Abstract
During LabAutomation2010, JALA surveyed readers and asked them to rate 43 different editorial factors on a scale of one to five, with five being “very” (very interesting, useful, credible, and so forth) and one being “not at all.” Because it is how readers perceive JALA that matters most, we were delighted to learn that 88% of the factors rated received scores of 4.0 or higher. In 2008, 60.5% received scores of 4.02 or higher.
The highest rated factor in 2010 scored 4.74 (attractiveness of the journal's overall appearance), and the lowest rated factor scored 3.68 (usefulness of the “From the President” column). In between, we are especially pleased by how JALA's scientific reports scored. Twelve factors were rated, and every one of them showed an increase over the 2008 reader survey ratings. The ratings averaged 4.13 in 2010 versus 3.95 in 2008. The highest rated factor in 2010 scored 4.44 (credibility), and the lowest rated factor scored 3.75 (direct relevance to work).
The JALA Editorial Board and the ALA Board of Directors use these survey ratings to guide educational direction and measure progress. I encourage the hundreds of JALA authors and manuscript reviewers to use these ratings as a cause for celebration. They are, in a sense, a way for your peers in the laboratory automation community to say thank you for a job well done. As Pearl Buck once said, “the secret of joy in work is contained in one word-excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.”
It's also satisfying to see gains in the regular use of JALA Online. This helpful tool enables JALA readers to quickly and easily view full text articles in press and articles from current and past issues of JALA; save searches; create search alerts, table of contents alerts, and citation alerts; and access other journals published by Elsevier.
JALA truly is a member-driven achievement. It exists to serve the ALA mission, which is “to advance science and education related to laboratory automation by encouraging the study, advancing the science, and improving the practice of laboratory automation,” and general membership surveys consistently identify JALA as the most highly valued of ALA membership. As the JALA Editor-in-Chief, I thank the ALA Board of Directors for its support, the JALA Editorial Board for its guidance, and the many laboratory automation professionals from around the world whose willingness to share their experience and expertise makes JALA such a valuable and appreciated catalyst for cross-disciplinary innovation.
Sincerely,
