2015-10-12T12:24:08-05:00 2014-12-31 946214841 ARMANINO LLP 12657 ALCOSTA BOULEVARD SUITE 500 SAN RAMON CA 945834600 990 2014-01-01 680492065 PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE PUBL 4156241200 1160 BATTERY STREET NO 100 SAN FRANCISCO CA 94111 RICHARD HEWITT CFO 4156241200 2015-09-21 1 LYNN HENLEY P00356034 9257902600 2014 2016-02-25 16:41:14Z RICHARD HEWITT 1160 BATTERY STREET NO 100 SAN FRANCISCO CA 94111 61915638 0 X WWW.PLOS.ORG X 2001 CA COMMITTED TO MAKING THE WORLD'S SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL LITERATURE A PUBLIC RESOURCE. 10 9 204 7217 479840 -25793 445110 81797 46024518 44790070 608700 646936 688 57724 47079016 45576527 0 0 0 0 17822092 20523673 0 0 0 19233858 20233388 37055950 40757061 10023066 4819466 31828611 36591301 6091313 5962322 25737298 30628979 PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE O FOR COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION. 0 0 33010727 44310230 SCIENCE AND MEDICAL PUBLISHING REMAINS THE CORE OF PLOS PROGRAM EXPENSE AT $33 MILLION. PLOS PUBLISHES A SUITE OF INFLUENTIAL JOURNALS FROM ALL AREAS OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE THAT CONTAIN RIGOROUSLY REPORTED, PEER-REVIEWED OPEN ACCESS RESEARCH ARTICLES. THE JOURNALS ARE EDITORIALLY INDEPENDENT. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PLOS ONE, THE JOURNALS ALSO PUBLISH A VARIETY OF INFLUENTIAL AND EDUCATIONAL NON-RESEARCH CONTENT. WITH A READERSHIP THAT ENCOMPASSES THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AS WELL AS EDUCATORS, POLICY MAKERS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, PLOS BIOLOGY PUBLISHES WORKS OF EXCEPTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, ORIGINALITY, AND RELEVANCE IN ALL AREAS OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, FROM MOLECULES TO ECOSYSTEMS, INCLUDING WORKS AT THE INTERFACE OF OTHER DISCIPLINES, SUCH AS CHEMISTRY, MEDICINE, AND MATHEMATICS. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O.) 33010727 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 111 0 204 1 1 1 1 UK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 10 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 CA X X SUSAN AU DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 4156241200 1160 BATTERY STREET NO 100 SAN FRANCISCO CA 94111 GARY WARD CHAIRMAN 5.00 X X 0 0 0 PATRICK O BROWN TRUSTEE/CO-FOUNDER 5.00 X 0 0 0 MICHAEL B EISEN TRUSTEE/CO-FOUNDER 5.00 X 0 0 0 MICHAEL W CARROLL TRUSTEE 5.00 X 0 0 0 ROBIN LOVELL-BADGE TRUSTEE 5.00 X 0 0 0 HEATHER JOSEPH TRUSTEE 5.00 X 0 0 0 DAVID LIDDLE TRUSTEE 5.00 X 0 0 0 ROSALIND L SMYTH TRUSTEE 5.00 X 0 0 0 MARTY TENENBAUM - TO 62014 TRUSTEE 5.00 X 0 0 0 MEREDITH T NILES TRUSTEE 5.00 X 0 0 0 ELIZABETH MARINCOLA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 40.00 X X 376815 0 31123 RAY CAMPBELL GENERAL COUNSEL & SECRETARY 40.00 X 170294 0 12009 RICHARD HEWITT CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER 40.00 X 243922 0 25058 KRISTEN RATAN PUBLISHER 40.00 X 247884 0 28465 DARLENE YAPLEE CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER 40.00 X 240642 0 27697 CATHERINE RAYHILL - FROM 22014 CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER 40.00 X 182477 0 17942 SUSAN AU DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ACCO 40.00 X 184671 0 13663 JOHN CHODACKI DIRECTOR, PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 