Journal of Heredity Adopts Joint Data Archiving Policy

The expectations for scientific publishing and publications are changing rapidly and the Journal of Heredity is staying apace. Since 2008, we have adopted fully electronic submission through ScholarOne Manuscripts (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/joh), dramatically reducing the time for editorial review and publication production. In 2012, the average time to first decision was 34.6 days, and the time from acceptance to electronic print can be as brief as 25 days. Manuscripts receiving favorable reviews and rapid, conscientious revisions by authors can appear on Advance Access (online early) in under 3 months from first submission. Over the last few years, we have also raised the impact factor and the ranking of the Journal, as well as increasing the exposure of our authors through media releases of selected articles. In keeping with the requirements of some granting agencies, the Journal provides the option for Open Access publication at a cost similar to that of most other print journals. More importantly for most authors, Journal of Heredity allows free electronic access to all articles 1 year after publication, and offers free or deeply discounted subscriptions to more than 1700 institutions in the developing world. This free or discounted access is possible because the American Genetic Association (AGA), as a scholarly society, is committed to enhancing open communication of scientific research rather than to commercial profit (Noor 2012).