The wide range of information about The American available by electronic communication continues to grow. One area that has expanded is the general and specialized e-mail lists.
Available to all members of The American and candidates at its institutes is the members' e-mail list. This list is intended as a general discussion venue for the membership to facilitate discussions among colleagues on a variety of topics. Messages can be posted to members@apsa.org. The level of traffic at times can be burdensome, and for that reason an optional weekly digest is available. The digest compiles all messages posted during the week into a single message with a list of topics at the beginning. To subscribe to the members' list in either digest or single-message form, contact Brian Canty at datamanager@apsa.org.
Two new specialized lists have been created to reduce the volume on the members' list. One is for members wishing information about elections of The American including candidate statements and responses to questions from members. Its address is elections@apsa.org. The second specialized list is the Announcements List, on which announcements of interest to analysts may be posted. Typical announcements include upcoming local, national, and international events. The list address is announcements@apsa.org. Contact Canty to subscribe, or send e-mail to majordomo@apsa.org; in the body of the message type the words “subscribe announcements.”
The analytic bulletin board system (BBS) is a general discussion forum available to analysts from all psychoanalytic institutes including those that are not part of The American. Robert Galatzer-Levy developed the BBS and oversees its operation. To subscribe, send a message to bbs@apsa.org.
The Association has developed additional e-mail lists whose subscribers are members of key components of The American. In this manner important information can be distributed quickly and inexpensively. Members of the Executive Council, the Board on Professional Standards, and the Steering Committee all receive immediate information relating to their groups.
Members who need help accessing the e-mail lists should contact the APsaA data manager (datamanager@apsa.org.) If your e-mail address is not registered with the central office of The American, please inform the data manager. Also indicate if you wish to have the address shown on the printed roster and the online roster.
Accessible to users of the Internet around the world is The American's World-Wide Web site, reached at . The site was developed by Paul Mosher two years ago and now is accessed by about 200 individuals per day.
Most popular with viewers is the searchable bibliography of the psychoanalytic literature; this feature draws 900 users a month. The bibliography is drawn from all references available in the Jourlit and Bookrev formats. It comprises a nearly complete listing of all articles published in 19 selected publications and book reviews from four major psychoanalytic journals. The title and author of about 30,000 references to journal articles, book reviews, and books reviewed is available for the browsing. For example, if one searches on the keyword “id,” 33 titles containing “id” are listed. “Self-esteem” yields 13 titles; “film” produces 21 titles. Paul Mosher was instrumental in developing this feature.
The next most popular areas at the APsaA Web site are the listing of abstracts of JAPA articles and the “links” section. The JAPA page lists the table of contents of the journal since 1994. Summaries of many individual articles can be called up. The links page gives users opportunity to explore other areas on the World-Wide Web of interest to psychoanalysts. Local societies and institutes can be reached, as can international societies and institutes. There are links to Web pages of related organizations, such as the American Psychiatric Associations and the American Psychological Association. Unusual sites are also listed. “Burying Freud” contains numerous articles both supporting and deriding Freud and psychoanalysis.
The Committee on Public Information, chaired by Leon Hoffman, has many interesting and important articles on its page. These articles include news releases such as that publicizing the recent JAPA supplement on “The Psychology of Women.” The committee's site contains informative articles on the economics of psychoanalysis and many letters to the editor written by members that have been published in local newspapers. The text of The American's popular brochure “About Psychoanalysis” is available; it was downloaded 1,240 times this summer.
If you need to find the telephone of an analytic colleague or wish to find a referral source in a distant city, The American's Web site includes a hypertext version of the membership roster which was designed by Paul Mosher. Members' names and cities are searchable, and the roster is synchronized with the central office database so that name, city, office telephone, fax number, and e-mail address are current.
Also on the Web site is information on the Fellowship Program including application forms that can be downloaded. Other areas of interest are the programs of the twice-yearly meetings of The American (registration material may be downloaded), selected articles from TAP, and a description of the organization.
Would-be analytic scholars may access the “Quotation Quiz.” Quotes from the Standard Edition are displayed, and users are asked to identify the volume and page number from which the quote came. Winners have come from all over the world.
The American's Web site has garnered several Internet awards, including the Four Star Luckman Award, the Look Smart Editor's Choice, and the Healthcare Internet Too! Citizen 1 award.
To e-mail the central office via CompuServe, use 71644,2164 or apsaorg. Using other service providers, send e-mail to or .