40.00 X 173422 0 6989 HELEN ATKINS DIRECTOR OF PUBLISHING SERVICES 40.00 X 165741 0 6188 PAULA CARTER DIRECTOR, PROJECT MGMT OFFICE 40.00 X 163566 0 11611 LAURENCE PEIPERL CHIEF EDITOR, PLOS MEDICINE 40.00 X 160799 0 17203 2310233 0 197948 44 0 1 0 EDITORIAL OFFICE LTD 2I LION CLOSE OVERTON OVERTON HAMPSHIRE UK EDITORIAL SERVICES 2342897 NEO INNOVATIONS INC 717 MARKET STREET SUITE 100 SAN FRANCISCO CA 94103 CONSULTANTS 2276309 THE CHARLESWORTH GROUP FLANSHAW WAY FLANSHAW LANE WAKEFIELD WEST YORKSHIRE UK EDITORIAL SERVICES 2263206 ZYG GROUP LLC 401 63RD STREET OAKLAND CA 94609 EDITORIAL SERVICES 1622161 ARIES SYSTEMS CORPORATION 200 SUTTON STREET NORTH ANDOVER MA 01845 JOURNAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 1336559 28 19683 62114 81797 AUTHOR FEES 519130 44174599 44174599 ADVERTISING 519130 479840 479840 SPONSORSHIPS 519130 100000 100000 REPRINTS 519130 35631 35631 44790070 1022241 1022241 55026 0 55026 55026 55026 15963806 16284430 54681 -320624 -54681 -375305 -375305 OTHER ANCILLARY REVENUE 623990 2698 2698 2698 45576527 44310230 479840 704660 1602528 1300862 301666 15862362 11823742 4038620 1771134 1330981 440153 1287649 967649 320000 28749 25254 3495 60230 60230 213766 213766 2385232 1990063 395169 413653 413653 879146 630102 249044 1825752 1499933 325819 1016641 725272 291369 1048435 861334 187101 PRODUCTION COSTS 11166541 11166541 OTHER EXPENSES 657829 218037 439792 TRAINING & RECRUITMENT 439087 57304 381783 BAD DEBT 98327 98327 40757061 33010727 7746334 0 1406920 1837672 248286 198740 1314482 1332606 52969 54436 655525 738986 7539095 2218370 2350145 5320725 24526758 2572976 25800284 8402 31828611 36591301 2139855 3560892 2619639 862856 1331819 1538574 6091313 5962322 X 24845552 30010647 891746 618332 25737298 30628979 31828611 36591301 4819466 72215 0 X X 0 1 X 1 0 X 2364075 654948 337184 445110 81797 3883114 12372998 21185299 32914369 45540615 44310230 156323511 14737073 21840247 33251553 45985725 44392027 160206625 1400000 353393 1753393 0 1400000 353393 1753393 158453232 43413 190508 393561 719523 1077267 2424272 43413 190508 393561 719523 1077267 2424272 40730 188601 117567 72456 419354 785 688 2698 4171 14821216 22219356 33763466 46778392 45471992 163054422 0.97180 0.97200 0.01490 0.01070 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 6571 0 1 12315 18886 0 PART II-B, LINE 1: PLOS PARTNERS WITH OTHER LIKE-MINDED NONPROFITS AND UNIVERSITIES TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT POLICIES THAT IMPACT SCIENCE RESEARCH DISSEMINATION AS PART OF ITS ADVOCACY AND GRASSROOTS LOBBYING EFFORTS. WHEN NECESSARY, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ORGANIZATION MEET DIRECTLY WITH LEGISLATORS OR THEIR STAFFS TO EDUCATE THEM ABOUT THEIR POLICY IMPACTS TO OUR MISSION, THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND SCIENCE RESEARCHERS. SINCE PLOS IS PRIMARILY A PUBLISHER OF SCIENCE RESEARCH, OUR ACTIVITIES THAT COULD BE CHARACTERIZED AS LOBBYING ARE LIMITED, CONSISTING OF APPROXIMATELY A DOZEN SUCH MEETINGS PER YEAR ON AVERAGE. 