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|caption =
|caption =
|url = [http://www.plos.org/ PLoS.org]
|url = [http://www.plos.org/ PLoS.org]
|alexa = {{IncreaseNegative}} 91,030 ({{as of|2012|8|2|alt=August 2012}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/plos.org |title= Plos.org Site Info | publisher= [[Alexa Internet]] |accessdate= 2012-08-02 }}</ref><!--Updated monthly by OKBot.-->
|alexa = {{IncreaseNegative}} 91,030 ({{as of|2012|8|2|alt=August 2012}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/plos.org |title= PlOs.org Site Info | publisher= [[Alexa Internet]] |accessdate= 2012-08-02 }}</ref><!--Updated monthly by OKBot.-->
|commercial = No
|commercial = No
|type = [[Science]]
|type = [[Science]]
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The '''Public Library of Science (PLoS)''' is a nonprofit [[open access (publishing)|open-access scientific publishing]] project aimed at creating a library of [[open access journal]]s and other [[scientific literature]] under an [[open content]] license. It launched its first journal, ''[[PLoS Biology]]'', in October 2003 and publishes seven journals, all [[peer review]]ed, as of April 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plos.org/publications/journals/|title=Journals|publisher=plos.org|accessdate=2012-04-17}}</ref>
The '''Public Library of Science (PLOS)''' is a nonprofit [[open access (publishing)|open-access scientific publishing]] project aimed at creating a library of [[open access journal]]s and other [[scientific literature]] under an [[open content]] license. It launched its first journal, ''[[PLOS Biology]]'', in October 2003 and publishes seven journals, all [[peer review]]ed, as of April 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plos.org/publications/journals/|title=Journals|publisher=plos.org|accessdate=2012-04-17}}</ref>


== History ==
== History ==
[[Image:Open Access PLoS.svg|thumb|200px|The Open Access logo.]]
[[Image:Open Access PLOS.svg|thumb|200px|The Open Access logo.]]
The Public Library of Science began in early 2001 as an online petition initiative by [[Patrick O. Brown]], a [[biochemistry|biochemist]] at [[Stanford University]], and [[Michael Eisen]], a [[Computational biology|computational biologist]] at the [[University of California, Berkeley]], and the [[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]]. The petition called for all scientists to pledge that from September 2001 they would discontinue submission of papers to journals which did not make the full-text of their papers available to all, free and unfettered, either immediately or after a delay of several months. Some now do this immediately, as open access journals, such as the [[BioMed Central]] stable of journals, or after a six-month period from publication, as what are now known as [[delayed open access journal]]s, and some after 6 months or less, such as the ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]].'' Many others continue to rely on [[self-archiving]].
The Public Library of Science began in early 2001 as an online petition initiative by [[Patrick O. Brown]], a [[biochemistry|biochemist]] at [[Stanford University]], and [[Michael Eisen]], a [[Computational biology|computational biologist]] at the [[University of California, Berkeley]], and the [[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]]. The petition called for all scientists to pledge that from September 2001 they would discontinue submission of papers to journals which did not make the full-text of their papers available to all, free and unfettered, either immediately or after a delay of several months. Some now do this immediately, as open access journals, such as the [[BioMed Central]] stable of journals, or after a six-month period from publication, as what are now known as [[delayed open access journal]]s, and some after 6 months or less, such as the ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]].'' Many others continue to rely on [[self-archiving]].


Joined by Nobel Prize winner and former [[National Institutes of Health]] director [[Harold Varmus]], the PLoS organizers next turned their attention to starting their own journal, along the lines of the [[United Kingdom|UK]]-based BioMed Central, which has been publishing open-access scientific papers in the biological sciences in journals such as ''Genome Biology'' and the ''Journal of Biology'' since late 1999.
Joined by Nobel Prize winner and former [[National Institutes of Health]] director [[Harold Varmus]], the PLOS organizers next turned their attention to starting their own journal, along the lines of the [[United Kingdom|UK]]-based BioMed Central, which has been publishing open-access scientific papers in the biological sciences in journals such as ''Genome Biology'' and the ''Journal of Biology'' since late 1999.


