Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History, Volume 47, Number 4 Goss: Historical Periodicals, Part 2 2016| Page 134 A History of Some Optometry Periodicals, Part 2 David A. Goss, O.D., Ph.D. School of Optometry Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 dgoss@indiana.edu Continued from Volume 46, Number 4 ne of the signs of the maturity of a profession is the publication of scholarly journals. For many years, the leading scholarly optometric journals in the United States were those published by the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) and the American Optometric Association (AOA). This part of this article will briefly review the history of the journals published by the AAO, which continues to today, and the AOA, which was discontinued a few years ago. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPTOMETRY/OPTOMETRY AND VISION SCIENCE The journal known today as Optometry and Vision Science had its origin in January, 1924 as the Northwest Journal of Optometry, a publication of the Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota state optometric associations.1 In August, 1925, the journal was renamed the American Journal of Optometry, and it was also representing the Nebraska, Iowa, and Oklahoma state optometric associations.2 By 1928, it was the official journal of eleven state optometric associations. Starting May, 1928, the journal became a news outlet of the American Academy of Optometry. In 1934, the journal no longer represented individual state associations, and it was associated only with the American Academy of Optometry. The Academy also separately published volumes of the papers presented at its fourth through eighteenth annual meetings starting in 1927.3 The thirteenth such volume, Transactions of the 18th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Optometry, was published in 1939. In 1940, an Academy committee decided to merge its publications. The first issue of the merged publication, the American Journal of Optometry and Archives of the American Academy of Optometry, appeared in January, 1941 (volume 18, number 1). The journal became a leading journal for clinical optometry and vision science, and it had several thousand subscribers.1 The founder of the journal, its editor from 1924 to 1968, and the owner of the company that published it from 1924 to 1973 was Carel C. Koch (1896-1973). Koch attended Washington University in St. Louis and then the DeMars School of Optometry in Minneapolis. His optometric education was interrupted by service in the United States Army, but he returned to the DeMars School and graduated in 1919. The unusual instructional organization of the DeMars School made such an interruption manageable. Two years of study were required for completion. The complete course of lectures was only six months, but each student was required to attend the complete set of lectures four times.4 Advanced students also did work in clinic. Koch completed optometry school in 1919 and set up practice in Minneapolis. Koch and Jack I. Kurtz, who shared practice O mailto:dgoss@indiana.edu Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History, Volume 47, Number 4 Goss: Historical Periodicals, Part 2 2016| Page 135 space with him, were among the first optometrists in Minnesota to practice in professional offices.4 Koch was a charter member of the American Academy of Optometry and was secretary of the Academy from 1922 to 1925 and from 1944 to 1973. He was Chairman of the American Academy of Optometry in 1929. He was on the American Optometric Association’s Committee on Interprofessional Relations and Long Range Planning Committee. He also served on several boards and commissions of civic and community organizations in Minneapolis. Among various awards and recognitions he received were honorary degrees from Chicago College of Optometry and Pennsylvania College of Optometry.5,6 Writing in 1968, Hirsch and Weiner said that: “The Journal and its editor have been vital forces influencing the transition [of optometry] from a trade to a profession.”4 An obituary notice said that Koch was “a great man whose intelligence, charm, love and dedication to his profession permeated everything he did….He inspired us to a life of scientific professional service through optometry, of dedication to the visual welfare of mankind, and of contribution to our fellow practitioners.”5 In 1968, Monroe J. Hirsch, who had been Associate Editor since 1953, became the Editor, and he served as Editor through 1976. Merton Flom was an interim Editor in 1977 and 1978. In 1974, the title of the journal was changed to American Journal of Optometry and Physiological Optics.7 The company publishing the journal was Professional Press in 1974 and 1975, and then starting in 1976, Williams & Wilkins. William M. Lyle was Editor of the journal from 1979 to 1996. Newcomb and Eger stated that he “had served with distinction as the Journal’s fourth Editor” and “he had substantially improved the quality of the Journal in many ways...”8 The most visible changes in the journal during Lyle’s tenure occurred in 1989 when the title of the journal changed to Optometry and Vison Science, and there was an increase in the page size and a change in color of the cover