Child Development Abstracts and Bibliography

News About Child Development Abstracts and Bibliography
By Ross Parke, President, John W. Hagen, Executive Officer

Child Development Abstracts and Bibliography (CDAB) will cease publication with the third issue of Volume 75 (2001). The decision to do so was reached by the Governing Council of SRCD after considerable discussion and deliberation. CDAB has served several key roles over its 75-year history and, indeed, it was the oldest journal devoted exclusively to research in child development. However, the expense involved in revising the publication to be competitive in today's electronic world, and the availability of several electronic search systems that cover virtually of the content of CDAB, made the decision the obvious way to go.

The Committee on Child Development, established by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Science in 1924, established CDAB in 1927 to bring together scientific articles on children. The subscription fee was $5 and the journals included for abstracting ranged from the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders to the American Journal of Diseases of Children to Endocrinology. In volume 2, No. 5, readers were given the choice of obtaining the journal either printed on one side or two of the pages. One-sided allowed the subscriber to cut and file more easily! In 1933, the abstracts began to be classified by subject matter rather than journal, the system still used today. The issues beginning in 1936 bore the name, The Society for Research in Child Development, which had been established as a formal entity by the Committee on Children in 1933.

In 1947, the system of recruiting abstractors from the membership of SRCD was inaugurated. Dale Harris, editor of the journal from 1964-71, said that this made CDAB unique among professional publications. The use of volunteers in review and production proved to be key in its success for the next several decades.

The Governing Council wishes to thank the many individuals who have contributed to the wonderful success of CDAB over these many years. In the early years, the editors often served for brief terms. However, since the 1950's editors have served longer terms, often two six-year terms. We wish to acknowledge these by name:

William E. Martin 1954-1963
Dale B. Harris 1964-1971
David S. Palermo 1972-1974
Hoben Thomas 1975-1988
Neil J. Salkind 1989-2001

A special acknowledgment is given to Neil Salkind. Not only has he provided excellent leadership for the journal for the past thirteen years, but he has also worked diligently on the phase-out for the past year.

We recognize that ceasing publication of this venerable journal is a real turning point for the Society and no doubt many who have used it will miss it. However, the 75 years of the publication remain and will be used by scholars for years to come. SRCD is increasing its commitment to providing its publications to its members and to the field in the following ways. The page allotment for Child Development has been increased by 200 pages per volume on a permanent basis. The Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development are allotted four issues per year. Our publications are all becoming available electronically, including the SRCD Newsletter, now called Developments, and the Social Policy Reports. Thus, we are make every effort to improve the ways in which we serve the field and feel we are being true to the goals established by the Committee on Child Development back in the 1920's, i.e., to bring together the best research and information concerning child development and to disseminate it to scholars, professionals and parents.