1036354 318336 718018 1732260 843630 888630 4770481 1056404 3714077 5320725 CORPORATE FIXED INCOME SECURITIES 2572976 F 2572976 ACCRUED PAYROLL LIABILITIES 1538574 1538574 X 45557495 72215 -91247 -19032 45576527 0 45576527 40665814 0 40665814 91247 91247 40757061 PART X, LINE 2: PLOS HAS RECEIVED NOTIFICATION FROM THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THAT IT QUALIFIES FOR TAX-EXEMPT STATUS UNDER SECTION 501(C)(3) OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE AND SECTION 27301D OF THE CALIFORNIA REVENUE AND TAXATION CODE. THE EXEMPTIONS ARE SUBJECT TO PERIODIC REVIEW BY THE FEDERAL AND STATE TAXING AUTHORITIES AND MANAGEMENT IS CONFIDENT THAT PLOS CONTINUES TO SATISFY ALL FEDERAL AND STATE STATUTES IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR CONTINUED TAX EXEMPTION STATUS. PLOS MAY PERIODICALLY RECEIVE UNRELATED BUSINESS INCOME (SUCH AS SUBLEASE RENTAL INCOME, ADVERTISING INCOME, ETC.) REQUIRING PLOS TO FILE SEPERATE TAX RETURNS UNDER FEDERAL AND STATE STATUTES. PLOS ALSO HAS CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS REQUIRING THE PAYMENT OF VALUE ADDED TAXES. UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS, PLOS CALCULATES AND ACCRUES THE APPLICABLE TAXES. PLOS ASSESSES TAX POSITIONS TAKEN OR EXPECTED TO BE TAKEN AGAINST MORE-LIKELY-THAN-NOT RECOGNITION THRESHOLD AND MEASUREMENT ATTRIBUTES FOR FINANCIAL STATEMENT RECOGNITION. BASED ON AN ANALYSIS PREPARED BY PLOS, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT PLOS BELIEVES THAT IT HAS APPROPRIATE SUPPORT FOR ANY TAX POSITIONS TAKEN, AND AS SUCH, DOES NOT HAVE ANY UNCERTAIN TAX POSITIONS THAT ARE MATERIAL TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. PART XI, LINE 2D - OTHER ADJUSTMENTS: LOSS ON EXCHANGE RATE -91,247. PART XII, LINE 4B - OTHER ADJUSTMENTS: LOSS ON EXCHANGE RATE 91,247. EUROPE (INCLUDING ICELAND & GREENLAND) - ALBANIA, ANDORRA, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM 1 47 PROGRAM SERVICES EDITORIAL SUPPORT TO SERVE US OPERATIONS. 3503797 1 47 0 0 1 47 3503797 0 3503797 0 0 0 0 0 0 X X X X X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ELIZABETH MARINCOLA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 342452 0 33163 0 1200 0 10400 0 20723 0 407938 0 0 0 RAY CAMPBELL GENERAL COUNSEL & SECRETARY 162361 0 7933 0 0 0 7022 0 4987 0 182303 0 0 0 RICHARD HEWITT CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER 230200 0 13722 0 0 0 9936 0 15122 0 268980 0 0 0 KRISTEN RATAN PUBLISHER 219913 0 27971 0 0 0 10152 0 18313 0 276349 0 0 0 DARLENE YAPLEE CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER 216425 0 24217 0 0 0 9384 0 18313 0 268339 0 0 0 CATHERINE RAYHILL - FROM 22014 CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER 180777 0 1700 0 0 0 6594 0 11348 0 200419 0 0 0 SUSAN AU DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ACCO 169726 0 14945 0 0 0 7475 0 6188 0 198334 0 0 0 JOHN CHODACKI DIRECTOR, PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 161957 0 11465 0 0 0 6989 0 0 0 180411 0 0 0 HELEN ATKINS DIRECTOR OF PUBLISHING SERVICES 156158 0 9583 0 0 0 0 0 6188 0 171929 0 0 0 PAULA CARTER DIRECTOR, PROJECT MGMT OFFICE 151901 0 11665 0 0 0 6624 0 4987 0 175177 0 0 0 LAURENCE PEIPERL CHIEF EDITOR, PLOS MEDICINE 158393 0 2406 0 0 0 6234 0 10969 0 178002 0 0 0 FORM 990, PART I, LINE 1 PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE (PLOS) IS A NONPROFIT PUBLISHER AND ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION FOUNDED TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS IN SCIENCE AND MEDICINE BY LEADING A TRANSFORMATION IN RESEARCH COMMUNICATION. PLOS PUBLISHES A SUITE OF INFLUENTIAL OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS FROM DISPARATE AREAS OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE THAT CONTAIN RIGOROUSLY PEER-REVIEWED RESEARCH ARTICLES, TOGETHER WITH EXPERT COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS AND EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL. PLOS JOURNALS FULLY COMPLY WITH OPEN ACCESS MANDATES FROM FUNDERS, INSTITUTIONS AND POLICYMAKERS; UPON PUBLICATION ALL ARTICLES ARE IMMEDIATELY DEPOSITED IN PUBMED CENTRAL. QUALITY REPORTING IN RESEARCH ARTICLES, DEEP DIVES INTO KEY TOPICS WITH COLLECTIONS, PROVOKING PERSPECTIVES AND EDITORIALS AND ONLINE COMMUNITIES FOR DISCUSSION BRING READERS TO THE MORE THAN 135,000 ARTICLES PUBLISHED SINCE 2003. THE ORGANIZATION'S CORE OBJECTIVES ARE TO: - PROVIDE WAYS TO OVERCOME UNNECESSARY BARRIERS TO IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY, ACCESS AND USE OF RESEARCH - PURSUE A PUBLISHING STRATEGY THAT OPTIMIZES THE QUALITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE PUBLICATION PROCESS - DEVELOP INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO THE ASSESSMENT, ORGANIZATION AND REUSE OF IDEAS AND DATA PLOS SUPPORTS OPEN ACCESS TO MAKE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES IMMEDIATELY AND FREELY AVAILABLE TO ANYONE, ANYWHERE FOR THEM TO DOWNLOAD, PRINT, DISTRIBUTE, READ AND REUSE WITHOUT CHARGE OR OTHER RESTRICTIONS, AS LONG AS THE AUTHOR IS PROPERLY ATTRIBUTED. OPEN ACCESS FUELS DISCOVERY BY FREEING RESEARCH FROM ITS BARRIERS. A BROAD COMMUNITY BENEFITS FROM THE WORK OF PLOS AS AN OPEN ACCESS INNOVATOR: SCIENTISTS MORE RAPIDLY BUILD ON THE WORK OF OTHERS IN THEIR FIELD, LIBRARIANS ENABLE WIDER DISSEMINATION OF PUBLISHED WORK, FUNDERS MAXIMIZE THEIR RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN THE RESEARCH THEY FUND, ENTREPRENEURS ACCESS ARTICLES TO DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGIES, RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS ACT ON THEIR DIRECTIVES AND THE PUBLIC BENEFITS FROM SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL ADVANCES. FORM 990, PART III, LINE 4A: AN INNOVATIVE AND INFLUENTIAL VENUE FOR RESEARCH AND COMMENT ON THE MAJOR CHALLENGES TO HUMAN HEALTH WORLDWIDE, PLOS MEDICINE PUBLISHES ARTICLES ACROSS ALL AREAS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE, CLINICAL PRACTICE AND HEALTH POLICY THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DIRECTLY AND SUBSTANTIALLY INFORM CLINICAL PRACTICE OR HEALTH POLICY, OR TO PROVIDE SUBSTANTIAL, NOVEL MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS INTO DISEASE PROCESSES. BY PUBLISHING OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS IN ALL AREAS OF BIOLOGY, FROM MICE AND FLIES TO PLANTS AND BACTERIA, PLOS GENETICS REFLECTS THE FULL BREADTH, INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE AND IMPACT OF GENETICS AND GENOMICS RESEARCH ON SCIENCE AND MEDICINE. REFLECTING THE FULL BREADTH OF RESEARCH ON BACTERIA, FUNGI, PARASITES, PRIONS AND VIRUSES, PLOS PATHOGENS PUBLISHES OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL ARTICLES THAT SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF PATHOGENS AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH THEIR HOST ORGANISMS. THE FIRST JOURNAL SOLELY DEVOTED TO NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES, PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES PUBLISHES