Journal of Respiratory Infections LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Why a New Journal?

Traditional peer-review scientific journals have been criticized due to their overreliance on publishing only what they consider to be important papers that will boost their impact factor as well as the need for a subscription fee to access the publication. In an attempt to make manuscripts more accessible, the open access model was developed allowing readers free access to articles. The open access journals operate under a pay-to-publish model.


Introduction
In this inaugural issue of the University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections I would like to provide a little background for our decision to start a new journal, as it is no small undertaking. To do so, we must first examine the state of traditional publication and the advent of open access.

Traditional Publication
Traditional peer-review scientific journals have been criticized due to their overreliance on publishing only what they consider to be important papers that will boost their impact factor as well as the need for a subscription fee to access the publication. In an attempt to make manuscripts more accessible, the open access model was developed allowing readers free access to articles. The open access journals operate under a pay-to-publish model.
In recent years we have witnessed a plethora of journals that use the open access/pay-to-publish model in all aspects of medicine. Author publications fees are generating an open access global industry. Several of these journals have been criticized because they significantly lowered the peer review standards to allow more articles to be accepted with the ultimate goal of earning more revenue for the publisher. 1 In the current environment, if an investigator performs a scientifically valid study but the manuscript is not considered important enough to be published in a traditional peer-review journal, the only pathway to publication is for the investigator to pay.
The need to pay for a subscription (pay-to-read model) limits the dissemination of research. On the other hand, charging the authors (pay-to-publish model) limits the possibilities of investigators to publish their work. There is a need for a new model that removes financial obstacles for readers as well as investigators and achieves high quality peer-review.

What is the mission of the ULJRI?
The mission of the University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections is to facilitate publication and dissemination of valuable research and educational information in the area of respiratory infections.

What are the goals of the ULJRI?
To achieve its mission, the journal will need to satisfy the following criteria, in addition to competing with traditional publications and the new open access models. There are many publications which satisfy some of these goals, but satisfying them all is a unique challenge.

Why peer-review?
ULJRI publishes information that is peer reviewed by experts in the field with the goal of assuring high scientific standard. In addition, the peer-review process guides and mentors investigators to achieve quality scientific publications. The uniqueness of this peer-review approach, with an emphasis on a mentoring methodology, can be achieved due to the high commitment of international editors with experts in the field of respiratory infections. The primary goal of our mentoring approach to peer-review is to show the authors pathways for manuscript improvement.

Why open access?
ULJRI publications are open access to facilitate the movement of that information into the large global community interested in the field of respiratory infections. Dissemination of scientific information is seriously limited when there is a subscription fee to access the information.

Why no article-processing charges?
Only a fraction of investigators generating new knowledge in the field of respiratory infections are funded investigators. A significant body of research is performed with unfunded studies. ULJRI publications are free of charge to ensure that a lack of financial support for an investigator is not an impediment to publish his/her research work.

Why multimedia?
The ULJRI disseminates information in the traditional text manuscript format (articles) as well as multimedia format. The journal's dissemination of research and education is greatly enhanced with a combination of text, audio, images, animation, video and interactive content.

Conclusion
In conclusion, there is a consensus among the community of investigators in the field of respiratory infections regarding the need to improve our capacity to publish and disseminate peer-review research. The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections was created with the goal of fulfilling this need.