EN100-web

Joint ERCIM Actions
Our first 25 Years:
100 Issues of ERCIM News
by Peter Kunz, ERCIM News editor
With this edition, ERCIM is celebrating the 100th issue
of its magazine, ERCIM News. Since ERCIM’s creation in
1989, the quarterly ERCIM News has been reporting on
leading edge European research and developments in
Information and Communication Science and
Technology (ICST) and Applied Mathematics.
When Inria, CWI and former GMD founded ERCIM in
1989, the establishment of an ‘in-house magazine’ with the
aim of reporting on joint activities was one of the first ‘joint
actions’. With new members joining ERCIM, our founders
Henk Nieland (CWI), Siggi Münch (GMD) and Laure
Reinhart (Inria), decided to establish an editorial board with
one representative per member institute, responsible for collecting
contributions from their institute. ERCIM rapidly
evolved from a black-and-white in-house magazine to a full
colour publication covering reports and news about scientific
projects from all over Europe and even beyond.
In the early nineties, the Internet entered the research institutes
and soon raised the question about an on-line version of
ERCIM News. By October 1994, the newsletter was published
both in printed and electronic format. At that time,
ERCIM News was among the first 5,000 Web sites in the
world. Surprisingly, the electronic edition did not detract
from the success of the printed edition – instead, many new
readers who found us on the Web also subscribe to the
printed edition, thus increasing its circulation. The peak was
reached in 2009 with a circulation of over 10,000 printed
copies. Since then, presumably with the spread of smart
phones and tablets, the circulation of the printed edition has
reduced whilst the online readership has increased. In 2012,
for the first time, more people subscribed to the electronic
than to the printed edition. ERCIM News currently maintains
a circulation of 4,500 printed copies and more than
7,000 people subscribed to the online edition.
100 issues of ERCIM News
From the early issues on, each issue has focused on a special
theme identified by the editorial board. The ERCIM News
series has thus become a unique collection providing an
overview on a wide range of research topics in ICST and
Applied Mathematics. All articles in ERCIM News are
written by the scientists themselves and professionally
edited. The structure of the articles and the limited length
also make them comprehensible for non-experts. Thanks to
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ERCIM NEWS 100 January 2015