Journal RFP

Philip Bourne, Chair of the publications committee, recently distributed a Request for Proposals (RFP) to leading academic and scientific publishers soliciting an “official” Society journal. The Society’s initial contract with Oxford University Press (OUP) to publish Bioinformatics as the official journal of the ISCB expired at the end of last year. Currently ISCB and OUP have established a one year agreement to extend the affiliation status while the Society moves through the RFP process.

The journal RFP is one step in ensuring that the ISCB associates with the highest quality of science. “We are really pleased to report that 11 publishers responded with proposals, including OUP as a continuation of our relationship with Bioinformatics,” commented Bourne. Under his direction, the publications committee carefully reviewed all proposals and prepared a recommendation for review by the ISCB board of directors at their annual meeting in Glasgow on July 31, 2004.

“The goal is to make a decision at the annual board meeting, but if additional information or time is needed, this may not be possible,” observed Michael Gribskov, ISCB President. As soon as a decision is made and all publishers are notified, an announcement will be posted to the ISCB website.