CA were edited by William A. Noyes Sr., who was chairman of the ACS committee on papers and publications, from his office at the National Bureau of Standards. Noyes was assisted by two other part-time editors, a secretary, and 129 unpaid volunteer abstractors. The original staff of four has grown to nearly 1200, located in two large buildings adjacent to the Ohio State University campus in Columbus. Today, CAS staff members monitor some 12,000 scientific journals and other periodicals from more than 150 nations, patents issued by 26 nations and two international bodies, and conference proceedings, reports, dis-

Four people—William 86

C&EN Jan. 18, 1982

sertations, and books from around the world in search of new information of chemical interest. CAS document analysts abstract papers and patents published in more than 50 languages. They also thoroughly index each paper or patent using both key words and phrases from the titles and abstracts of the document and highly controlled and structured index entries to subjects covered and chemical substances mentioned. Abstracts now fill about 35,000 pages in CA annually. Weekly issue indexes add another 8000 pages each year, and the more detailed and comprehensive volume indexes published every six months total about 30,000 pages per year. CA has become thoroughly international both in terms of the information it covers and the audience it serves. Nearly two thirds of its circulation is abroad. Noyes was succeded as editor of CA in 1908 by Austin M. Patterson. Patterson, who contracted tuberculosis, retired as editor in 1914, but made a major contribution to CA after his retirement. When it was decided to publish a 10-year collective index to CA in 1916, it became evident that some systematic means of naming and indexing chemical substances was necessary. Patterson and Carleton E. Curran devised a naming scheme that had a profound effect on chemical nomenclature in general. The same basic principles still are used to name and index compounds in CA, though the system has been improved and updated continually over the years. In 1915, E. J. Crane took over as editor and remained at the helm for the next 43 years, becoming the first director of Chemical Abstracts Service when the CA editorial organiza-

tion was renamed and made a division of ACS in 1956. Crane made CA the model and pacesetter for all scientific abstracting and indexing services. He was succeeded as director of CAS in 1958 by Dale B. Baker, who led CAS through a difficult transition to financial self-sufficiency and a major growth in staff and facilities and moved it into the computer age. The effort to maintain complete coverage in the face of exponential growth in the volume of scientific publication dominated much of CA's history. The problem was compounded by two world wars, a depression, and, often, large deficits. Under similar pressures other abstracting journals ceased publishing or limited their coverage. CA resolutely resisted such cuts, making it, in the words of the present editor, Russell J. Rowlett Jr., "the only chemical manufacturing plant in the world with absolutely no control over its raw materials." For much of its history, CA relied heavily on volunteer effort to keep up with the literature. Although indexing was always done by CAfs editorial staff, abstracts were written by hundreds—later thousands—of volunteers, often in distant parts of the world, and each subject section was overseen by one or more volunteer section editors, subject matter authorities who monitored the coverage of each section and the quality of abstracts. From the 129 volunteer abstractors in 1907, the corps of volunteers grew to nearly 3300-in 55 nations—in the mid-1960s. Formal associations and working groups of abstractors were * organized in some nations, most notably Japan and Poland. When computer-assisted production of CA was introduced in the late

A. Noyes Sr., Austin M. Patterson, E. J. Crane, Dale Baker—have played key roles In CA's history

13% . . . is the new MINIMUM GUARANTEED interest rate for the ACS Tax Deferred Retirement Annuity Program and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) sponsored by the Board of Trustees, Group Insurance Plans for ACS Members. This rate, compounded annually, will be applied to all contributions made from January 1, 1982 to February 18, 1982 and is guaranteed at 13% through 1984. Interest accumulations are not taxable then until withdrawal. (See also the December 21, 1981 issue of C&EN, "Comment," page 54.)

During 1982, a new interest rate will be announced each quarter in order to remain current with market fluctuations. The interest rate for that quarter will then be made available for 30 days and guaranteed for three years. For additional information, telephone 1-800-243-4896, or (in Con­ necticut) 1-203-773-3911.

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ACS News 1960s, it became advantageous to have abstracts prepared in the Columbus offices. More than 90% of abstracts are now prepared by fulltime staff members in Columbus who index the papers and patents at the same time they abstract them, and staff members of the Royal Society of Chemistry provide abstracts and index entries for much of the British chemical literature. However, nearly 1000 volunteer abstractors around the world still are called upon to assist with languages and subject areas for which sufficient full-time help is not available. Money was a persistent problem throughout much of CA's history. The most severe financial crisis occurred in the mid-1950s. Through 1933 CA was financed entirely from ACS member dues; all members who wished to, received the publication free of charge. After 1933 a small subscription fee was imposed to supplement the allocation from