LEADING RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY ON ALL SCIENTIFIC, MEDICAL, POLITICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH ASPECTS OF THESE FORGOTTEN DISEASES AFFECTING THE WORLD'S MOST NEGLECTED PEOPLE. BY MAKING CONNECTIONS THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF COMPUTATIONAL METHODS AMONG DISPARATE AREAS OF BIOLOGY, PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY PROVIDES SUBSTANTIAL NEW INSIGHT INTO LIVING SYSTEMS AT ALL SCALES, FROM THE NANO TO THE MACRO, AND ACROSS MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES, FROM MOLECULAR SCIENCE, NEUROSCIENCE AND PHYSIOLOGY TO ECOLOGY AND POPULATION BIOLOGY. PLOS ONE, THE FIRST MULTI-DISCIPLINARY, BROAD-ACCEPTANCE JOURNAL PUBLISHING ALL SCIENTIFICALLY RIGOROUS WORK, HAS BECOME THE WORLD'S LARGEST PEER-REVIEWED OPEN ACCESS SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL. PLOS ONE PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR AUTHORS THAT COMBINES SPEED TO PUBLICATION, HIGH STANDARDS OF SCIENCE, AND UNRESTRICTED SCOPE OF RESEARCH. ON A DAILY BASIS, EXCEPTIONAL RESEARCH PUBLISHED IN THE PLOS SUITE OF OPEN ACCESS, PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS IS BROUGHT TO THE FOREFRONT WITH ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY AND STAFF COMMENTARY AND SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS. PLOS ENTERS ITS 12TH YEAR POISED TO DELIVER INNOVATIONS THAT WILL MAKE SCIENCE PUBLISHING EASIER, FASTER AND MORE SEAMLESS. AS A LEADING OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHER, THE ORGANIZATION MAINTAINS HIGH AUTHOR SATISFACTION AND GLOBAL REACH. AT THE CORE, THOUGH, IT'S THE ARTICLES THAT MATTER: IN 2014 PLOS PUBLISHED MORE THAN 33,000. LAST YEAR READERS WORLDWIDE VIEWED APPROXIMATELY 11.6 MILLION PLOS ARTICLES EACH MONTH, PUBLISHED BY AUTHORS FROM MORE THAN 200 COUNTRIES WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF NEARLY 7,000 ACADEMIC EDITORS AND 90,000 REVIEWERS. WITHOUT THE PUBLICATION OF NEGATIVE, NULL AND INCONCLUSIVE RESULTS THE RESEARCH RECORD IS INCOMPLETE. THESE MISSING PIECES IN THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE - WHEN DISCOVERABLE - HELP PREVENT DUPLICATION OF RESEARCH ENDEAVORS AND ACCELERATE RESEARCH PROGRESS. THE PLOS MISSING PIECES COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLISHING ALL SOUND SCIENCE, INCLUDING NEGATIVE FINDINGS WHICH ARE VALUABLE TO THE COMMUNITY BOTH IN CASES WHERE THE RESULT IS ILLUMINATING IN THE CONTEXT OF PREVIOUS WORK AND AS A MEASURE AGAINST UNNECESSARY RESEARCH EFFORTS. PLOS ALSO STRIVES TO BRING RELIABILITY TO THE PUBLIC SCIENTIFIC RECORD. IN AN EXAMPLE OF BOTH EARLY POSTING AND OPEN REVIEW, TOPIC PAGES IN PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY INCREASE SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE COVERAGE OF COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY TOPICS IN WIKIPEDIA BY INCENTIVIZING AUTHORS TO CONTRIBUTE WITH A PEER-REVIEWED, CITABLE VERSION OF THEIR PAGE AS AN ARTICLE IN THE JOURNAL. DEMONSTRATING A NEW LEVEL OF INTERACTION BETWEEN RESEARCHERS AND THE PUBLIC, PAGES CREATED AND EDITED ON THE TOPIC PAGES WIKI UNDERGO A FULLY OPEN PEER-REVIEW PROCESS AND ARE PUBLISHED AS CITABLE JOURNAL ARTICLES TOGETHER WITH THE REVIEWS AND RESPONSES. WIKIPEDIA VERSIONS OF ARTICLES ARE UPDATED AS NEW DISCOVERIES ARE MADE. EIGHT