AASM and SRS agree to consolidate ownership of the journal SLEEP

Since its first issue was published in 1978, the journal SLEEP has been the product of a fruitful partnership between the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society (SRS). Across four decades, this professional collaboration has enabled SLEEP to become one of the premier peer-reviewed journals in the field of sleep and circadian research.

However, the Board of Directors of both the AASM and the SRS recognize that this structure of dual ownership has made it challenging to maintain a unified vision for the scope and focus of the journal. While striving together to advance SLEEP as a scientific publication, each organization also has sought to leverage the journal to emphasize distinct strategic priorities that address the professional needs of its respective membership. Although we always have made our best efforts to harmonize these two visions, we believe that the journal would benefit from having a single source of direction.

Therefore, after much discussion among and between the leaders of both organizations, the AASM has agreed to sell its ownership in SLEEP to the SRS, effective July 15, 2016, making the SRS the sole owner of the journal. We consider this decision to be a winning agreement for both societies. As the leading professional organization for sleep scientists, the SRS now will have full control of a flagship publication through which it can disseminate cutting-edge science and advance the fields of sleep and circadian research. Likewise, the AASM now will be able to redouble its efforts to fortify and expand the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine as the premier clinical journal in the sleep field.

As part of this agreement, AASM members will continue to receive complimentary, online access to SLEEP as a free benefit of membership, and each organization will retain copyright ownership of its previously published manuscripts, including editorials and practice parameters papers. Furthermore, the contract includes fail-safe clauses that will enable the AASM to reacquire ownership of the journal should the SRS ever need to relinquish it, which ensures the journal’s permanent home in the sleep field.

As we welcome this significant change, we also take this opportunity to thank the editorial staff of SLEEP for their dedicated service, and we express our gratitude to those members who contribute to the journal by serving on the editorial board, reviewing articles, and submitting original manuscripts. Your ongoing support and involvement are greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions about this announcement, please contact the AASM at inquiries@aasm.org or the SRS at coordinator@SRSnet.org.

We look forward to the outstanding science that will be published in SLEEP in the years ahead.

Sincerely,