PubMed Central Inclusion, Quertle Indexing, Outbound Reference Linking, and Editorial Board Successions: Encouraging Developments in the IJTMB’s Evolution

Speaking of this journal’s “evolutionary” developments against the backdrop of its inaugural issue having appeared as recently as August 2008 may seem somewhat paradoxical in nature. Be that as it may, the relatively brief lifespan of the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (IJTMB) thus far is marked by four recent encouraging developments that bode quite well for the journal’s readership as well as its progressively expanding list of contributing authors. These encouraging developments include the following: (a) the IJTMB’s recent approval for inclusion in PubMed Central (PMC); (b) a corresponding indexing of the journal in Quertle; (c) the provision of an outbound linking feature to those reference-list citations traceable to journals holding membership in CrossRef, PubMed, and/or PMC; and (d) the start of a staggered succession process regarding the journal’s Editorial Board membership so as to ensure a periodic influx of new ideas, skills, and opportunities to serve. PMC is the free digital archive of full-text articles appearing in the biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), developed and managed by NIH’s National Center for Biotechnology Information in the National Library of Medicine. The IJTMB’s inclusion in PMC has been approved and its “live” appearance is imminent.* A subset of PMC’s site provides an alphabetized journal list to include the IJTMB, with access to optional search features (within PMC or linked to the IJTMB’s homepage), as well as defining characteristics of this journal’s inclusion. As an illustration of its relevant defining characteristics, the IJTMB’s presence in PMC extends from its inaugural issue of August 2008 through to and including its most current issue. Additionally, its free-access availability is immediate in nature, with no so-called “embargo” that would otherwise define a period of time during which