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Getting to know the Public Library Of Science (PLOS)
| Publish or perish...we all have heard that before...too many times. | |
| The fact is that the peer review process has become the standard to evaluate the track of a scientific career (tenure-track, another familiar term) So, if you are considering a career in Academia, you will have to deal with the pressure, I mean pleasure, of publishing. But even after the manuscript is accepted, there are many factors that you still need to consider. |
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| Not too long ago, the scientific publishing world was dominated by the idea of publishers owning all the content that appeared in their pages. Copies were subject not just to seeking permission, but also reprint fees. With the development of the internet, the need of physical archival and printed material was, according to many, not justifiable. | |
| So back in the year 2000, a trio of scientists attempted to change this model. In their own words, "publishers of our scientific journals have a legitimate right to a fair financial return for their role in scientific communication. We believe, however, that the permanent, archival record of scientific research and ideas should neither be owned nor controlled by publishers, but should belong to the public and should be freely available through an international online public library". So the Public Library Of Science project was born. | |
| Since its founding in 2000, PLOS has promoted the open access (OA) movement, which seeks to make the results of all scholarly research accessible to everyone. But it was not until 2003, when they launched their first journal (PLOS Biology) and became a publishing house, that PLOS showed the open access model in science was possible. | |
| Their business model works by charging a publication fee that covers part of their expenses. As the goal is to make information available, fees are completely or partially waived for authors that have restricted funds. Fees are also reduced or waived for many countries with low resources. | |
| Charging for publications is not uncommon, as many journals charge a per page publication cost and include extra charges for figures. The model proved successful, and has gained support from many institutions, including the NIH, which started to provide grant support for publication costs. Many journals now provide their content free upon the elapse of a variable period of time (known as delayed open access). PLOS hosts several blogs, publications (i.e., the Currents), and Hubs websites for gathering scientific information. |
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| Although it doesn't cause the same frenzy as free food in a seminar, we believe PLOS will continue to lead a change in the way we perceive scientific publication. On top of that, many of the PLOS journals enjoy a high Impact Factor. But, impact factor is a whole different story. Stay tuned to hear about it! And if you have any questions or comments, just email us, mtam@biolegend.com |
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