PEDIATRICS Vol. 102 No. 1 Supplement July 1998, pp. 194-196
From the American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
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INTRODUCTION |
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Launched in 1948 with 2200 subscribers, Pediatrics is now received monthly by more than 60 000 direct subscribers from around the world. A total of 20 000 to 30 000 additional readers receive foreign-language translations regularly, and the Internet extension of the Journal receives 20 000 individual visitors each month. This type of growth over the past 50 years has made Pediatrics the leading pediatric journal in the world. As it has grown, Pediatrics has had several notable firsts, including being the first medical journal published on CD-ROM and the first established pediatric journal to publish original articles on the Internet. And, as this special supplement shows, many landmark articles were published first in Pediatrics.
Surveys of the readership of Pediatrics over the years have found that American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) statements, as well as letters to the editor, are valuable parts of the journal. Therefore, some of the AAP's main public pronouncements have been made first in Pediatrics, including the recent statement on positioning the sleeping infant on its back, which has contributed to a significant decline in the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome.1
In the years since its inception, Pediatrics has served a
number of functions for the AAP and its membership. In addition to
providing an excellent and respected forum for the publication and
discussion of pediatric research and clinical experience, Pediatrics has been, aside from membership dues themselves,
the most consistent and significant source of income for the AAP over the past 50 years. This income, of which advertising revenues remain a
primary portion, helps to defray many member expenses and, perhaps most
importantly, fund many important AAP initiatives, including research
projects, advocacy programs, educational activities, community outreach
efforts, and other activities prescribed by the AAP's mission. In
short, the growth of the Journal and the growth of the AAP