Abstract :
The American Institute of Physics (AIP), as an essential aspect of its Current Physics Information (CPI) program, has been implementing a new procedure for the production of both its primary journals and its secondary-information products which relies on a singe processing of the common elements in both. This processing includes copy editing, keyboarding, proofreading, and indexing of such items as article titles, authors, by-lines, abstracts, and references. The single computer tape produced by this processing is used for the photocomposition of the elements involved for the primary journals, as well as for AIP´s secondary services including the volume indexes to the primary journals themselves. I will discuss the reasons for this change in procedure, and its technical and economic aspects. I will also sketch out possible future developments in the system, which would rely on much greater use of computer processing, and attempt to assess the economic benefits. Finally, I will discuss the effects of AIP´s secondary-information capabilities on the dissemination of primary information in traditional formats, as well as possible alternative formats.
