Elsevier launches new prototype format for online articles

Elsevier is moving to improve the quality of its online science articles with the launch of a new prototype format.

The new discipline-specific Article of the Future design sees web-based documents separated into three panes to provide a superior standard of presentation and content, based on feedback from researchers.

An earlier version of this format was introduced for Cell Press journals in 2009 and helped to earn the company the 2010 PROSE Award for Excellence in Biological and Life Sciences.

The prototype articles are initially being made available in seven disciplines and will be applied to a broader range of SciVerse ScienceDirect content towards the end of the year.

IJsbrand Jan Aalbersberg, vice-president for content innovation at Elsevier, said: "Based on the feedback that we've received from users during the test phase, I'm delighted to be able to say the new format is an enormous improvement."

This comes after the company announced last month that interactive maps are being incorporated into SciVerse ScienceDirect articles via new compatibility with Google Maps.