The rabbit dies and new initiatives are born

Abstract

A strategic editorial retreat with the theme “Reimagining the Journal” was held (in collaboration with our publisher, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins) March 16–18 in Boston, Massachusetts, to discuss the creation of a more relevant journal that will meet the evolving needs of physicians of the future. Our guest consultants, from online network development groups and prominent scientific journals, guided interactive sessions. Topics included expectations for digital devices, models for spin-off journals, data visualization, new features being invented for journals, and improvements to make Neurology ® more readable. Some of the many ideas discussed are already bearing fruit and are described in the following paragraphs. We plan to implement others in the coming months and years. ### e-Publication of all articles ahead of print. In recent years, articles that the editors judged to have the most influence on practice—and therefore were published online ahead of print—were so identified by a rabbit icon on the journal cover. With this issue of Neurology , the hare icon has disappeared: the bunny is now no longer meaningful because all of our peer-reviewed articles will be published ahead of print. This innovation will allow readers to access articles earlier for use in practice and will make our content available earlier for citation by authors of other articles. ### QR Codes. In this issue, we introduce Quick Response (QR) Codes, matrix barcodes showing a dark pattern on a square white background. These increasingly used tools will link article pages to online features, such as videos and other items, for viewing on smartphones and other mobile devices. To use a QR Code, you will need to install a QR Code Reader application (available free) on your smartphone or tablet platform; launch this app and point your device's camera to a QR Code to scan it. The phone will interpret the code and load the data on your device's …