to optometry’s sea-foam green. William Lyle was born in Canada and graduated from the College of Optometry of Ontario in Toronto in 1938. After practicing in Kirkland Lake, Ontario and Winnipeg, he entered the Canadian military in 1940. He left the military at the rank of Captain in 1946 after serving in Europe during World War II.9 He then returned to practice in Winnipeg, and while there, served as president of the Canadian Association of Optometrists and took additional courses in biochemistry, microbiology, genetics, and statistics at the University of Manitoba. In 1960, Lyle enrolled in the physiological optics graduate program at Indiana University. He completed an M.S. degree in 1962 and his Ph.D. in 1965. In 1965, Lyle joined the faculty of the College of Optometry of Ontario. Then in 1967, he became one of the first five faculty members in the University of Waterloo School of Optometry, where he taught for many years. A tribute to William Lyle for his service as the Optometry and Vision Science editor noted: “Typically, upon accepting the responsibility or the editorship, Bill Lyle took a series of courses about editing from the American Medical Writers Association and a 6- month leave of absence from his teaching duties so he could put all his time and energy into the task….Throughout his career, as his history reveals, Bill has never hesitated to sacrifice his time, effort, and even his realm, toward consistently elevating his capacity to meet his accepted obligations – toward his own education, toward the profession’s status, toward meeting his own sense of responsibilities….To anyone who reviews the publications of the academy as they have matured throughout the years, the development of the Journal during his editorial tenure is obvious – in physical format, in the type of Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History, Volume 47, Number 4 Goss: Historical Periodicals, Part 2 2016| Page 136 articles published, in its increasing degree of scientific involvement, in circulation, and in the growing coalition of respected investigators.”9 Editors following William Lyle have included Mark Bullimore (1996-2004), Anthony Adams (2004-2015), and Michael Twa (2016). Throughout its history, the American Journal of Optometry and Optometry and Vision Science has been an outlet for some of American optometry’s best writing and research and it has matured into a leading international journal of clinical optometry and vision science. A cumulative index for volumes 1 through 44 (issues published in 1924 to 1967), compiled by Grace Weiner, was published in 1968, and a second cumulative index for volumes 45 to 60 (1968 to 1983), prepared by Alison Howard and Grace Weiner, was published in 1985. A diskette with an index for volumes 45 to 70 (1968 to 1993), prepared by T. David Williams, was produced in 1994. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION / OPTOMETRY The origins of the Journal of the American Optometric Association can be traced to the bulletin titled The AOA Messenger, which was first published in 1926.10 In 1929, the AOA’s official publication was the Organizer. The first issue of the Journal of the American Optometric Association was published in 1930 as volume 2, number 1 in bibliographic continuity with the Organizer. The force behind the beginning of that publication was Minnesota optometrist Ernest H. Kiekenapp (1889-1973).10-12 Kiekenapp became secretary of the AOA in 1922, a position he held for 35 years. Kiekenapp had wanted to start a journal after becoming secretary of the AOA, but due to opposition to the publication of a journal, he had started with the Messenger and the Organizer until he had the support to start a journal.11 Kiekenapp was editor of the Messenger and the Organizer. He then served as editor of the Journal from its beginning in 1930 until his retirement in 1957. In the early years of the journal, Kiekenapp solicited papers from optometry school faculty members and leading optometrists. He estimated that he wrote over 300 editorials for the AOA publications.13 Occasionally he wrote under the pen name of Douglas Lincoln Young because if readers “saw nothing but the name Kiekenapp, they might be scared away.”13 Kiekenapp graduated in 1912 from the Stone School of Optometry.13 He practiced optometry until he served with the U.S. Army overseas during World War I. After the war he attended DeMars School of Optometry for a year, and then reentered private practice in 1920. Many optometrists were quoted in a tribute article after his death that he was extremely important in the activities and functions of the AOA during his years as Secretary.12 He also was a member of the Minnesota state optometry board and wrote their handbook and directory, and was a secretary of the International Association of Boards of Examiners in Optometry.13 He received two honorary degrees from Northern Illinois College of Optometry and was given the AOA Distinguished Service Award at his retirement.13,14 Editors of the AOA’s journal after Kiekenapp were Irving Bennett (1957-1964), Charles Margach (1964-1965), Milton J. Eger (1965-1985), Jimmy D. Bartlett (1985- 1990), John W. Potter (1990-1995), John G. Classé (1995-1997), Anthony A. Cavallerano (1997-1999), and