As a publishing company, the Public Library of Science began full operation on October 13, 2003, with the publication of a [[peer review|peer-review]]ed print and online scientific journal entitled ''[[PLoS Biology]]'', and has since launched seven more peer-reviewed journals. One, ''PLoS Clinical Trials'', has since been merged into ''[[PLoS ONE]]''. Following the merger, the company started the PLoS Hub for Clinical Trials to collect journal articles published in any PLoS journal and relating to clinical trials.
As a publishing company, the Public Library of Science began full operation on October 13, 2003, with the publication of a [[peer review|peer-review]]ed print and online scientific journal entitled ''[[PLOS Biology]]'', and has since launched seven more peer-reviewed journals. One, ''PLOS Clinical Trials'', has since been merged into ''[[PLOS ONE]]''. Following the merger, the company started the PLoS Hub for Clinical Trials to collect journal articles published in any PLOS journal and relating to clinical trials.


The PLoS journals are what it describes as "open access content"; all content is published under the [[Creative Commons]] [[Creative Commons licenses|"attribution" license]] ([[Lawrence Lessig]], of Creative Commons, is also a member of the Advisory Board).
The PLOS journals are what it describes as "open access content"; all content is published under the [[Creative Commons]] [[Creative Commons licenses|"attribution" license]] ([[Lawrence Lessig]], of Creative Commons, is also a member of the Advisory Board).
The project states (quoting the [[Budapest Open Access Initiative]]) that: "The only constraint on reproduction and distribution, and the only role for copyright in this domain, should be to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited."
The project states (quoting the [[Budapest Open Access Initiative]]) that: "The only constraint on reproduction and distribution, and the only role for copyright in this domain, should be to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited."


== Business model ==
== Business model ==
To fund the journals, PLoS charges a publication fee to be paid by the author or the author's employer or funder. In the United States, institutions such as the National Institutes of Health and the [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]] have pledged that recipients of their grants will be allocated funds to cover such author charges.
To fund the journals, PLOS charges a publication fee to be paid by the author or the author's employer or funder. In the United States, institutions such as the National Institutes of Health and the [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]] have pledged that recipients of their grants will be allocated funds to cover such author charges.
PLoS was launched with grants totalling US$13 million from the [[Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation]] and the [[Sandler Family Supporting Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite journal
PLOS was launched with grants totalling US$13 million from the [[Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation]] and the [[Sandler Family Supporting Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite journal
| author = [[Declan Butler]]
| author = [[Declan Butler]]
| title = Open-access journal hits rocky times
| title = Open-access journal hits rocky times
Line 45: Line 45:
| pmid = 16791161
| pmid = 16791161
| issue = 7096
| issue = 7096
}}</ref> PLoS confirmed in July 2011 that it no longer relies on subsidies from foundations and are covering their operational costs themselves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.plos.org/plos/2011/07/2010-plos-progress-update/ |title=2010 PLoS Progress Update &#124; The Official PLoS Blog |publisher=Blogs.plos.org |date=2011-07-20 |accessdate=2012-02-27}}</ref>
}}</ref> PLOS confirmed in July 2011 that it no longer relies on subsidies from foundations and are covering their operational costs themselves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.plos.org/plos/2011/07/2010-plos-progress-update/ |title=2010 PLoS Progress Update &#124; The Official PLOS Blog |publisher=Blogs.plos.org |date=2011-07-20 |accessdate=2012-02-27}}</ref>


== Impact ==
== Impact ==
Line 51: Line 51:


==Publications==
==Publications==
*''[[PLoS Biology]]'', {{ISSN|1544-9173}}; launched in 2003
*''[[PLOS Biology]]'', {{ISSN|1544-9173}}; launched in 2003
*''[[PLoS Medicine]]'', {{ISSN|1549-1676}}; October 2004
*''[[PLOS Medicine]]'', {{ISSN|1549-1676}}; October 2004
*''[[PLoS Computational Biology]]'', {{ISSN|1553-7374}}; June 2005
*''[[PLOS Computational Biology]]'', {{ISSN|1553-7374}}; June 2005
*''[[PLoS Genetics]]'', {{ISSN|1553-7404}}; July 2005
*''[[PLOS Genetics]]'', {{ISSN|1553-7404}}; July 2005
*''[[PLoS Pathogens]]'', {{ISSN|1549-1676}}; September 2005
*''[[PLOS Pathogens]]'', {{ISSN|1549-1676}}; September 2005
*''[[PLoS Clinical Trials]]'' {{ISSN|1555-5887}}; May 2006, later merged into ''PLoS ONE''
*''[[PLOS Clinical Trials]]'' {{ISSN|1555-5887}}; May 2006, later merged into ''PLoS ONE''
*''[[PLoS ONE]]'', {{ISSN|1817-101X}}; December 2006
*''[[PLOS ONE]]'', {{ISSN|1817-101X}}; December 2006
*''[[PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases]]'', {{ISSN|1935-2735}}; October 2007
*''[[PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases]]'', {{ISSN|1935-2735}}; October 2007
*''[[PLoS Hub for Clinical Trials]]'', third quarter 2007
*''[[PLOS Hub for Clinical Trials]]'', third quarter 2007
*''[[PLoS Currents]]'', {{ISSN|2157-3999}}; August 2009
*''[[PLOS Currents]]'', {{ISSN|2157-3999}}; August 2009


