In starting again in a more formal way, the MBL staff recognized the need to explain what The Biological Bulletin was meant to be. It was meant to offer an American version of the German Biologisches Centralblatt or Anatomischer Anzeiger, they said. And it was up to American scientists to join the editors and make the enterprise successful.
The journal has remained strong through many different editors and changes in MBL administration, in large part because of a clear and coherent mission that is broad enough and yet focused enough to have remained compelling for more than a century. It has been a challenge at times, when specialty publications have become the norm, to define a valuable niche for a publication that includes all of biology in its mission. The articles have been largely reports of experimental work, often but not always with marine organisms, often concentrating on the areas in which the MBL itself excels, such as neurobiology, development, cell biology, and physiology.
The journal has helped build the MBL library into one of the world’s best biological research centers, since from the beginning, the editors swapped with many other publications and thereby helped all the collections grow. Today, MBL Corporation members can choose to receive a copy of the journal with their membership, and as of 2008, all past issues are now available through open access online.
Source: Maienschein, Jane, "The Biological Bulletin". Embryo Project Encyclopedia (2008-10-24). ISSN: 1940-5030 http://embryo.asu.edu/handle/10776/1952
