Radiological journals in the online world: should we think Open?

UNLABELLED: The scientific community is becoming increasingly web-based and the role of online communication is continuously expanding. In this setting, one fact and two trends should be considered. The fact is the decision by Britain's government and by the European Union to make all papers deriving from projects that were paid for using public funds freely available online for reading and redistribution (an approach already widely used in the US). The trends are the 'open review' process and the future perspective of having online-only scientific journals; the balance of advantages and disadvantages of such an approach is debated. These factors are challenging the scientific community worldwide and radiological scientific societies should play a relevant role in driving these processes.

KEY POINTS: • Research funded by the EU and Britain's government will soon be freely available • The open-review process has started in certain scientific communities, but not yet within radiology • Online communication is increasing its power within the scientific community.