PLoS (Public Library of Science)
Another open access publishing initiative is PLoS, which launched its first online journal PLoS Biology in October. Their second online journal, PLoS Medicine, will follow in spring 2004. PLoS is also planning to expand its subject coverage to other fields as well as to specialty topics.
Headed by Dr. Harold Varmus, PLoS is a non-profit organization of physicians and scientists who are committed to making the world’s scientific and medical literature freely available as a public resource. They are further committed to working with scientists, societies, funding agencies, and other publishers to pursue the broader goal of developing open access for every published article.
Like BioMed Central, PLoS articles are searchable in PubMed and are immediately archived in PubMed Central.
PLoS’ business model is also based on a publication charge ($1,500), paid by the author or research sponsor, to cover the peer review and publication expenses. PLoS believes that publication is a fundamental part of the research process and as a result, publications costs are a small but essential part of the cost of research. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a strong supporter of this new model and has promised to cover the costs for their 350 investigators when they publish their articles in open access journals.
For further information about PLoS, visit their web site at: http://www.plos.org/index.html
