Year: 2023
Type: editorial
Abstract: The Medical Physics journal inaugural issue was published in print in 1974 and has continued to be published in hard copy through 2023—for 50 years. The journal developed an online version in the late 1990s, and in fact most readers now access the content of the journal online. The declining utility of the hard copy journal, combined with the steady reduction in print advertising revenue, and a recognition of the environmental impact of printing and mailing thousands of copies each month led leaders of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) to discontinue the printing of Medical Physics. The end of print has been discussed for many years, and this decision was never about “if” but rather about “when,” and now is the time; Medical Physics will cease its print circulation in January 2024. This decision follows similar actions taken by many journals across the scientific and medical publishing landscape. While this action represents the “end of an era” for this journal, this change allows readers more room on their bookshelves for other items—indeed, given other changes on the scholarly landscape, bookshelves themselves may become obsolete. AAPM members and other subscribers will continue to have full online access to Medical Physics. In recent years, online access to the journal has offered more features than print, including full color graphics at no cost to the author, the instantaneous availability of supplemental data and documents in various formats for some articles, and the ability to download PDF copies of papers to create a personal library. While some will remain nostalgic about the print journal, the time to move on has finally come and with that comes improved efficiency. The 12 issues of the 49th volume (2022, Figure 1) of Medical Physics weighs 14.9 kg (32.8 pounds) and produce a stack of journals that is 23.5 cm tall. With a print run of about 3000 copies per month, about 44 700 kg of paper was used for the print journal in 2022. By comparison, a single 500 g tablet can now provide complete access to all 50 years of Medical Physics articles in the palm of one's hand. And that is progress!
Source: Medical Physics
DOI: 10.1002/mp.16766
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4387563903