TOPIC PAGES HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED THUS FAR. THE RAPIDLY CHANGING SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION LANDSCAPE OFFERS NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERACTION BETWEEN RESEARCHERS AT CONFERENCES AND BEYOND. NEARLY 50 NEUROSCIENCE COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTOR ATTENDEES AT THE SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE ANNUAL MEETING BROUGHT HIGHLIGHTS TO A GLOBAL COMMUNITY THROUGH LIVE COLLABORATIVE BLOGGING AND TWEETING. THE COLLABORATIVE BLOGGING PROJECT ALSO BROUGHT COVERAGE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE ANNUAL MEETING TO INTERNATIONAL SCIENTISTS PREVENTED FROM ATTENDING DUE TO TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS ON EBOLA-AFFECTED COUNTRIES. AROUND THE WORLD, RESEARCHERS, HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS AND POLICY MAKERS FOLLOWED CONFERENCE SESSIONS INCLUDING KEYNOTES BY BILL GATES AND REPRESENTATIVES OF WHO ON THE PLOS BLOGS NETWORK, AN EFFORT COORDINATED BY PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES STAFF AND COMMUNITY EDITORS. THE VALUE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH RESIDES IN MORE THAN JUST THE FINAL PUBLICATION. PLOS SCIENCE WEDNESDAY ON REDDITSCIENCE(/R/SCIENCE) TAKES CURRENT RESEARCH DIRECTLY TO WHERE SCIENTISTS AND THE PUBLIC ARE CHATTING DURING THE WEEKLY 'ASK ME ANYTHING' (AMA) SERIES OPEN TO ANYONE WITH AN INTEREST IN SCIENCE OR THE STORY BEHIND THE SCIENCE AND AN INTERNET CONNECTION. THESE LIVE CHAT OPPORTUNITIES WITH SELECT PLOS AUTHORS PROVIDE AN INTERACTIVE POST-PUBLICATION CONVERSATION AND PROVIDE A PLACE FOR AUTHORS TO COMMUNICATE THEIR SCIENCE AND INTERACT WITH THE EIGHT MILLION MEMBER EXTENDED COMMUNITY OF READERS, RESEARCHERS AND STUDENT SCIENTISTS. PLOS HAS CONTINUED ITS PROGRAM WITH DRYAD DIGITAL REPOSITORY. DRYAD HELPS PLOS AUTHORS MAKE THEIR DATA RE-USEABLE AND ACCESSIBLE BY PROVIDING A PERMANENT OPEN ACCESS REPOSITORY AND ASSIGNING UNIQUE DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIERS, DOIS, FOR EACH DATA PACKAGE ASSOCIATED WITH A SINGLE PUBLISHED ARTICLE. IN THE PAST YEAR, THE AVAILABILITY TO AUTHORS FOR DATA HOSTING WITH DRYAD EXPANDED FROM PLOS BIOLOGY AND PLOS GENETICS TO ALL SEVEN JOURNALS, PROVIDING CONFIDENTIAL ACCESS TO THE UNDERLYING DATA FOR EDITORS AND PEER-REVIEWERS DURING THE REVIEW PROCESS AND PUBLIC ACCESS FOR READERS FOLLOWING PUBLICATION. IN ADDITION THE PLOS DATA REPOSITORY INTEGRATION PARTNER PROGRAM WAS LAUNCHED TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR AUTHORS TO COMPLY WITH DATA DEPOSITION REQUIREMENTS; RESEARCHERS DEPOSITING DATA WITH DRYAD AND FLOWREPOSITORY SUBMIT THEIR MANUSCRIPT THROUGH A SINGLE, STREAMLINED WORKFLOW TO ENSURE THE ARTICLE AND ITS UNDERLYING DATA ARE FULLY PAIRED - PUBLISHED AND LINKED TOGETHER. PLOS WORKED WITH DRYAD TO DEVELOP AN APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE (API) THAT FACILITATES BEHIND-THE-SCENES METADATA EXCHANGE BETWEEN JOURNALS AND THE REPOSITORY, MAKING THE PROCESS MORE RELIABLE AND SCALABLE. PLOS ENCOURAGES THE EVALUATION OF RESEARCH AT THE ARTICLE LEVEL. PLOS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PUBLISHERS TO PLACE ARTICLE-LEVEL METRICS (ALMS) ON EVERY ARTICLE. ALMS PROVIDE A FULL AND CONSTANTLY UPDATED PICTURE OF HOW AN ARTICLE IS USED FROM THE MOMENT