JIDInnovations: Expanding the Family

Abstract

With this and the following editorial, the SID and the ESDR formally announce the launch of a new “gold open access” peer reviewed journal entitled JID Innovations that will begin welcoming submissions in mid to late September, 2020. In the next few paragraphs, I will provide some introductory information that is intended to address some anticipated questions that relate to creation of the new journal. In the editorial that follows, Dr Russell Hall (the first Editor of JID Innovations) will introduce his vision for the journal and describe the timeline and administrative details that relate to bringing it online. JID Innovations is being created, in part, to provide a publication platform for SID and ESDR members who are required to publish in “gold open access” journals. “Gold open access” journals are those that allow content that is published to be accessed immediately by all readers without cost. The JID is a “green open access” journal, meaning that it allows public access to all content after a 1 year period in which content availability is restricted to personal or institutional subscribers unless authors have paid an additional fee that enables immediate open access. Some funding agencies now require that papers that are related to research that they support be published exclusively in “gold open access” journals. Publishing an open access paper in a “green open access” journal such as the JID may not satisfy this requirement, even if the authors pay the open access fee. Thus, creation of JID Innovations will address an anticipated unmet need for some SID and ESDR members. Dr Hall, currently Chair of Dermatology at Duke University and a previous President of the SID as well as a previous Deputy Editor of the JID, is the first Editor of JID Innovations. The JID Innovations Editor was chosen via an international search. The selection committee included members of the SID and ESDR Boards of Directors, representatives of the JID editorial office, and a publishing industry consultant to the SID Board of Directors and the JID. The selection of Dr Hall as the first Editor of JID Innovations was ratified by the SID Board of Directors at its virtual Spring 2020 meeting. JID and JID Innovations will both be published by Elsevier. Some administrative staff from the JID Editorial Office will support the publishing of JID Innovations. Elizabeth Nelson Blalock will serve as the Managing Editor of both journals. However, there will be no membership overlap between the editorial boards of JID and JID Innovations. Thus, decisions that relate to the contents of the JID and JID Innovations will be made independently. That said, it is anticipated that Russ Hall and I will have a very good working relationship. It is also possible that papers submitted to one of the two journals could ultimately be considered for publication in the other. Serial consideration of submitted manuscripts for publication could be almost effortless for authors because the JID and JID Innovations will utilize the same web-based system for manuscript submission and peer review. It is hoped that the JID and JID Innovations will complement each other, rather than compete with each other. To satisfy the need for Society member-authors to publish in “gold open access” journals, the intended scope of JID Innovations will not be more narrow than that of the JID. Dr Hall will articulate his vision for JID Innovations in the next few pages. It seems likely that the identity of JID Innovations will evolve over time, just as the identity of the JID has developed, including its increased emphasis on clinical research in recent years. There will also almost certainly be changes in the biomedical publishing industry in the foreseeable future, and many believe that immediate open access content will be increasingly required going forward. Thus, it is possible that, despite initial intentions, the JID and JID Innovations could develop some sibling rivalry at some point. I firmly believe that healthy competition that might result from a sibling rivalry could inspire and encourage those responsible for content of both the JID and JID Innovations to give their best efforts. As JID Editor, I welcome Dr Hall and JID Innovations to the SID/ESDR journal family with great enthusiasm. Like all of you, I very much look forward to seeing what the JID’s younger sibling becomes. The author declares no conflict of interest.