dues. This arrangement met financial needs until after World War II, when the rapid expansion of scientific publication and post-war inflation caused operating expenses to rise rapidly. Subscription prices were increased sharply but did not keep pace with costs. In 1952 a Corporation Associates plan was instituted through which industry helped make up the deficit, which nevertheless continued to mount. Growing alarm was evident in headlines in C&EN during the mid-1950s: "Chemical Abstracts, Millstone or Milestone?"; "Chemical Abstracts Service—Good Buy or Good-by?" In 1955 operating expenses exceeded $1 million for the first time—and the deficit over subscription revenues was almost $500,000. The ACS Board of Directors at that point determined that CA must be self-supporting, and subscription policies and prices were changed drastically. Today, CAS pays its own

way, including a share of ACS general and administrative expenses, and contributes toward maintaining the society's general reserve fund. Also in 1955, CAS became the first abstracting and indexing service to establish a research and development department, which began exploring the application of the then somewhat primitive computer technology to the processing of chemical information. One of the early results of the research and development effort was Chemical Titles, introduced in 1961, the first periodical to be organized, indexed, and composed by computer. In the early 1960s, CAS chemists and computer specialists perfected techniques for translating chemical structure diagrams into a coded form that can be stored and searched by computer. These techniques became the foundation of the CAS Chemical Registry System, which now contains information on more than 5.5 million

February local section meeting speakers As a service to ACS members, C&EN publishes listings of speakers at upcoming local section meetings. The list is published once a month. Each list gives the program of Date Time

Speaker Affiliation

8:00 PM

Norman Anderson Argonne National Lab

0 8:00 PM

Local Section Meeting site

Contact Telephone No,

Human protein index

Kalamazoo Western Michigan U

W. Adams (616) 385-7642

Albert Lutz American Cyanamid

Plant growth régulants

Trenton Rider C

L. Weiss (212) 687-9380

10 6:00 PM

Ramon Barnes U of Massachusetts

Recent developments in ICP

Cincinnati Sheraton-Springdale

R. D'Alonzo (613)763-3656

ie

Robert Bauman Chem Systems

Affects of imports on commodity resins

P. Ray-Chandhurl (201) 686-6070

16 8:00 PM 16 8:00 PM

Russet Bimber Diamond Shamrock James Grow New Jersey Institute of Technology

CHEMTREC 2 chem consumer fraud Coal—where do we go from here?

North Jersey Coachman's Inn, Cranford, N.J. Northeastern Ohio Painesville New York Staten Island C

17 5:00 PM

John Groves U of Michigan

Hydrocarbon oxidation mechanisms

Cleveland Cleveland State U

D. Chasar (216)447-5353

18 8:00 PM

Shroud of Turin

Monmouth County Monmouth C

18 8:15 PM

Alan Adler Western Connecticut State C Concurrent Group Meetings

T. Yoshida (201) 264-4500, Ext, 527 S. Golden (215)382-1589

19 6:00 PM

William Holton Princeton U

Hallucinogens: history, chemistry, and future prospects

Lehigh Valley Allentown C

R. Berg (215)282-1100

24 8:00 PM

Peter Jacoby Wesleyan U

Progress towards the total synthesis of saxitonin

New Haven Quinnipiac C

R. Drzal (203) 723- 3655

25 7:00 PM

Earl Hess Lancaster Laboratories

independent laboratories in the 1980's—their role and their concerns

Southeastern Pennsylvania Leola Family Restaurant

P. Christie (717)397-0611, Ext. 5367

5:30 PM

88

speakers, their affiliations, topic, section, date, and location of the meeting. For additional information, please contact the person at the number given.

C&EN Jan. 18, 1982

Topic

Philadelphia Philadelphia C of Pharmacy & Science

S. Bowlus (216) 357-3541 P. Mazzella (212) 390-7739

chemical substances mentioned in the scientific literature since 1965. The computer is now central to almost every phase of operations at CAS. The automated processing system has made it possible not only to produce CA more rapidly and economically, but to produce a wide range of new publications and computer-based information services from the data base created in the course of analyzing, abstracting, and indexing the world's chemical and chemical engineering literature. One new service to come out of automated processing at CAS is CA Selects, which makes abstracts of current papers and patents on specific chemical topics available in inexpensive biweekly bulletins. Another is CAS Online, through which searchers around the world can be linked to CAS computers in Columbus and search the Chemical Registry file to identify and retrieve references on substances that share particular structural characteristics. Automation of CAS's processing operations was aimed primarily at assuring the survival of CA by producing it more efficiently and eco-

VITRIDE

Symposium probes regulations and lab waste disposal Management of laboratory wastes was the topic of a recent symposium held by the continuing education committee of the Philadelphia Section of the American Chemical Society in its continuing series on government regulation. The symposium, held in King of Prussia, Pa., attracted 120 chemists and educators from the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware area; moderator was W. G. Mikell of Du Pont. Speakers included (from left) George Bodmer, Environmental Protection Agency; Ralph Siskind, EPA; Katherine Ream, ACS; Blaine McKusick, Du Pont; Mikell; Steve Wittmer, Merck Sharp & Dohme; and Gary Lage, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science. Ream opened the symposium with the ACS viewpoint on lab waste disposal. Presentations covered regulatory considerations, hazardous chemicals handling, toxicology of lab operations, strategies for waste disposal, waste disposal by EPA, low-level radioactive waste disposal, and recycling of lab solvents.