IT IS PUBLISHED ONLINE AND INCLUDE TRADITIONAL METRICS (SUCH AS CITATIONS AND ONLINE USAGE) ALONGSIDE MORE IMMEDIATE ALTERNATIVE METRICS SUCH AS COVERAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. PLOS ALMS PROVIDE METRICS ACROSS A SUITE OF SOURCES THAT INCLUDES HTML, XML, AND PDF DOWNLOADS, PUBMED AND EUROPE PUBMED CENTRAL USE, SCOPUS, WEB OF SCIENCE AND CROSSREF CITATIONS, GOOGLE SCHOLAR SEARCH MONITORING, MENDELEY REFERENCE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, DISCUSSION SOURCES WORDPRESS.COM, WIKIPEDIA AND GOOGLE BLOGS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TWITTER AND FACEBOOK. MANY OTHER PUBLISHERS HAVE SINCE ADOPTED THE IDEA AND NEW BUSINESSES ARE NOW EMERGING TO DEMONSTRATE RESEARCH IMPACT IN THESE WAYS. ALM REPORTS WERE LAUNCHED TO ALLOW USERS TO COLLECT ALMS FOR ANY SET OF PLOS ARTICLES AS WELL AS TO SUMMARIZE AND VISUALIZE THE RESULTS. ENHANCEMENTS TO THIS TOOL INCLUDE A FACETED SEARCH THAT ALLOWS BROAD SEARCHES ACROSS THE ENTIRE CORPUS OF OVER 135,000 PLOS ARTICLES WITH RESULTS NARROWED BY JOURNAL, ARTICLE TYPE AND PUBLICATION DATE. AS MORE DATA IS COLLECTED AND MADE AVAILABLE, PRESENTING DATA IN A MORE GRAPHIC FORMAT HELPS USERS UNDERSTAND INFORMATION MORE QUICKLY AND EASILY. THE LATEST ITERATION OF THE VISUALIZATION TOOL FEATURES THREE NEW INTERACTIVE FORMATS THAT SUPPORT GRANULAR ASSESSMENT OF LARGE ARTICLE SETS BY SUBJECT AREA, USAGE OVER TIME AND AUTHOR LOCATION TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL COLLABORATORS AND USERS OF THE RESEARCH CONTENT. PLOS UPGRADED TO CC BY V4.0 (CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION) BEGINNING IN MID-DECEMBER FOR PLOS ONE AND FROM JANUARY 1, 2014 FOR ALL OTHER PLOS JOURNALS. THE NEW LICENSES ARE THE RESULT OF AN OPEN COMMUNITY PROCESS WITH STAKEHOLDERS FROM A WIDE RANGE OF DOMAINS, INCLUDING RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND THE CREATIVE ARTS, AND PLOS IS PROUD TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE EFFORT TO MAKE THE LICENSES WORK FOR RESEARCHERS. AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE NEW LICENSES IS THAT THEY COMBINE THE EXPERIENCE OF SEVERAL YEARS OF DEVELOPING LOCALIZED LICENSE VARIANTS INTO ONE INTERNATIONAL LICENSE, ENSURING GLOBAL COMPATIBILITY AND EASE OF USE FOR ALL RESEARCHERS, WHEREVER THEY MAY BE BASED. TWO ASPECTS OF THE VERSION 4.0 LICENSES ARE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR RES FORM 990, PART III, LINE 4A CONTINUED: PLOS INVESTED IN IMPROVING THE READER EXPERIENCE: A NEW FORMAT FOR THE JOURNAL HOMEPAGES TO BETTER HIGHLIGHT CONTENT AND INCORPORATE SOME OF THE STRIKING IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY PLOS ARTICLES WAS INTRODUCED. IMPROVEMENTS FOCUSED ON THE AUTHOR AND COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE INCLUDED MODIFICATIONS TO QUALITY ASSURANCE AND TYPESETTING PROCESSES TO IMPLEMENTATION OF A NEW, SINGLE COLUMN PDF DESIGN THAT ENABLES A MORE EFFICIENT COMPOSITION PROCESS WHILE IMPROVING READABILITY OF PLOS ARTICLES ACROSS A VARIETY OF DEVICES. PART OF A LARGER EFFORT TO IMPROVE AMBRA, OUR OPEN SOURCE PUBLISHING PLATFORM, MANY OF THE INITIATIVES OCCURRED BEHIND THE SCENES AND SERVE AS THE PILLARS OF FUTURE INITIATIVES AND INTEGRATIONS. OTHERS ARE IMMEDIATELY VISIBLE TO THE COMMUNITY INCLUDING THE ALM SIGNPOST DESIGN FOR USERS TO MORE EASILY SEE THE VIEWS, CITES, SAVES