Scholarly communication, both formal and informal, is primarily communication between scholars, and specifically between scholars and their peers. SCHOLARLY OUTREACH AND OUTCOMES is concerned more with moves to make scholarship more accessible to those outside the ivory tower. This is in response to both internal and external pressures. The conference will examine how scholars, working directly and through publishers and librarians, are taking advantage of digital opportunities to make scholarship easily available to scholars in other fields, professionals outside the academy and the general public. It is also concerned with the related question of how research impacts the world outside the academy as knowledge which leads directly and indirectly to economic advantage.

The Seventh International Congress on Peer Review and Biomedical Publication will be held September 8-10, 2013, in Chicago, IL. As with the previous Congresses, our aim is to improve the quality and credibility of biomedical peer review and publication and to help advance the efficiency, effectiveness, and equitability of the dissemination of biomedical information throughout the world.

Now, in its fifth iteration the conference has established a reputation as a forum for worldwide good practice in this area. The 2012 event places the student at the heart of the learning process, whilst showcasing innovative approaches to addressing plagiarism and authenticity from the global academic community. Delegates attending the conference increasingly reflect the global scope of this topic, and previous conferences have attracted practitioners from the UK and Europe, US, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.

Currently confirmed keynote speakers are key figures in the global academic community, including Dr Virginia Barbour, Secretary of the Committee on Publication Ethics, Dr Tara Brabazon, Professor of Communication, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Dr Tracey Bretag, Director: Global Experience Program, Division of Business, University of South Australia and New York-based writer and filmmaker, Kirby Ferguson.