Another Sign of OA Failure?
PLOS wants more grants to get out of the bind it finds itself in — OA isn't working
PLOS was founded to “transform” scientific and scholarly publishing. It wasn’t just a new company. It represented a movement.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation provided an initial $9 million grant in 2002, with an additional $1 million in 2006 to help deal with financial shortfalls. PLOS launched PLOS ONE in 2006, as well — a megajournal with no clear focus which embraced a volume-based approach that allowed PLOS to generate significant financial surpluses, leading others in the market to copy and expand upon the profitable idea.
But did PLOS “transform” publishing? Perhaps, but also perhaps not in a good way and not as intended, as a recent announcement of a new funded initiative to “redefine” publishing suggests that said transformation was akin to painting the organization and publishing more generally into the corner.