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Jan. 18, 1982 C&EN 89

1 MEMO

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To : The President From : The Pro] ect Manager Our DTA Analysis shows that we can operate safely with this material at 100° C. The DTA trace is shown below: !»««***

DTA: implied material was thermally stable below 220° C. ARC: revealed thermal instability at 70° C. In this example the DTA measured exothermic decomposition, beginning at 220°C. The analyst might conclude that the chemical decomposes at 220°C and would be thermally safe at some temperature below 220°C. In contrast the ARC™ (Accelerating Rate Calorimeter) measured thermal instability to as low as 70°C. The chemical is decomposing and initiating a thermal runaway reaction. ARC™ ANALYSIS

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Nitrated Aromatics Low density Polyethylene Sodium Chlorate Peracetic Acid Inorganic Persulphates Isocyanurates

The ARC™ represents a totally new technology* for the analysis of the potential hazards of thermal runaway reactions. The CSI ARC™ Mini-Course is now being offered.

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Thisoffi exothermic reaction can be described by the time-temperature relationships of kineΟ tics. Most chemicals decompose over a large temperature range and the heat release rates and rate of decomposition are a function of its temperature. In that regard DTA analysis of a well-defined exothermic decomposition temperature is inadequate in properly assessing the exothermic runaway hazard of any chemical system. Problems in the past* led to search for new technology. Much can be learned from past experiences involving thermal runaway reactions that have occurred in the past few years; a partial list is shown below: • Ethylene Oxide • Organic Peroxides • Thiophosphate Pesticides

The ARC™ (Columbia Scientific Industries Accelerating Rate Calorimeter) is a fully developed and tested product and technology which significantly advances the state of the art in thermal hazards analysis. CSI is offering an ARC™ workshop to explain and demonstrate this new technology. Workshop participants will learn how the ARC™ capabilities may solve their thermal runaway problems. During the four-day minicourse in Austin, the complete technology and process of analysis will be disclosed and fully discussed. LET US HELP: WRITE OR CALL TODAY. Ask for David Smith, Ph.D., ARC™ Product Manager.

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* Send for a case history documenting ARC'sT role in an actual hazards analysis of a chemical explosion.

CIRCLE 6 ON READER SERVICE CARD 90

C&ENJan. 18, 1982

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ACS News nomically. Most of the possible gains in productivity and efficiency from automation have been realized at this point, and CAS must look to increasing revenue rather than cost reduction to maintain self-sufficiency. To provide new sources of revenue, CAS is diversifying the services it offers and broadening the community of users it serves. The CAS catalog today lists more than 30 different publications and services. By 1984 the printed CA is expected to account for no more than 50% of CAS revenues as CAS continues to expand and diversify the scope of the services it provides. Major emphasis over the next several years will be on expanding the direct delivery of information through online computer services. "The ACS Board of Directors is committed to CAS expanding the services it offers, including direct on-line delivery of information, in a manner that will provide the best service to information users while assuring the financial viability of CAS," Paul Smith Jr., chairman of the Society Committee on Chemical Abstracts Service, says. CAS director Dale Baker doesn't see printed CA and other printed information services disappearing in the near future, but feels that they're likely to decline in importance relative to on-line information delivery. "On-line information services can be delivered readily anywhere in the world and can provide answers in seconds that can take hours or even days of page turning to discover through printed abstracts and indexes," Baker says. "Questions can be addressed to much larger collections of information than can be put between the covers of a book and are not inhibited by the format restraints of printed indexes," he adds. Baker points out that most of the chemical and chemical engineering information supplied by CAS today is much the same as it was in 1907, though it is more timely, more complete, and indexed in a greater variety of ways. "What is changing rapidly is the technology for supplying it and the form in which it is supplied," he says. ACS and CAS will be marking the anniversary throughout 1982. Events scheduled include a special concert of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra for CAS staff, ACS officials, and invited guests in June, and a 75th Anniversary of Chemical Abstracts symposium in the Division of Chemical Information at the fall ACS national meeting in Kansas City. D