AND SHARES AN INDIVIDUAL ARTICLE RECEIVES AS WELL AS IMPROVED DISPLAY AND FEEDBACK OPTIONS FOR SUBJECT AREA TERMS. PLOS ALSO PROVIDED $2.8 MILLION IN THE FORM OF PARTIAL OR FULL WAIVERS TO AUTHORS AS PART OF OUR PUBLICATION FEE ASSISTANCE. AS A NONPROFIT PUBLISHER, ONE CORE OBJECTIVE IS TO PROVIDE WAYS TO OVERCOME UNNECESSARY BARRIERS TO IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY, ACCESS AND USE OF RESEARCH, WHICH AT TIMES MAY INCLUDE COST. THOUGH THIS AMOUNT APPEARS AS A CONTRA-REVENUE FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING PURPOSES, THIS IS A MAJOR PROGRAM EXPENSE FOR PLOS WHICH DEMONSTRATES THE ORGANIZATION'S SUPPORT TO SCIENCE AND GLOBAL PUBLIC COMMUNITY. MUCH OF THE HARDSHIP SUPPORT GOES TO AUTHORS FROM LOW-AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES AND EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS IN UPPER MIDDLE- AND HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES WHO HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN SECURING ADEQUATE FUNDING SUPPORT. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11 FORM 990 IS PREPARED BY AN OUTSIDE TAX PROFESSIONAL WITH ASSISTANCE FROM THE ORGANIZATION. THE FORM IS THEN REVIEWED BY THE CFO AND MEMBERS FROM THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. AFTER REVIEW AND MODIFICATIONS WHERE NECESSARY, THE FINAL VERSION OF THE TAX RETURN IS PROVIDED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THE CFO SIGNS AND FILES ALL REQUIRED TAX FILINGS. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C THE GENERAL COUNSEL AND SECRETARY OVERSEES THE ANNUAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE PROCESS. A COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS REVIEWS ALL POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AT LEAST ANNUALLY. THE CEO AND ALL BOARD MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE (IN WRITING) POTENTIAL CONFLICTS AND ANY RELATED PARTY AFFILIATIONS. LOANS BETWEEN THE ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERS OF MANAGEMENT AND THE BOARD ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED. THE ORGANIZATION SEEKS FULL TRANSPARENCY ON ALL RELATIONSHIPS. ANY POTENTIAL CONFLICTS (IN FACT OR APPEARANCE) ARE DISCUSSED OPENLY AND RESOLVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ORGANIZATION'S POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15 THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS REVIEWS THE COMPENSATION OF ALL HIGH-LEVEL PERSONNEL ANNUALLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH IRS RULES AND REGULATIONS. EFFORTS ARE MADE TO SECURE COMPENSATION DATA FROM INDUSTRY SOURCES IN ORDER TO DETERMINE COMPETITIVENESS AND APPROPRIATENESS OF SALARIES AND BENEFITS. EVERY EFFORT IS MADE TO ENSURE THAT THE PROCESS IS THOROUGH AND TRANSPARENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPROPRIATE GOVERNANCE AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE. THIS IS PERFORMED ANNUALLY AND THE PROCESS IS MANAGED BY THE HR DIRECTOR. REVIEW ENCOMPASSES CEO, CFO, EXECUTIVES AND KEY EMPLOYEES. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION C, LINE 19 PLOS MAKES ITS GOVERNING DOCUMENTS, CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY, AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. THESE DOCUMENTS ARE ALSO POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE.