Vol. 40, No. 1-2, 1996
FOLIA VETERINARIA BEGINS ITS 40th YEAR (1956-1996)
Prof. Rudolf Cabadaj, DVM, PhD - Editor in Chief
Jubilees concern not only persons or celebrities, but also institutions. Two years ago, the University of Veterinary Medicine (UVM; previously the Veterinary College, VC) at Kosice commemorated the 45th anniversary of its foundation - being the only university of this kind in the Slovak Republic. The journal FOLIA VETERINARIA has been edited by the UVM, Kosice, since the second half of the fifties (1st volume: 1956; 2nd volume: 1957-58). This year, FOLIA VETERINARIA begins its 40th volume.
The objectives of this official, scientific journal of our UVM (VC) were suggested by its first editor-in-chief František H r u d k a (presently an emeritus professor of the Western College of the Veterinary Medicine, in the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon Canada). In the introduction to the first volume of the journal he postulated the following tasks: "... to provide information on the efforts and research work of the new college (at that time, Veterinary Faculty of the Agriculture University) to related colleges, veterinary and scientific institutes and veterinary and general communities...".
Until its 25th volume (1981), FOLIA VETERINARIA published articles mostly in Slovak with Russian, English, and German conclusions. Later complete articles in the above foreign languages and Spanish were published. Even with Slovak articles, the journal attracted attention abroad, which was evidenced by its frequent citations by foreign authors. Since the 8th volume (1964) single- or double-issues (1-2, 3-4) have been edited instead of the original yearly volumes, and this frequency of publication has been sustained uptil now.
Until the beginning of the eighties, besides scientific and research works, the journal had also edited articles on university activities - in the areas of pedagogy and research, as well as those of society. In addition to the first two separate decennial publications on the occasions of the 10th and 20th anniversaries of our Alma Mater`s foundation, the 25-year history of the UVM was summarised in a supplementary issue of the 18th volume of FOLIA VETERINARIA (1974).
The year 1982 was very important, as the FOLIA VETERINARIA (26th volume) began its full scale English editions, which have lasted up to the present - the 40th jubilee volume. Again, there is the exception of supplementary Slovak issue for the occasion of the 30th and 35th anniversaries of the UVM, Kosice (1984).
New social trends in central Europe after 1989 together with the establishment of the independent Slovak Republic (1993) emphasized the need for close co-operation with partners in western Europe. Therefore the UVM management and the editorial office of FOLIA VETERINARIA proceeded to reorganize of its editing.
From this point of view, favourable conditions have been created by the arrangement of English courses in General Veterinary Medicine for foreign students (from the beginning of 1991). English speaking specialists - from the United Kingdom and USA - have facilitated the language improvement of FOLIA VETERINARIA. Since its 37th volume (1993) the journal has changed its format to a larger one (A4), which corresponds to the usual format of world scientific journals.
The careful selection of contributions has promoted an increase in the number of citations of FOLIA VETERINARIA abroad.
In 1994, at the meeting of representatives of veterinary university institutions (Brno, Vienna, Budapest, Kosice, Ljubljana) associated in the "Veterinary Network of European Student/Staff Transfer (VetNEST)" in Kosice, the participants agreed to delegate their members to the editorial board of FOLIA VETERINARIA. In this way, FOLIA VETERINARIA would serve as a scientific journal for the common needs and interests of this association of veterinary universities and colleges.
On the basis of the aforementioned data, the editorial office has applied for the inclusion of FOLIA VETERINARIA in "Current Contents". We hope our application will be accepted, and, with the help of both contributors and readers, that the improved quality of the journal will benefit veterinary medicine not only in our country, but also abroad.
Folia Veterinaria / 1996