New Publishing Strategy at JID

To authors and readers—Beginning with the July 2024 issue, we are introducing changes to our issue publication strategy that will afford us an opportunity to expand the number of quality articles The Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID) can accept. All scholarly journals that offer print issues are limited (or constrained) by the number of pages contractually available to them for print issues. When an issue is to be created, editors traditionally choose articles to compile a print issue using different formulas, sometimes choosing the oldest articles awaiting inclusion in a print issue, while others choose articles to provide representation in different subject or topic sections.

Continuous improvements in the scholarly publishing process provide the opportunity for accepted articles to be published online usually within a week of acceptance and subsequent posting on PubMed. As articles are being accepted, proofread, copyedited, finalized, and published online as corrected proofs, a backlog of articles awaiting to be included in print issues is created. When it is time for issues to be compiled, articles from the backlog are selected and assigned to a print issue.

Our JID editors continue to be enthusiastic about bringing broad translational scientific content to our readers. In the last year, we have evidenced and welcomed a significant increase in the number of quality articles submitted to JID, which has resulted in growth in the number of articles we are accepting and, as a result, increasing the number of articles that await issue publication.

Working with our publisher, Oxford University Press, we are adopting a hybrid publishing strategy that will allow us to retain a minimum backlog of articles awaiting issue publication. Beginning with the July issue, authors choosing to publish with open access licenses will be prioritized for issue publication and included in the JID monthly issue Table of Contents under the heading Online Only Articles. This change enhances our publishing flexibility, further enabling us to publish a wide variety of high-quality infectious diseases research, while also reducing our environmental footprint in print.

JID editors also seek to illuminate the thoughts and insights of our senior and junior scientific leaders, including on their careers and the field of infectious diseases. These articles will also be part of the new JID online-only content. Examples to date published in print in JID include career reflections by Drs Martin Hirsch, former JID editor-in-chief, and Tony Fauci, former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, complemented by insights provided by talented junior infectious diseases scientists such as Drs Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire and Boghuma Titanji. The new online-only article content will also enable us to better provide reflections on the impact of those we have lost. You will soon see a moving remembrance by Drs Allan Tunkel and Bennett Lorber on the impactful career and accomplishments of Dr Michael Scheld in a new online section we have named Epilogue Reflections.

As we continue to seek to expand and enhance the content of JID, we welcome your suggestions and input. Please don’t hesitate to reach out.

With best wishes,

Cynthia L. Sears, MD

Editor-in-Chief, JID