Epigraph Vol. 8 Issue 1, 2006 Web

Epigraph; ILAE Launches Its Newsletter in a New Online Format

Epigraph – the newsletter of the International League Against Epilepsy – was launched in 1994. It was a novel concept for the league, and – for the first time in the League’s history – Epigraph provided a conduit for the transmission of ILAE information from the ILAE centre to its chapter members around the world. It struck a chord and in the past 10 years has continued with 2-3 editions a year and has retained throughout this period the same format, design, distribution method and the same editorial approach. Time, though, moves on, and in the past decade the rapid rise of online communication has rendered paper newsletters somewhat redundant. Furthermore, in the past four years, the ILAE Website has been developed to the extent that it has become the primary source of information about the ILAE. Epigraph had, in the view of some, become rather tired in format and content, and certainly its distribution lists had become progressively out of date.

At a meeting of the ILAE Website Task Force in October, therefore, the relative roles of Epigraph and of www.ilae-epilepsy.org were debated and a number of decisions were made. It was decided to retain Epigraph, as it was felt that ILAE continued to need a mechanism to communicate directly with its members – and Epigraph meets this need. However, we also recognized that the mailing of a print edition was wasteful of expense and materials – and that a far more efficient method would be via email. A decision was therefore made to convert Epigraph to become an essentially on-line newsletter, with its format changed accordingly and also to link Epigraph to the website far more closely. 

The publishing plan is as follows. Epigraph will now come out in three online issues each year (winter, summer and autumn), with a single additional print edition published in the spring for inclusion in conference bags of the ILAE regional and international conferences. The three online issues will be emailed to members at their individual addresses, thereby cutting out postal and production costs, and the vagaries of the postal systems.

What you see on your email is largely an annotated index with links to articles and information on the ILAE website. The small size of the email will allow rapid opening and the reader can choose quickly what to read. Simply clicking on the links will lead to the relevant page on the website.

Epigraph (via its Website links) will contain, as before, ILAE news, articles and information about ILAE activities and conferences, and links to its publications and administration. A new regular feature - Episcope, A Historical Note, will be included in each online edition. Occasional longer feature articles on topics related to epilepsy will be included.

As before, readers are welcome to submit articles at any time for consideration for publication in Epigraph, and we hope that these changes will enhance communication from ILAE for the benefit of all its members.

Simon Shorvon, Editor of Epigraph and ILAE Information Officer