AMA Manual of Style: Welcome

Welcome, at last! When we began work on the ninth edition of the AMA Manual of Style, we hoped to launch our first online manual with that edition. Now, with the tenth edition, and with the help of Oxford University Press, that hope is realized. It has been a long journey from hope to launch, and although we have reached a milestone, we have only begun to learn how best to enrich an online resource.

Style doesn’t remain static, and with an online Manual not only can we correct errata but we can also provide updates and outline new policies for our subscribers. With phase 2 (late 2009), we will also provide a personalized experience, so that users can annotate their online manuals, bookmark, prepare style sheets, save searches.

No matter how good a book’s index, you always wish it were better. With an online edition, the search in context capabilities and the links from the index to the desired sections, will, we hope, provide the best of both worlds.

We are excited about the opportunity to offer learning resources online, such as the monthly quizzes, with answers that provide links to the relevant sections of the manual, and the regular Tip of the Month and Word of the Month features, written by committee members and JAMA and Archives editors.

We look forward to communicating more with our users, not only through the posted FAQs but through hearing what enhancements would make this reference more useful. Contact us by e-mailing stylemanual@jama-archives.org.

As you read this letter, we have already tossed our hats into the air in happy congratulation and, refreshed, begin the next leg of our journey. With your help, ONWARD!

Catherine D. DeAngelis, MD, MPH
Editor, JAMA
Editor in Chief, Scientific Publications & Multimedia Applications,
JAMA & Archives Journals

Cheryl Iverson, MA
Chair, AMA Manual of Style Committee