== Headquarters ==
== Headquarters ==
PLoS has its main headquarters in Suite 100 in the Koshland East Building in [[Levi's Plaza]] in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plos.org/contact/ |title=Contact |publisher=PLoS |date= |accessdate=2012-03-04}}</ref> The company was previously located in the [[China Basin Landing]] building in San Francisco, located across from the [[AT&T Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080310204009/http://www.plos.org/contact.html |title=Contact |work=Internet Archive Wayback Machine |publisher=PLoS |date=2008-03-10 |accessdate=2012-03-04}}</ref> In June 2010, PLoS announced that it was moving to a new location, because the growth of ''[[PLoS ONE]]'' and the increase in the number of articles submitted to PLoS journals after a [[National Institutes of Health]] mandate was put into effect, made PLoS outgrow its previous location. The move went into effect on June 21, 2010.<ref name="Allen">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.plos.org/plos/2010/06/plos-san-francisco-office-is-moving/ |title=PLoS San Francisco office is moving &#124; The Official PLoS Blog |publisher=PLoS |date=2010-06-16 |first=Liz |last=Allen |accessdate=2012-03-04}}</ref>
PLOS has its main headquarters in Suite 100 in the Koshland East Building in [[Levi's Plaza]] in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plos.org/contact/ |title=Contact |publisher=PLoS |date= |accessdate=2012-03-04}}</ref> The company was previously located in the [[China Basin Landing]] building in San Francisco, located across from the [[AT&T Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080310204009/http://www.plos.org/contact.html |title=Contact |work=Internet Archive Wayback Machine |publisher=PLoS |date=2008-03-10 |accessdate=2012-03-04}}</ref> In June 2010, PLOS announced that it was moving to a new location, because the growth of ''[[PLOS ONE]]'' and the increase in the number of articles submitted to PLOS journals after a [[National Institutes of Health]] mandate was put into effect, made PLOS outgrow its previous location. The move went into effect on June 21, 2010.<ref name="Allen">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.plos.org/plos/2010/06/plos-san-francisco-office-is-moving/ |title=PLOS San Francisco office is moving &#124; The Official PLOS Blog |publisher=PLoS |date=2010-06-16 |first=Liz |last=Allen |accessdate=2012-03-04}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 69: Line 69:
* [[arXiv]] e-print archive
* [[arXiv]] e-print archive
* [[Open Archives Initiative]]
* [[Open Archives Initiative]]
* [[Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association]], of which PLoS is a founding member
* [[Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association]], of which PLOS is a founding member


==Footnotes==
==Footnotes==
Line 78: Line 78:
*Adam, David. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1056608,00.html "Scientists Take on the Publishers in an Experiment to Make Research Free to All"] ''The Guardian,'' 6 October 2003.
*Adam, David. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1056608,00.html "Scientists Take on the Publishers in an Experiment to Make Research Free to All"] ''The Guardian,'' 6 October 2003.
*Albanese, Andrew. "Open Access Gains with PLoS Launch: Scientists Call for Cell Press Boycott; Harvard Balks on Big Deal." ''Library Journal,'' 15 November 2003, 18-19.
*Albanese, Andrew. "Open Access Gains with PLoS Launch: Scientists Call for Cell Press Boycott; Harvard Balks on Big Deal." ''Library Journal,'' 15 November 2003, 18-19.
*Bernstein, Philip, Barbara Cohen, Catriona MacCallum, Hemai Parthasarathy, Mark Patterson, and V. Siegel. [http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0000034 "PLOS Biology-We're Open"] ''PLoS Biology'' 1, no.2 (2003): 3
*Bernstein, Philip, Barbara Cohen, Catriona MacCallum, Hemai Parthasarathy, Mark Patterson, and V. Siegel. [http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0000034 "PLOS Biology-We're Open"] ''PLOS Biology'' 1, no.2 (2003): 3
*Brower, Vicki. [http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/embor/journal/v2/n11/full/embor282.html&filetype=pdf "Public Library of Science Shifts Gears."] ''EMBO Reports'' 2, no. 11 (2001): 972-973.
*Brower, Vicki. [http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/embor/journal/v2/n11/full/embor282.html&filetype=pdf "Public Library of Science Shifts Gears."] ''EMBO Reports'' 2, no. 11 (2001): 972-973.
*Brown, Patrick O., Michael B. Eisen, and Harold E. Varmus. [http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0000036 "Why PLoS Became a Publisher."] ''PLoS Biology'' 1, no. 1 (2003): 1-2.
*Brown, Patrick O., Michael B. Eisen, and Harold E. Varmus. [http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0000036 "Why PLOS Became a Publisher."] ''PLOS Biology'' 1, no. 1 (2003): 1-2.
*Butler, Declan. [http://www.nature.com/nature/debates/e-access/Articles/butler3.html "Public Library Set to Turn Publisher as Boycott Looms."] ''Nature'', 2 August 2001, 469.
*Butler, Declan. [http://www.nature.com/nature/debates/e-access/Articles/butler3.html "Public Library Set to Turn Publisher as Boycott Looms."] ''Nature'', 2 August 2001, 469.
*———. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v425/n6958/full/425554a.html "Scientific Publishing: Who Will Pay for Open Access?"] ''Nature'', 9 October 2003, 554-555.
*———. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v425/n6958/full/425554a.html "Scientific Publishing: Who Will Pay for Open Access?"] ''Nature'', 9 October 2003, 554-555.
*Case, Mary. "The Public Library of Science." ''ARL: A Bimonthly Report on Research Library Issues and Actions from ARL, CNI, and SPARC,'' no. 215 (2001): 4. http://www.arl.org/newsltr/215/plos.html
*Case, Mary. "The Public Library of Science." ''ARL: A Bimonthly Report on Research Library Issues and Actions from ARL, CNI, and SPARC,'' no. 215 (2001): 4. http://www.arl.org/newsltr/215/plos.html
*Case, Mary M. "Public Access to Scientific Information: Are 22,700 Scientists Wrong?" ''[[College & Research Libraries News]]'' 62, no. 7 (2001): 706-709, 716. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2001/julyaugust2/publicaccess.htm
*Case, Mary M. "Public Access to Scientific Information: Are 22,700 Scientists Wrong?" ''[[College & Research Libraries News]]'' 62, no. 7 (2001): 706-709, 716. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2001/julyaugust2/publicaccess.htm
*Cohen, Barbara. "PLoS Biology in Action." ''PLoS Biology'' 2, no. 1 (2004): 1. http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020025
*Cohen, Barbara. "PLOS Biology in Action." ''PLOS Biology'' 2, no. 1 (2004): 1. http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020025
*———. "PLoS Medicine." ''PLoS Biology'' 2, no. 2 (2004): 139. http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0020063
*———. "PLOS Medicine." ''PLOS Biology'' 2, no. 2 (2004): 139. http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0020063
*Doyle, Helen. "Public Library of Science (PLoS): Committed to Making the World's Scientific and Medical Literature A Public Resource." ''ASIDIC Newsletter,'' no. 87 (2004): 9-10. http://www.asidic.org/meetings/newsletters/spring2004.pdf
