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PLoS Medicine added to HSLS E-JournalsPLoS Medicine, the latest open access publishing journal from Public Library of Science (PLoS), is now available through HSLS electronic journals <www.hsls.pitt.edu/resources/ejournals/titles/P>, beginning with the October 19, 2004 premiere issue. The peer-reviewed PLoS Medicine covers global medical sciences, from basic research to large clinical trials. It joins PLoS Biology in the HSL Online Collection. 
PLoS was created in response to the rapidly escalating subscription costs of high-quality, peer-reviewed scientific journals. Co-founded by Nobel laureate Harold Varmus of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Michael B. Eisen of the University of California at Berkeley, and Patrick O. Brown of Stanford University, the goal was to extend scientific knowledge beyond the confines of traditional publication and copyright restrictions, by making important full-text articles freely available to anyone with Internet access. In accordance with their Creative Commons Attribution License <www.creativecommons.org>, PLoS permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction, as well as derivative works and commercial use, provided the original author is properly credited. Reasons often cited in support of open access to scientific literature include the benefits of prompt and open dissemination of original research, and the idea that, since the U.S. government funds much of this research, results should be shared with the public. According to PLoS, "the United States government alone spends more than $57 billion annually on scientific research - approximately $200 per citizen. Yet the vast majority of the articles reporting the results of this valuable investment is locked in disparate archives that require subscriptions for access." PLoS Medicine relies on grants and authors' fees for funding, rather than a traditional subscriber base. Although the online version is free, a print subscription is available at a cost of $160.00 per year for institutions or individuals. Find out more at about PLoS Medicine at <www.plosmedicine.org>. |