Paul B. Freeman (1999-2012).10,15 In its first year, the Journal published articles based on educational presentations at the annual AOA meeting. Educational articles remained an important component of Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History, Volume 47, Number 4 Goss: Historical Periodicals, Part 2 2016| Page 137 Journal content throughout its history.10 Topical issues were common starting in the 1950s, with issues devoted to topics such as contact lenses, pediatric optometry, ocular pharmacology, sports vision, diabetes, and low vision. Starting in 1958, there was an annual contact lens theme issue for over 25 years. In 1978, a journal review board was formed, and subsequently papers submitted for publication were refereed. In 2000, the title of the journal was changed from Journal of the American Optometric Association to simply Optometry. In 2003, the AOA could boast that its journal was “the most widely circulated scholarly journal in the world.”16 However, only nine years later, the journal was discontinued. The AOA president Dori Carlson cited “the realities of publishing costs and financial priorities” as a major reason for its discontinuance.17 The last print issue was published in January, 2012 (volume 83, number 1). A few more issues were published online, with the last online being the June, 2012 issue (volume 83, number 6). One indication of the significance of these two journals in recent years may be the results of a citation analysis done on the second edition of Borish’s Clinical Refraction. The most cited optometry journal by a wide margin was Optometry and Vision Science and the second most frequently cited optometry journal was Optometry.18 Out of curiosity, I also checked to see what journals I cited most often in the third edition my book Ocular Accommodation, Convergence, and Fixation Disparity. I cited Optometry and Vision Science more often than all other journals combined. The second most frequently cited journal was the AOA’s journal, with twice as many citations as third place Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics. In a recent editorial in the British optometry journal Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, Elliott and Handley19 traced some of the history of optometry journals and noted their importance for education, research, and support of clinical practice. They stated that even though the AOA decided to discontinue its journal, several foreign journals may help to keep the future of optometry journals bright. They mentioned as examples the Canadian Journal of Optometry, relatively new journals such as the Spanish Journal of Optometry (2008) and the Scandinavian Journal of Optometry and Visual Science (2008), and the renamed African Vision and Eye Health (2015). References 1. Gregg JR. History of the American Academy of Optometry 1922-1986. Washington, DC: American Academy of Optometry, 1987:156-163. 2. Flom MC. How did our Academy journal start and become preeminent? Optom Vis Sci 2005;82:1011-1013. 3. Leeds JP. Review of the Transactions of the American Academy of Optometry, 1922 to 1939. Am J Optom Physiol Opt 1982;59:735-737. 4. Hirsch MJ, Weiner G. History of the American Journal of Optometry. Am J Optom Arch Am Acad Optom 1968;45:43-57. 5. Peters HB. Dr. Carel C. Koch, November 23, 1896 – November 3, 1973. Am J Optom Arch Am Acad Optom 1973;50:850-852. 6. Directory of the American Optometric Association. St. Louis: American Optometric Association, 1972:189. 7. Lyle WM. A time of change. Optom Vis Sci 1996;135-137. 8. Newcomb RD, Eger M. History of the American Academy of Optometry 1987-2010. Washington, DC: American Academy of Optometry, 2012:45. Hindsight: Journal of Optometry History, Volume 47, Number 4 Goss: Historical Periodicals, Part 2 2016| Page 138 9. Borish IM. Tribute, William M. Lyle, Editor, Optometry and Vision Science 1978- 1996. Optom Vis Sci 1997;74:70. 10. Christensen JL. History of the Journal of the American Optometric Association. J Am Optom Assoc 1985;56:852-858. 11. A Journal Interview: the incomparable Ernest Kiekenapp. J Am Optom Assoc 1971;42:166-174. 12. Eger MJ. The passing of a legend. J Am Optom Assoc 1973;44:680-684. 13. Oral history. Interviewee: Ernest H. Kiekenapp; Interviewer: Maria Dablemont. April 25, 1967. www.aoa.org/Documents/ArchivesMuseum/Oral_History/Kiekenapp_Ernest_H1967.p df. 14. Directory of the American Optometric Association. St. Louis: American Optometric Association, 1972:183. 15. Cavallerano AA. Editor’s perspective: where are they now (...or objects in the mirror are closer than they appear). J Am Optom Assoc 1997;68:549-550. 16. 2003 Member Desk Reference: The Complete Guide to Your AOA. St. Louis: American Optometric Association, 2003:42. 17. Carlson D. A message to readers. J Am Optom Assoc 2012;83(1):page unnumbered. 18. Goss DA. Literature and information in vision care and vision science. Optom 2008;79:670-686. 19. Elliott DB, Handley N. A historical review of optometry research and its publication: are optometry journals finally catching up? Ophthal Physiol Opt 2015;35:245-251. http://www.aoa.org/Documents/ArchivesMuseum/Oral_History/Kiekenapp_Ernest_H1967.pdf http://www.aoa.org/Documents/ArchivesMuseum/Oral_History/Kiekenapp_Ernest_H1967.pdf