For better than three decades JBC has published the latest biocommunication techniques, displayed elegant artwork and photographic images, and served as a site for individuals to share their knowledge, and express opinions. The vast majority of the publishing has been done by traditional printing methods. Only within the past three years has the journal attempted to both offer a printed version and create a presence electronically (online). That duel effort has brought about challenges to both production efforts and budgeting issues. Concurrently, libraries and institutions are opting to renew subscriptions only to online journals. All of these factors have contributed to a situation that had to be addressed by the JBC Management Board.    http://www.jbiocommunication.org/management.html

On November 15, 2006, after carefully reviewing all options, the Board decided to discontinue producing printed issues. The vote to make this change was not taken lightly, and the motion passed unanimously. This is a major change for the journal, but one that was taken with everyone's future needs in mind. The Presidents of all four Associations have been notified of this change, and outside subscribers will be advised via their annual subscription renewal invoice.

I wish to reassure you that JBC will continue to produce three online issues per Volume for the coming year, and may consider offering a fourth issue as soon as 2008. With our editors' efforts being directed toward just one medium we anticipate better efficiency and turnaround of copy. Also, most of the "transition" that JBC  has experienced over these past three years in creating and expanding the journal has been completed. The results speak for themselves, especially with the addition of motion-media, video clips, and interactive links to authors and additional educational resources; we are very pleased with that aspect of our mission. We are also pleased that we are now incorporating the same technologies in our Journal publication that we use each day. With this transition of the JBC  to "online only," we can all look forward to continuing our long history of educational publishing.

Speaking of history, the Journal has just reached yet another milestone. We are delighted to welcome a new association to the JBC consortium: The Australian Institute of Medical and Biological Illustration (AIMBI). We look forward to AIMBI's participation and having their members share their knowledge, experience, and expertise by contributing articles, motion-media, and images. Together we will all move forward with a common goal of supporting the Journal's mission of sharing knowledge and exchanging information.

And further to that end, this issue presents our readership with a blend of educational opportunities, including featured articles: "Scanning: An Alternative to Low Power Photomicrography" by Richard Frederickson, "Ophthalmic Imaging – An Overview and Current State of the Art" by Timothy Bennett, President, Ophthalmic Photographers Society (OPS); Twenty Five Years Ago provides a historical review of techniques and methods put forward by BCA’s Lebeau, Edgerton, and Caliendo; the cover and Gallery display the award winning images from the BioCommunications Association, BIOCOMM 2006 BioImages competition; Showcase is an elegant layout of ophthalmic images kindly submitted by members of OPS, and stands as an excellent companion piece with Bennett's paper; the Association Calendar and News will keep everyone informed about future meetings and events, plus topical professional news;  and the Point of View column, submitted by Camilia Matuk, addresses why we should contribute as authors to JBC. Matuk's remarks echo those of JBC's mission……contributing is essential to the success of both an individual's professional career, and JBC's future success.

And finally, on a personal note, as I conclude my three-year term as Chair, of the JBC Management Board I wish to extend a heartfelt thanks to all the people who have helped produce JBC. It has been my pleasure, along with the many challenges, to serve as Chair, and I have every confidence the journal will continue to be a source of pride for everyone.

Sincerely,

Bob Turner, Chair, JBC Management Board bturner@scripps.edu

Produced in the U.S.A. and © 2003-2006 by The Journal of Biocommunication, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication is supported by members' and public subscriptions and is published online three times each year; a compendium issue is printed once each year.

THE JOURNAL OF BIOCOMMUNICATION is available to all paid members of the ABCD, AIMBI, AMI, BCA, and HeSCA. Other individuals and institutions are invited to subscribe: individuals at $60, libraries or institutions at $95, students at $50 per year.

