The American Gem Society’s official publication Spectra is going on-line only.

The publication, a four-color, 42-page, magazine circulated exclusively to the AGS’s members, will be distributed through e-mail and available at www.AmericanGemSociety.org, beginning with the summer 2009 issue.

“Moving to a digital format will greatly reduce the magazine’s impact on the environment, and increase the speed and timeliness with which we share the news,” said Ruth Batson, executive director and CEO of the Society. “We are encouraging our members to give their feedback on the digital experience. We’re asking them to e-mail Margaret De Young, deputy executive director of the Society, at mdeyoung@ags.org, and let us know their thoughts along the way.”

Spectra began in 1935 when American Gem Society founder Robert Shipley launched it as a Gems & Gemology feature called “Guilds” that reported on the Society’s activities. The next year, Shipley expanded the feature, renamed it, and created an entirely new publication for Society members. 

JCK