FOREWORD. This m a if not he the kino1of talk sonte i r / m -tists might like to nod. Hut if is so met h intj that t null y needs staying. How it is arretted* and what is dotw alxnit its can deeply a fleet not only the future of many renders but the surriral of the free world.

C . B. LARRABEE Director of Applied Publications American Chemical Society

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Life, a s we now live it, is full of crises. Problems and dangers seem t o hem us in like animals poised t o spring. If it isn't income taxes, it is hills to pay. If it isn't buying a new car, it's keeping the old one running. If it isn't the arms race, it is foreign aid. If it isn't inflation, it is the recession— or vice versa. If it isn't Syria, it is Lebanon or Cuba or Suez. If it isn't Israel, it is Hungary. If it isn't the teacher and classroom shortage here, it is Russia's educational progress there. And so it goes. Yet one of the most serious crises confronting America and the free world in general—and the scientific free world in particular—is a crisis which is all the more critical because it doesn't appear on page one of your daily newspaper. That crisis is: The Crisis in Heading.

There is, of course, a great hue and cry on the lacks and shortcomings of this country's educational system. America is "not turning out enough scientists." High school youngsters "don't like the egghead rou­tine." It is said that today's school or college graduate can make more money in selling—or in advertising— or in a factory job—than in engineering or chemistry. We must , say the alarmists, convert our schools into laboratories, or the Russians will get ahead of us. The S U R E tray for America to play safe—to G E T ahead and STAY ahead, to be ready and able to beat the Russians or anybody else—is for all of ns to beat the Crisis in Reading. For unless we do, starting now, our backlog of top scientists will shrink more and more.

You are reading this in a technical publication. So obviously you have had sound scientific education. But look at the scientists around you—in your labora­tory—on your project team. How many of them started to let slide their studying,

Get ahead reading, learning— almost as soon as they got their sheepskins or their first job? This is exactly what has happened—is happening— among too many of our younger scientists. It is almost as though they think their education was completed the day they got their degree. Others* fortunately* are still studg'niq and learning today. THEY' ARE GETTING AHEAD WITH THEIR R E A D I N G . And it is these, not the others, who are the main hope of America.

W e do not sa ν that the Crisis in Reading is anvbody's fault. But it will be everybody's fault, unless reading is made a part of the scientists" job.

We do not mean the "time-saving" capsidated editorial short-cuts that are forever springing up for those who are "too busy to read." True, radio and T V newscasts crowd the air t o save you the need to read the daily papers. Pocket "digests" and "condensed books" are ready to help you skim through the current magazines and novels. "News weeklies" and "Washington letters" give 3-011 the inside story (supposedly) on everything that is going on in Government and industry. Your office i 11-basket (and out-basket) is groaning with reports of meetings and symposia. You take home an overstuffed brief case a t night. In company after company—which could benefit most from employee reading— someone "prereads" company copies of the trade papers and technical magazines, and marks one or two articles which (some­one thinks) members of the scientific staff should glance through. This is, of course, a well-intentioned attempt to save reading time for the job at hand. But the scientist whose brief case does Jiot include the current issues of his leading technical journals is depriving himself and his employer of tremendous professional benefits. W e repeat : Reading is—or shoidd be— a part of the job.

W e appreciate the fact that our own technical publica­tions, notably I / E C , are included in these "preread" publications. But apparently the need for material and information goes far beyo?id the preread materials. Over 6 9 % of the Readers' Information Service cards our editors receive, asking for specific technical in­formation, are sent in by scientists who are I / E C readers but are N O T P E R S O N A L I / E C S U B ­S C R I B E R S .

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with your READING Think of the thousands of company man-hours that could have been saved, again and again and again, if more younger scientists were G E T T I N G A H E A D WITH T H E I R R E A D I N G - i n s t e a d of trying to get ahead on substitutes that only restrict instead of en­courage reading.

T H E R E I S N O S U B S T I T U E F O R R E A D I N G . And all too evidently for America's peace of mind, the Russians know it.

The scientists who are getting ahead—ahead in their education—ahead in their careers—are G E T T I N G A H E A D W I T H T H E I R R E A D I N G .

W h o isn't these Sure, w e are all working long hours, days?

But if the scientists in your group see only the "pre-read" office or company copies of the technical mag­azines in their field, they are arresting their professional development in today's fast-moving competition.

You may think we have some hidden motive in speaking out against this Crisis in Reading. But why should we need such a motive? According to readership studies of I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y , every copy of every issue of our magazine is more thoroughly read by more professional scientists* than any other such publication.

W e are glad to keep on supplying the needs of scientists in our field who want to get ahead with their reading, and, thereby, help themselves and America to stay ahead.

B u t "prereading" a publication like I / E C is, frankly, a skimpy way to read.

Our editors have already done the prereading. That is how7 they get out the magazine. They read hundreds of manuscripts yearly—two thirds of all I / E C ' s pub­lished articles are submitted contributions. Only artieles of applied industrial on-the-job significance are read and re-read, edited and re-written, reviewed and re-reviewed, and finally published. That's the kind of prereading America's scientific free world needs today.

With all due respect we are forced to state: A n y other kind of prereading is simply letting someone else do t h e scientist's thinking for him.

A n d that, in no matter what field, is not the w a y to get ahead.

* * * * * * * * * * * Next time an office or coinpanv eopv of I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G G H E V I I S T R Y comes t o your group, with one or two "prercad" articles all nicely premarked. don't juM glance through it and toss it back in the inter-offiee mail.

Take the time to go through the whole magazine, from cover to cover. / / //·/// nnt he time trusted.

Out of every 100 subscriber*. 5.5 save each entire issue. Another •£:* out of every lOO cl ip and file certain articles. These are only a few nf the thing.** that en / /NOT he gained

from an office or com party copy.

Note particularly: 1. Briefs, which provide short summaries of all the

artieles in the feature and technical sections. 2. / EC Reports, a brisk informative review of

latest technical and commercial deve lopments . 3 . yew Products and Literature* a keyed list of new

chemicals, materials, equipment , instruments, and manufacturers' l iterature.

Subjects our average I E C subscriber considers most helpful include product and process development articles (read by 78 out of every 100 subscribers), chemistry news (read by ,53 out of every 100 subscribers), and engineering, design, and equipment (read by 42 out of every 100 subscribers).

W e are, of course, proud that so m a n y companies see fit to route our magazines to their staffs.

But the way to beat the Crisis in Reading is to see that more younger scientists take out their own subscrip­tions to the technical publications that bear directly on their job and their future.

—Including, of course, I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I ­N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y , t h e admitted leader in the field.

A M E R I C A N C H E M I C A L S O C I E T Y Publisher of I n d u s t r i a l a n d

E n g i n e e r i n g C h e m i s t r y The Technical and Business Magazine of the

Profess it nud Chemical Scientist

N O T E : To enter α personol subscription to INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY, write Mr. L L. Cope, Dept. 1 0 0 , ACS Appl ied Publications, 11 55— 1 6 t h St., N.W. , Washington 6, D. C. American Chemical Society members a r e billed later a t special member rate. Nonmember domestic subscription: one year $ 5 . 0 0 ; two years $ 8 . 0 0 ; three years $ 1 1 . 0 0 . Subscribers who write in next 4 8 hours will receive copy of last month's issue (while they last) together with current issue—1 3 issues in al l . Foreign subscription rates on request.

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