Address subscription correspondence to:
Subscriptions: Nancy Hurtgen
JBC Business Manager
220 Southwind Lane
Hillsborough, NC 27278
919-245-0908, (fax) 919-245-0906

Direct editorial communications to respective association editors.
Managing Editor: Joe Ogrodnick
Entomology, NYS Ag. Experiment Station
Communications Services, NYSAES
632 W. North Street
Geneva, NY 14456
(315) 787-2324, fax (315) 787-2387

Association of Biomedical Communications Directors (ABCD) Editor: Manny Bekier
Biomedical Communications
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
450 Clarkson Avenue
Box 18
Brooklyn, NY 11203
(718) 270-7551, fax (718) 270-7549

Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) Co-Editor: Gary Lees
The Johns Hopkins University, Art as Applied to Medicine
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
1830 E. Monument, St. Suite 7000
Baltimore, MD 21093
(410) 955-3213

Australian Institute of Medical and Biological Illustration (AIMBI) Editor: Julie Murray
Medici Graphics
St. Vincent's Hospital
Victoria St. Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Phone (02) 8382 2168
Fax (02) 8382 2560

Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) Co-Editor: Mark Lefkowitz
Biomedical Visuals
132 Oak Hill Dr.
Sharon, MA, 02067
(781) 784-5293

BioCommunications Association (BCA) Editor:
Mark Marzolf
Media Services
Shriners Hospitals for Children
Fairfax Road at Virginia Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
(801) 536-3750

The Health and Sciences Communications Association (HeSCA) Editor: Lori Klein (HeSCA Editor)
Reference Department
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
Phone 301-435-4891
Fax 301-402-1384

Calendar and Association News Editor: Gary Schnitz
The Indiana Hand Center
P.O. Box 80434
8501 Harcourt Road
Indianapolis, IN 46280-0434
(317) 471-4446, fax (317) 471-4404

Management Board: Bob Turner, Chairman (The Scripps Research Institute)  * Connie Johansen (National Geospatial Intelligence Agency) * Gary Lees (Johns Hopkins) * Lee Potts (Merck Research Laboratories) * Ken Michaels (National Cancer Institute) * Gary Schnitz (Indiana Hand Center) * Gillian Duncan (Rochester, MN)

Webmaster: Michael Getz (Illumina Interactive, Boston, MA)

Editors: Each member association of The Journal of Biocommunication may select one Editor, whose responsibility it is to secure manuscript material and assure technical accuracy, validity, and usefulness of the Journal's content. Each Editor works with an Editorial Review Board selected by the sponsor association. Members of the Editorial Review Board critique and edit articles, and provide other editorial assistance, at the request of the Editor. The JBC accepts unsolicited materials for consideration. Unsolicited materials may be submitted to the Managing Editor or to any of the Association Editors for consideration. For more information, please see Contributors.

Editorial Review Board: Scott Barrows (Medical Art Associates) • Janis Brown (University of Southern California) • Susan G. Deihl (Virginia Commonwealth University) • Craig Gosling (Indiana University) • Christine Gralapp (Fairfax, Calif.) • Carol Asimow Gray (UCLA Medical Center) • Jamie Guth (World Health Organization) • Winifred Hamilton (Baylor College of Medicine) • Tom Hurtgen (Duke Clinical Research Institute) • Dale Kennedy (VA Medical Center - Albuquerque, New Mexico) • Lori J. Klein (National Library of Medicine) • Dale Knorr (Naval Medical Center, San Diego, Calif.) • Gregory Lucier (University of Calgary) • Patrick Lynch (Yale University) • Steven Moon (Ohio State University) • Darisse Paquette (Tufts-New England Medical Center) • Stephen Pendry (Mary Greeley Medical Center) • Michael Peres (Rochester Institute of Technology) • Sue Seif (Seif & Associates.) • Bobb Sleezer (Christiana Care Health Services) • Herbert R. Smith, Jr. (Houston, Tex.) • Keith Stenehjem (Mayville State University) • Bob Turner (The Scripps Research Institute) • Judy Tyler (National Student Nurses Association) • Susan Zimmerman (Wordcraft Communications)

Business Manager: Nancy Hurtgen

Production Group: Michael Getz (Illumina Interactive)