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www.plos.org
Committed to making the world’s
scientific and medical literature
a public resource
www.plos.org
Launching an Open Access Journal
Helen J. Doyle, Ph.D.Director of Development &
Strategic AlliancesPublic Library of Science
San Francisco, California USA
JISC / CNI ConferenceJuly 8, 2004Brighton, UK
www.plos.org
What is the Public Library of Science (PLoS)?
“A not-for-profit organization of scientists committed to making
the world’s scientific and medical literature a public resource”
Based in San Francisco, California, USA, with an editorial office in Cambridge, UK
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How does the Public Library of Science achieve its mission?
• By driving change in traditional scholarly publishing model to open-access
• By generating tools for mining and analyzing the scientific literature
• By making the literature both accessible and comprehensible to non-specialist readers
www.plos.org
The Past: A Scientific Publisher’s mission
4 November 1869Nature’s Mission statement
“First, to place before the general public the grand results of Scientific work and Scientific discovery; and to urge the claims of Science to a more general recognition in
Education and daily life.
Secondly, to aid scientific men themselves, by giving early information of all advances made in any branch of natural knowledge throughout the world, and by
affording them an opportunity of discussing the various scientific questions which arise from time to time”
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Does the traditional subscription-based model serve science and medicine?
• Most potential audiences have no access to primary literature
• Economics are based on old print and paper system
• Limited connectivity and searchability• Copyright restrictions limit uses and
dissemination
Science and medicine can advance more quickly if information is freely available.
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What is open access publishing?
• Free and unrestricted online access to the research literature and databases
• Users are licensed to download, print, copy, redistribute, and use
• Author retains copyright and the right to be acknowledged
• Papers are deposited in a public database that allows sophisticated searches (such as PubMedCentral)
(see Bethesda Principles, April 2003)
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Why is open access important?
• Maximum impact for authors access to the largest possible audience
• New ways to access and use literaturefull-text searching and mining
• Greatly expanded access to researchfor scientists, educators, physicians, the public
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The Traditional Publishing System
Researcher
Publisher
Reader
$
$ Information Flow via Tolls
$
$Library
Agent
Money FlowSubscriptions/Site Licenses/Pay-per-ViewPage charges/Color fees/Reprints
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Researcher
Publisher
Reader
$
The Open Access System
LibraryInformationflow
One-time publication charge
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Transition state economics
Open accessSubscription-based
?
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Catalysts for change
• Research Funding Agencies – governments, foundations, industry
• Publishers – open access journals and hybrid journals
• Advocacy and Policy Organizations • Knowledge Managers – libraries,
universities, government agencies• Authors, Readers, and Users –
scientists, educators, citizens
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Editorial aims and scope
• The best life science researchfrom molecules to ecosystems
• Outstanding service to authorseditorial board working with professional editors from start to end
• Accessibility and relevance synopses, essays, and commentary in magazine section
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Myths and Misconceptions about Open Access Journals
• Quality stringent peer review
• Viabilitynew business model
• Fairnessfee waivers
• Impactchallenge for any new journal
• Free = Openopen access allows less restricted use
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Myth 1: “Quality won’t be maintained.”
Answer:There is nothing intrinsic to open access that changes the peer-review process. Open access journals are committed to stringent peer review.
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Myth 2: “The Open Access business model is
not viable.”
Answer:Open access publishing takes advantages of new technologies and the economics of electronic publishing to be sustainable.
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Myth 3: “Open access will be unfair to those who can’t pay publication charges.”
Answer:Fee waiver policies and diverse funding sources ensure fairness.
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Myth 4: “Open access journals have no impact factor.”
Answer: Any new journal has no impact
factor. Open access journals can provide new ways to measure impact.
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Myth 5: “Free access is the same as open access.”
Answer: Many open access publishers use a
copyright license that allows the article to be freely reused and redistributed, not just read for free, while the author retains copyright and the right to be acknowledged for the original work. (see Creative Commons Attribution License at creativecommons.org)
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Developing a sustainable operation
• Publish flagship journalsjournal growth, author charge, advertising, sponsorship, costs
• Increase volume new titles, database style journals
• Catalyze changefinancial, political, cultural
• Transitional measures membership plans, grants, partnerships
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UK's Joint Informations Systems Committee (JISC)- JISC's Open Access Publishing Initiative will fund 50% of the publication charge for all authors from UK higher and further education institutions, for the first 40 papers accepted for publication. More information can be found in the press release. Learn about other JISC programs and funding opportunities to improve scholarly communication.
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www.plos.org
Launching in autumn 2004Call for Papers
• Excellent research,rigorously peer-reviewed• Expert commentary,in-depth analysis, global outlook• Outstanding internationaleditorial board• Accessible via PubMedfrom issue one
www.plosmedicine.org
www.plos.org
The Open Access Future
• Open access becomes the preferred mode of publishing
• Multiple open access publishing models thrive in a competitive market
• Innovative new tools and resources take full advantage of open access literature
• Full potential of scientific and medical creativity and productivity unleashed
• Public gains full access to research discoveries supported by public funds
www.plos.org
Committed to making the world’s
scientific and medical literature
a public resource
