Abstract:
The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) recently migrated the Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program from archive-quality books to electronic publication formats for CD-ROM and the World Wide Web. In 1992, as a cost-saving measure, ODP was mandated to cease publication of printed volumes by 1999. The new publication formats consist of a short-form booklet containing a summary chapter with an accompanying CD-ROM that holds the complete volume in PDF format and HTML and PDF versions on the Web. Unlike journals that simply replicate their print products on the Web, ODP has redesigned the Proceedings to maximize their functionality as electronic publications and to work well as print products. This process presented many technical challenges, and every component of volume design and editorial style was scrutinized. The new publication formats also led to the development of related resources such as a user guide and cruise-related citation lists. In addition, links were created that bridged online publications to other ODP scientific resources on the Web. The new cross-media publication formats contain many useful features unavailable in print, allow for a much wider distribution of the Proceedings volumes throughout the world, and enable ODP to fulfill its mandate to reduce the publishing budget. This paper showcases the new ODP publication formats, addresses issues ODP faced when designing cross-media publications, and reviews customer feedback about the new products. It also highlights other ODP online products, including a relational database containing drilling and scientific data from each cruise and mirror sites established to improve publication distribution worldwide.