A New Publishing Model forThe Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology

Abstract

Twenty six years ago, we had a vision to publish Canadian medical research and open the window to what Canada contributed to medical research globally. We turned this dream into reality and succeeded beyond our expectations. We began by publishing The Canadian Journal of Cardiology and grew to publish 11 peer-reviewed medical journals, including The Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology, which has been published for over two decades now. The economic environment for publishing has changed significantly over the years and with declining advertising revenues, a general aversion of Canadian health care professionals to paying for subscriptions to Canadian publications and a dearth of support by federal funding agencies, new models must be sought. Many successful journals have moved toward an ‘open-access’ model with the authorship supporting the publication of their articles, which are then accessible for all to read, and to use (or reuse) to various extents. It is estimated that about 20% of the peer-reviewed literature is freely accessible at this time, but the demand is growing and the readership appreciates the increased reach, speed of access and availability of scholarly communications. At Pulsus, we are embracing this movement and The Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases & Microbiology will be our first venture into open-access publishing. We know how important your scholarly work is and what it means for the Journal, and we acknowledge that the Journal needs our continued commitment. But we also need your support as we move toward an open-access format. The new open-access format will include a submission fee for the new online submission and peer-review program (launched September 20, 2010) and, as with all open-access formats, will also include a per published page fee for authors (submission fee will be removed from this fee for accepted papers). We share this watershed moment in our publishing history with you having confidence that we are doing the right thing, publishing your research for the benefit of Canadians and the global community. Pulsus will continue to work diligently on maintaining a robust and expedient publishing environment but we need your support….it is your Journal and we must do this together.