Public Library of Science (PLOS)

PLOS is a nonprofit publisher, innovator and advocacy organization.

PLOS was founded as a nonprofit Open Access publisher, innovator and advocacy organization with a mission to advance progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. We believe that OPEN is a mindset that represents the best scientific values, bringing scientists together to share work as rapidly and widely as possible, to advance science faster and to benefit society as a whole. 

Since launching our first OA journal in 2003 to being the first publisher to formally offer cross-linking between our published articles and its posted preprint, PLOS has been a force for transformation in scholarly publishing. We proved the viability of Open Access, redefined publishing with 

PLOS ONE, the world's largest multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal, and developed the first suite of Article-Level Metrics. 15 years later, our key innovations continue to accelerate science and medicine... and we're only getting started. 

The science might be complex but our principles are not.

Research should be freely available to everyone for the advancement of knowledge, discovery, reproducibility and usability

Properly executed science deserves publication for the benefit of researchers, clinicians, policy makers, educators and the public

Data supporting conclusions should be accessible for the elevation of integrity, accountability, collegiality and community

Work is best judged on its own merit for timely access to varied research outputs from diverse authors, consortia and institutions

Forward-looking solutions must serve author needs by expanding the definition of published work, providing opportunity for community review and establishing credit for diverse contributions

The future is an investment for the public good by advancing science and medicine through improvements in systems and processes, advocacy