Guest Post — The PLOS Union
PLOS staff are unionizing. How its leadership responds is a test of its vision for inclusive publishing.
Chefs de Cuisine: Perspectives from Publishing’s Top Table – – Alison Mudditt
Robert Harington and Alison Mudditt, CEO of PLOS, in conversation in this series of perspectives from some of Publishing’s leaders across the non-profit and profit sectors of our industry.
Guest Post – How Do We Measure Success for Open Science?
Iain Hrynaszkiewicz discusses PLOS’s Open Science Indicators initiatives and shares initial results.
A World Elsewhere: PLOS’s Community Action Publishing Model
Can community-action publishing prove to be a viable alternative to market-based publishing?
In Search of Equity and Justice: Reimagining Scholarly Communication
If we are truly committed to a more equitable and resilient system of scholarly communication, we need to look beyond diversity programs and understand how this watershed moment requires us to reexamine everything, including strategy and business models.
Is PLOS Running Out Of Time? Financial Statements Suggest Urgency To Innovate
The publisher is committed to financial sustainability. How it achieves it is an open question.
Guest Post – A Study of Commenting on PLOS Articles
Despite the near consensus about the popularity (or lack thereof) of commenting on academic articles, there is surprisingly little publicly available data relating to commenting rates. To address this, a team of academics from the Universities of Sheffield and Loughborough have recently published research into article commenting on PLOS journals. Simon Wakeling, Stephen Pinfield and Peter Willett report here on their findings.
Poor Financials Pushes PLOS To Ponder Future Prospects
PLOS’ latest financial report depicts an organization trying to reinvent itself, focusing less on disruption and innovation and more on efficiency and collaboration.
Badges? We Don’t Need No Stinking Preprint Badges!
By incorporating post-publication validation badges into preprints, bioRxiv begins to transform itself from a preprint server into a publishing platform.
PLOS Reports $1.7M Loss In 2016
After several high surplus years, a relatively small 2016 deficit will not sink PLOS. However, the trend over the past five years does not look encouraging, and 2017 looks no better.
Scientific Reports Overtakes PLOS ONE As Largest Megajournal
The open access megajournal is a proven success, but its future may lie in the hands of commercial entities.
PLOS ONE Output Drops Again In 2016
Output in PLOS ONE dropped by 6000+ papers in 2016, calling into question the sustainability of PLOS’ business model.
Can Highly Selective Journals Survive on APCs?
Are the APC levels set for high-end OA journals too low to be sustainable? Are there other ways that might help high-end OA journals pay their way?
What Price Progress: The Costs of an Effective Data Publishing Policy
The hidden costs of data availability policies.
The Terrible Burden of a Prestigious Brand
While all publishers like to have a strong brand, some brands are so prestigious that they actually serve to paralyze the managements responsible for them, making it impossible to introduce innovations and to develop the business. Vast bureaucracies arrive whose purpose is not to develop the business but to protect the vaunted brand. This is a management problem, not a marketing one, but it can stymie a publisher from pursuing a progressive agenda.