*Doyle, Helen. "Public Library of Science (PLOS): Committed to Making the World's Scientific and Medical Literature A Public Resource." ''ASIDIC Newsletter,'' no. 87 (2004): 9-10. http://www.asidic.org/meetings/newsletters/spring2004.pdf
*Doyle, Helen J. "The Public Library of Science—Open Access from the Ground Up." ''College & Research Libraries News'' 65, no. 3 (2004): 134-136. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2004/march04/publiclibraryscience.htm
*Doyle, Helen J. "The Public Library of Science—Open Access from the Ground Up." ''College & Research Libraries News'' 65, no. 3 (2004): 134-136. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2004/march04/publiclibraryscience.htm
*Eaton, Lynn. "'Free' Medical Publishing Venture Gets Under Way." ''BMJ,'' 4 January 2003, 11. http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/326/7379/11/b
*Eaton, Lynn. "'Free' Medical Publishing Venture Gets Under Way." ''BMJ,'' 4 January 2003, 11. http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/326/7379/11/b
Line 109: Line 109:
*Pickering, Bobby. "Medical Journals to Get Open Access Rival." ''Information World Review,'' 21 May 2004. http://www.iwr.co.uk/iwreview/1155321
*Pickering, Bobby. "Medical Journals to Get Open Access Rival." ''Information World Review,'' 21 May 2004. http://www.iwr.co.uk/iwreview/1155321
*Public Library of Science. "Open Letter to Scientific Publishers." (2001). http://www.plos.org/about/letter.html
*Public Library of Science. "Open Letter to Scientific Publishers." (2001). http://www.plos.org/about/letter.html
*Reich, Margaret. "Peace, Love, and PLoS." ''The Physiologist'' 46, no. 4 (2003): 137, 139-141. http://www.the-aps.org/news/PloS.pdf
*Reich, Margaret. "Peace, Love, and PLOS." ''The Physiologist'' 46, no. 4 (2003): 137, 139-141. http://www.the-aps.org/news/PloS.pdf
*Russo, Eugene. "New Adventures in Science Publishing." ''The Scientist'' 15, no. 21 (2001): 12.
*Russo, Eugene. "New Adventures in Science Publishing." ''The Scientist'' 15, no. 21 (2001): 12.
*Schubert, Charlotte. "PLoS Snaps Up Cell Editor." ''Nature Medicine'' 9, no. 2 (2003): 154-155.
*Schubert, Charlotte. "PLoS Snaps Up Cell Editor." ''Nature Medicine'' 9, no. 2 (2003): 154-155.
*Stankus, Tony. "The Public Library of Science Passes Its First Biology Test." ''Technicalities'' 23, no. 6 (2003): 4-5.
*Stankus, Tony. "The Public Library of Science Passes Its First Biology Test." ''Technicalities'' 23, no. 6 (2003): 4-5.
*Suber, Peter. "The Launch of PLoS Biology." ''SPARC Open Access Newsletter'', no. 67 (2003). http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/11-02-03.htm#launch
*Suber, Peter. "The Launch of PLOS Biology." ''SPARC Open Access Newsletter'', no. 67 (2003). http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/11-02-03.htm#launch
*Thibodeau, Patricia L., and Carla J. Funk. "Quality Information for Improved Health." ''PLoS Biology'' 2, no. 2 (2004): 171-172. http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020048
*Thibodeau, Patricia L., and Carla J. Funk. "Quality Information for Improved Health." ''PLOS Biology'' 2, no. 2 (2004): 171-172. http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020048
*Twyman, Nick. "Launching PLoS Biology?Six Months in the Open." ''Serials'' 17, no. 2 (2004): 127-131.
*Twyman, Nick. "Launching PLoS Biology?Six Months in the Open." ''Serials'' 17, no. 2 (2004): 127-131.
*Velterop, Jan. "Vendor View." ''Information World Review,'' 1 December 2001. http://www.iwr.co.uk/iwreview/1150688
*Velterop, Jan. "Vendor View." ''Information World Review,'' 1 December 2001. http://www.iwr.co.uk/iwreview/1150688
Line 123: Line 123:
==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.plos.org/ Public Library of Science website]
* [http://www.plos.org/ Public Library of Science website]
*[http://ibiomagazine.org/issues/march-2011-issue/harold-varmus.html Harold Varmus iBioMagazine talk about PLoS: "Changing the Way We Publish"]
*[http://ibiomagazine.org/issues/march-2011-issue/harold-varmus.html Harold Varmus iBioMagazine talk about PLOS: "Changing the Way We Publish"]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/07/opinion/07THU3.html Editorial in the 7 August 2003 edition of ''The New York Times'' concerning Public Library of Science journals]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/07/opinion/07THU3.html Editorial in the 7 August 2003 edition of ''The New York Times'' concerning Public Library of Science journals]


