Editorial

The previous year, 2003, saw the introduction of the online submission and review for Letters in Applied Microbiology. Much to my surprise (and pleasure), the uptake by authors was immediate and enthusiastic, and more than 95% of manuscripts were handled electronically. In the vast majority of cases, there was a corresponding reduction in the time taken from submission to publication. In future all submissions to the Journal will be via Manuscript Central (http://appliedmicrobiology.manuscriptcentral.com). Electronic submission coincided with a>30% increase in the rate of submission, with a notable and very welcome increase in submissions from the USA and the Far East. August saw the introduction of OnlineEarly, an enhancement to the Blackwell Synergy service where fully corrected articles are published online, prior to their inclusion in the printed edition. OnlineEarly is a truly ‘finished article’ service with fully functional searchable articles in HTML and downloadable PDF formats. Although OnlineEarly articles do not have bibliographic information associated with them (i.e. Vol./Issue numbers, page ranges), they can still be cited by means of their DOI (Digital Object Identifier). Because the DOI remains with the paper, references prior to full publication will still allow readers to access the article. Coupled with online submission of manuscripts, the introduction of OnlineEarly makes the Journal even more attractive to authors and readers alike. I would like to thank the Editors and Reviewers for all their hard work over the last year, without which it would not have been possible to produce the journal. During 2003 there have been a number of changes in the membership of the Editorial Board. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome new members and hope that they enjoy their time on the Board, and also to express my gratitude to those leaving after many years of service. I would like to record my thanks to the journal staff at Blackwell Publishing for their work over the year. Particular thanks go to our Editorial Assistant, Hannah Berry, who took over as from Kevin Wright, and to our Production Editor, Claire Terris, who will be returning home to Australia in the New Year. Finally, I am pleased to report that Dr Jean-Yves Maillard, from the University of Brighton, will take over as Editor in Chief of Letters in Applied Microbiology in the summer of 2004. Dr Maillard has many years of experience as an Editor and is well qualified to oversee the continued development of the Journal. Dr Michael Barrett, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK Dr Paul Bishop, North Carolina State University, USA Dr Paul Gale, WRc-NSF, UK Dr John Hammond, Brewing Research International, UK Dr Marcelle Holsters, University of Gent, Belgium Dr Keith Jones, University of Lancaster, UK Dr Oscar Kuipers, University of Groningen, the Netherlands Dr Bernard Mackey, University of Reading, UK Dr Naresh Magan, Cranfield University, UK Prof Valerie Marshall, University of Huddersfield, UK Dr Feilim Maxwell, GlaxoSmithKline, UK Dr William Page, University of Alberta, Canada Dr Malcolm Paynter, Clemson University, USA Dr Joy Perkins, University of Huddersfield, UK Dr Eunice Allan, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK Dr Chris Boulton, Coors Brewers, UK Prof Donald Cowan, University of the Western Cape, South Africa Dr Jarmila Glassey, University of Newcastle, UK Dr Peter Gowland, Staffordshire University, UK Dr Jeroen Hugenholtz, NIZO Food Research, the Netherlands Dr John Lisle, USGS, USA Dr Steve Smith, University of Aston, UK Dr Colin Stewart, Rowett Research Institute, Scotland, UK 11 December 2003

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