In my inaugural commentary (E. Garfield, The Scientist, Oct. 20, 1986, page 9), which is reprinted on the following page, I discussed the basic reason for its launch: to be the first trade newspaper for scientists. We envisioned that it would be similar to publications for physicians, engineers, and lawyers that focus on practical information about career opportunities and professional concerns-in short, the human side of science.
The motivation to create a trade scientific newspaper grew out of my early interest in creating effective tools to help manage the information flood. Current Contents, the Science Citation Index, and other information-management tools were developed to give time-pressured researchers convenient access to the current and retrospective literature. The Scientist is a different product, in both format and content, but it shares the same basic goal-to help scientists keep informed in an era of increasing information overload.
Many specialist and popular publications cover ...
