Journal format change

["Shaffer, Patricia" <patricia.shaffer@informs.org>]

Forgive me for a somewhat more plebian question than usually is 
addressed on this listserv. I have an editor in chief who is pushing 
hard to expand his print journal from 6 3/4 by 10 inches to 8 1/2 by 
11 inches. That alone is not the issue that concerns me, although I 
know that librarians are not happy when journals no longer fit on the 
shelves as configured. (We would only make this change at the start of 
a volume year.) While the journal is also published online, 
subscriptions have not been abandoning the print version. 

What does concern me is that this journal has heavy math content with 
long equations. It would not work in a two-column format. What are the
implications of formatting a journal in the larger trim size in one 
column, as this editor wants to do? I've been unable to find 
readability standards for print that address line length, although 
there must be some. A number of Elsevier journals have adapted this 
format, but I have not yet found another publisher who would make such 
a change. Is this a trend that may become commonplace in certain 
disciplines? 

This change would be author-friendly but I'm not sure it would be
reader-friendly. I would appreciate any comments from the library 
community or publishers, especially those of you working with math 
journals. 

Thanks!

Patricia S. Shaffer
Director of Publications
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)
901 Elkridge Landing Road, Suite 400
Linthicum, Maryland 21090
(410) 691-7826
(410) 291-6095 (fax)
(800) 446-3676 ext. 826
patricia.shaffer@informs.org     <http://www.informs.org