Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review
coverage of progress in the major areas of chemical research. Written by
experts in their specialist fields the series creates a unique service
for the active research chemist, supplying regular critical in-depth
accounts of progress in particular areas of chemistry. For over 80 years
the Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor, the Chemical
Society, have been publishing reports charting developments in
chemistry, which originally took the form of Annual Reports. However, by
1967 the whole spectrum of chemistry could no longer be contained within
one volume and the series Specialist Periodical Reports was born. The
Annual Reports themselves still existed but were divided into two, and
subsequently three, volumes covering Inorganic, Organic and Physical
Chemistry. For more general coverage of the highlights in chemistry they
remain a 'must'. Since that time the SPR series has altered according to
the fluctuating degree of activity in various fields of chemistry. Some
titles have remained unchanged, while others have altered their emphasis
along with their titles; some have been combined under a new name
whereas others have had to be discontinued.