PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE
1265 BATTERY STREET STE NO 200, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111 www.plos.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: SCIENCE AND MEDICAL PUBLISHING ARE THE CORE OF PLOS PROGRAM EXPENSE AT OVER $30 MILLION. THE ACTIVITIES INVOLVED IN OUR PUBLISHING OPERATION INCLUDE:- EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION WORK - RECEIPT AND TRIAGE OF SUBMISSIONS; PERFORMING/COORDINATING THEIR PEER REVIEW; AND PRODUCTION AND ONLINE PUBLICATION OF ACCEPTED ARTICLES. - MARKETING AND OUTREACH - PROMOTING ARTICLES, INVITING SUBMISSIONS, PROMOTING INITIATIVES SUCH AS CALLS FOR PAPERS, AND CREATING RESOURCES FOR AUTHORS AND REVIEWERS.- PUBLISHING ETHICS - HANDLING ETHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC CONCERNS INVOLVING SUBMISSIONS AND PUBLISHED ARTICLES.- ENGAGEMENT WITH RESEARCH COMMUNITIES (E.G. BY ATTENDING/ORGANIZING CONFERENCES/EVENTS/WORKSHOPS) - TO ENSURE THE JOURNALS AND THEIR POLICIES REFLECT THE RESEARCH INTERESTS AND VALUES OF THESE FIELDS AND COMMUNITIES.- MEDIA - COLLABORATING WITH AUTHORS, INSTITUTIONS, SCIENCE MEDIA CENTERS AND JOURNALISTS TO COMMUNICATE RESEARCH TO BOTH SCIENTISTS AND SOCIETY.THE SCOPE OF PLOS JOURNALS INCLUDES:- PLOS ONE, THE FIRST MULTIDISCIPLINARY OA JOURNAL PUBLISHING ALL TECHNICALLY VALID AND ETHICAL RESEARCH, REGARDLESS OF ANTICIPATED IMPACT.- PLOS BIOLOGY, PUBLISHING ARTICLES OF EXCEPTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, ORIGINALITY AND RELEVANCE IN ALL AREAS OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, FROM MOLECULES TO ECOSYSTEMS TO DATA-DRIVEN META-RESEARCH.- PLOS MEDICINE, WITH ARTICLES IN ALL AREAS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE, CLINICAL PRACTICE AND HEALTH POLICY INCLUDING A VARIETY OF STUDY DESIGNS.- PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY, PUBLISHING WORK THAT FURTHERS THE UNDERSTANDING OF LIVING SYSTEMS AT ALL SCALES THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF COMPUTATIONAL METHODS.- PLOS GENETICS, FOCUSED ON ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS IN GENETICS AND GENOMICS THAT REFLECT THE FULL BREADTH, INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE AND IMPACT OF THESE FIELDS ON SCIENCE AND MEDICINE.- PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES, THE FIRST JOURNAL SOLELY DEVOTED TO CHRONIC AND POVERTY-PROMOTING INFECTIOUS DISEASES, PUBLISHES RESEARCH ON ALL ASPECTS OF NTDS. - PLOS PATHOGENS, FIRST OA JOURNAL FOR BREAKTHROUGHS IN UNDERSTANDING PATHOGENS AND THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH HOST ORGANISMS. IN ADDITION TO MANAGING THE ABOVE PORTFOLIO OF JOURNALS, IN 2019 PLOS CONTINUED ITS FOCUS ON TWO BROAD AREAS: (1) OPEN SCIENCE PRACTICES AND INITIATIVES AROUND TRANSPARENCY, RECOGNITION, EXPANDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEER REVIEW, FIGHTING PUBLICATION BIAS, AND REPRODUCIBILITY; AND (2) DEVELOPING MORE EQUITABLE BUSINESS MODELS TO ENABLE A DIVERSE AND SUSTAINABLE PUBLISHING ECOSYSTEM. THE FOLLOWING ARE KEY HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR WORK IN 2019:- IN VARIOUS BLOG POSTS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, PLOS OUTLINED ITS VISION FOR BUSINESS MODELS BEYOND THE APC. WHILE MUCH OF THIS WORK WILL NOT BE PUBLICLY VISIBLE UNTIL 2020, 2019 SAW THE START OF PUBLIC DISCUSSION, AND EXTENSIVE BEHIND-THE-SCENES OPERATIONAL WORK, TO ADAPT TO NEW BUSINESS MODELS THAT ARE FOCUSED ON CENTRALLY ADMINISTRATED RELATIONSHIPS WITH INSTITUTIONS, FUNDERS, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, IN ADDITION TO AUTHORS ARRANGING PAYMENTS OF APCS.- PLOS ROLLED OUT THE OPTION FOR "PUBLISHED PEER REVIEW HISTORY" WHEREBY AUTHORS OPT-IN TO MAKE THE REVIEWER REPORTS OPENLY AVAILABLE ALONGSIDE THEIR ARTICLE, IF ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION. WE COMBINED MANUAL AND AUTOMATED PROCESSES, INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SOFTWARE, TO ENABLE US TO PUBLISH PEER REVIEW HISTORIES AT OUR LEVEL OF SCALE. - PLOS INCREASED THE NUMBER OF OPTIONS FOR REVIEWERS TO GET CREDIT FOR THEIR WORK BY ESTABLISHING CONNECTIONS WITH ORCID FOR REVIEWERS AND PUBLONS. REVIEWERS CAN OPT-IN VIA ORCID TO RECEIVE AUTOMATIC CREDIT FOR THEIR REVIEWS AND ADD MORE NUANCE TO THEIR SCHOLARLY PROFILES. ADDITIONALLY, REVIEWERS CAN SIGN UP FOR PUBLONS ACCOUNTS AND CONNECT THEIR REVIEWS TO THESE PROFILES.- PLOS LAUNCHED A PILOT ACROSS FIVE OF ITS JOURNALS (PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY, PLOS GENETICS, PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES, PLOS PATHOGENS) TO CONNECT BIORXIV COMMENTS ON PREPRINTS UNDER CONSIDERATION AT THESE JOURNALS TO THE EDITORS HANDLING THOSE ARTICLES. PLOS SUPPORTS MAXIMIZING AND DIVERSIFYING THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS TO ENABLE EVEN MORE VOICES TO CONTRIBUTE.- PLOS PARTNERED WITH THE PREPRINT REVIEW INITIATIVE REVIEW COMMONS, WHICH COORDINATES THE PEER REVIEW OF PREPRINTS, TO CREATE A "REFEREED PREPRINT". THIS REFEREED PREPRINT + REVIEW PACKAGE CAN THEN BE DIRECTED, BY THE AUTHOR, TO AFFILIATE JOURNALS TO EXPEDITE EDITORIAL CONSIDERATION, REDUCE SERIAL RE-REVIEW, AND STREAMLINE PUBLICATION. - PLOS CONTINUED ITS WORK TO HELP PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FOR MINIMAL REPORTING STANDARDS IN THE LIFE SCIENCE BY DEVELOPING AND TRIALING THE MDAR CHECKLIST. - PLOS CONTINUED OUR PUBLICATION FEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, DESIGNED TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY, ACCESS AND USE OF RESEARCH. IN 2019 PLOS PROVIDED $1.7 MILLION IN PARTIAL OR FULL ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE (APC) WAIVERS TO AUTHORS. THIS MAJOR PROGRAM EXPENSE, WHICH APPEARS AS A CONTRA-REVENUE FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING PURPOSES, DEMONSTRATES OUR SUPPORT TO SCIENCE AND THE GLOBAL RESEARCH COMMUNITY.

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