Chris Surridge, Now we are ONE, PLoS blog, August 1, 2007. Excerpt:
A week can be a long time in politics; well, a year in scientific publishing can feel like an age. On 1st August last year, PLoS ONE opened its doors for submission and so we have decided to call today our official birthday. So what has the last year been like and how have things changed?
Well, back in August 2006 we were quite excited to have double figures of submissions in our first week. Last month we were averaging 60 submissions a week. Close to two thousand submissions in total.
A year ago we had a dedicated editorial board of 120 people. At the moment that number stands at 386. I cannot thank enough these people who are responsible for assessing all the papers that are submitted, managing their peer review and deciding whether or not they are ready for publication….
Most importantly of all though, in the last year, or, at least, in the months from December 2006, we have published 695 pieces of original research. All of that research is, of course, Open Access and all of that research can be annotated by users, discussed by users and for the last few weeks rated by users….
The initial success of PLoS ONE is something unprecedented in scientific publishing. It has been achieved because of the commitment and faith of hundreds of people: PLoS staff, editorial and advisory board members, reviewers, authors and particularly readers. And yet this is only a very small step towards an open, interactive and efficient literature that will accelerate scientific progress. Over the coming months, we will take further steps with additional functionality on the site, new publishing ventures launching and established ones taking more advantage of the opportunities afforded by the TOPAZ platform on which PLoS ONE is presented.
So, if it is a birthday, what about presents?
Well, PLoS ONE would like three things none of which are particularly expensive and which all of the readers of this blog can give us: three resolutions.
Whenever you write about a published paper, be it in a journal or on a blog, always provide a link to the freely available version of the paper if one exists.
Whenever you read a paper in PLoS ONE, always rate it before leaving.
And most importantly....
Whenever you write a scientific paper, always, always, always publish it Open Access.
PS: Happy birthday, P1. I’m glad to spread the word, in hopes that more people will give you the gifts that will benefit everyone.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 8/01/2007 01:57:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