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[[fr:Public Library of Science]]
[[fr:Public Library of Science]]
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[[pl:Public Library of Science]]
[[pl:Public Library of Science]]

Revision as of 19:43, 6 August 2012

Public Library of Science
Type of site
Science
Available inEnglish
URLPLoS.org
CommercialNo

The Public Library of Science (PLOS) is a nonprofit open-access scientific publishing project aimed at creating a library of open access journals and other scientific literature under an open content license. It launched its first journal, PLOS Biology, in October 2003 and publishes seven journals, all peer reviewed, as of April 2012.[2]

History

File:Open Access PLOS.svg
The Open Access logo.

The Public Library of Science began in early 2001 as an online petition initiative by Patrick O. Brown, a biochemist at Stanford University, and Michael Eisen, a computational biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The petition called for all scientists to pledge that from September 2001 they would discontinue submission of papers to journals which did not make the full-text of their papers available to all, free and unfettered, either immediately or after a delay of several months. Some now do this immediately, as open access journals, such as the BioMed Central stable of journals, or after a six-month period from publication, as what are now known as delayed open access journals, and some after 6 months or less, such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Many others continue to rely on self-archiving.

Joined by Nobel Prize winner and former National Institutes of Health director Harold Varmus, the PLOS organizers next turned their attention to starting their own journal, along the lines of the UK-based BioMed Central, which has been publishing open-access scientific papers in the biological sciences in journals such as Genome Biology and the Journal of Biology since late 1999.

As a publishing company, the Public Library of Science began full operation on October 13, 2003, with the publication of a peer-reviewed print and online scientific journal entitled PLOS Biology, and has since launched seven more peer-reviewed journals. One, PLOS Clinical Trials, has since been merged into PLOS ONE. Following the merger, the company started the PLoS Hub for Clinical Trials to collect journal articles published in any PLOS journal and relating to clinical trials.

The PLOS journals are what it describes as "open access content"; all content is published under the Creative Commons "attribution" license (Lawrence Lessig, of Creative Commons, is also a member of the Advisory Board). The project states (quoting the Budapest Open Access Initiative) that: "The only constraint on reproduction and distribution, and the only role for copyright in this domain, should be to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited."

Business model

To fund the journals, PLOS charges a publication fee to be paid by the author or the author's employer or funder. In the United States, institutions such as the National Institutes of Health and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have pledged that recipients of their grants will be allocated funds to cover such author charges. PLOS was launched with grants totalling US$13 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation.[3] PLOS confirmed in July 2011 that it no longer relies on subsidies from foundations and are covering their operational costs themselves.[4]

Impact

The initiatives of the Public Library of Science in the United States have initiated similar proposals in Europe, most notably the "Berlin Declaration" developed by the German Max Planck Society, which has also pledged grant support for author charges (see also the “Budapest Open Access Initiative”).

Publications

  • PLOS Biology, ISSN 1544-9173; launched in 2003
  • PLOS Medicine, ISSN 1549-1676; October 2004
  • PLOS Computational Biology, ISSN 1553-7374; June 2005
  • PLOS Genetics, ISSN 1553-7404; July 2005
  • PLOS Pathogens, ISSN 1549-1676; September 2005
  • PLOS Clinical Trials ISSN 1555-5887; May 2006, later merged into PLoS ONE
  • PLOS ONE, ISSN 1817-101X; December 2006
  • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, ISSN 1935-2735; October 2007
  • PLOS Hub for Clinical Trials, third quarter 2007
  • PLOS Currents, ISSN 2157-3999; August 2009

Headquarters

PLOS has its main headquarters in Suite 100 in the Koshland East Building in Levi's Plaza in San Francisco.[5] The company was previously located in the China Basin Landing building in San Francisco, located across from the AT&T Park.[6] In June 2010, PLOS announced that it was moving to a new location, because the growth of PLOS ONE and the increase in the number of articles submitted to PLOS journals after a National Institutes of Health mandate was put into effect, made PLOS outgrow its previous location. The move went into effect on June 21, 2010.[7]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ "PlOs.org Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  2. ^ "Journals". plos.org. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
  3. ^ Declan Butler (2006). "Open-access journal hits rocky times". Nature. 441 (7096): 914. doi:10.1038/441914a. PMID 16791161. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "2010 PLoS Progress Update | The Official PLOS Blog". Blogs.plos.org. 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  5. ^ "Contact". PLoS. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  6. ^ "Contact". Internet Archive Wayback Machine. PLoS. 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  7. ^ Allen, Liz (2010-06-16). "PLOS San Francisco office is moving | The Official PLOS Blog". PLoS. Retrieved 2012-03-04.

References

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