Implications of PLoS Biology's impact

Zara Herskovits, New type of research journal gaining ground, Boston Globe, July 11, 2005. Excerpt:

Last month, a two-year-old scientific journal with a controversial new business model was named the top biology journal of 2004. The recognition was the first quantitative measure of the success of Public Library of Science (PLoS) Biology -- and suggests that such free, readily accessible scientific journals are gaining on the traditional publications that have been the hallmark of scientific publishing for centuries....''This can really improve scholarly communication," said Sidney Verba, professor of government and director of the Harvard University library. ''The scientific community can recapture the ability to communicate their results." The basic premise behind PLoS Biology, and a rapidly expanding family of similar publications in biology and medicine, is that the United States government spends billions of taxpayer dollars to support scientific research, yet results from these efforts are often buried in journal archives that are expensive and difficult to access. PLoS is a nonprofit organization comprised of research scientists who seek to give everyone -- from citizens who want to learn more about new medical treatments to scientists in developing countries who want to reference basic science articles -- full access to these materials. PLoS Biology was ranked number one among biology journals on the basis of its impact factor, which is the equivalent of a batting average in the world of scientific publishing.