2014-09-11T19:42:29-05:00 2013-12-31 946214841 ARMANINO LLP 12657 ALCOSTA BOULEVARD SUITE 500 SAN RAMON CA 945834600 990 2013-01-01 680492065 PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE PUBL 4156241200 1160 BATTERY STREET NO 100 SAN FRANCISCO CA 94111 RICHARD HEWITT CFO 4156241200 2014-09-03 1 LYNN HENLEY P00356034 9257902600 2013 2015-11-30 17:44:51Z RICHARD HEWITT 1160 BATTERY STREET NO 100 SAN FRANCISCO CA 94111 59554886 0 X WWW.PLOS.ORG X 2001 CA COMMITTED TO MAKING THE WORLD'S SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL LITERATURE A PUBLIC RESOURCE. 11 10 201 5452 483903 72456 337184 445110 33433009 46024518 462903 608700 785 688 34233881 47079016 0 0 0 0 12757245 17822092 0 0 0 14602927 19233858 27360172 37055950 6873709 10023066 20511192 31828611 4645558 6091313 15865634 25737298 PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE O FOR COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION. 0 0 29610633 45540615 SCIENCE AND MEDICAL PUBLISHING REMAINS THE CORE OF PLOS PROGRAM EXPENSE AT $29.6 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. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PLOS ONE, THE JOURNALS ALSO PUBLISH A VARIETY OF INFLUENTIAL AND EDUCATIONAL NON-RESEARCH CONTENT. THE JOURNALS ARE EDITORIALLY INDEPENDENT. 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.) 29610633 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 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 1 107 0 201 1 1 1 1 UK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 11 10 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 TRUSTEE 5.00 X 0 0 0 BETH WEIL TRUSTEE 5.00 X 0 0 0 ELIZABETH MARINCOLA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER BEG 8/12/13 40.00 X X 164843 0 10244 PETER JERRAM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER END 5/10/13 40.00 X 665373 0 28201 STEPHEN BOROSTYAN CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER END 5/10/13 40.00 X 304585 0 31673 RAY CAMPBELL GENERAL COUNSEL & SECRETARY BEG 4/16/13 40.00 X 112693 0 7947 RICHARD HEWITT CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER BEG 8/8/13 40.00 X 88717 0 10324 KRISTEN RATAN PUBLISHER 40.00 X 233847 0 28565 DARLENE YAPLEE CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER 40.00 X 216448 0 28017 BRUCE FINGLES CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER 1/22-9/12/13 40.00 X 207098 0 26622 RICHARD CAVE DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 40.00 X 179652 0 25839 SUSAN AU DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ACCOUNTING 40.00 X 176867 0 12849 KATIE SHARABATI DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES 40.00 X 174147 0 7309 TRACY PELON DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION OPERATIONS 40.00 X 163622 0 13457 PAUL RASKIN DIRECTOR, CUSTOMER EXP. END 10/15/13 40.00 X 173040 0 8847 2860932 0 239894 34 0 1 0 THE CHARLESWORTH GROUP FLANSHAW WAY FLANSHAW LANE WAKEFIELD WEST YORKSHIRE UK EDITORIAL SERVICES 2498199 EDITORIAL OFFICES LTD 2I LION CLOSE OVERTON OVERTON HAMPSHIRE UK EDITORIAL SERVICES 2493866 ZYG GROUP LLC 401 63RD STREET OAKLAND CA 94609 EDITORIAL SERVICES 1669054 ARIES 200 SUTTON STREET NORTH ANDOVER MA 01845 JOURNAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 1485213 KAUFMAN WILLS FUSTING & COMPANY 1010 STREEPER STREET SOUTH BALTIMORE MD 21224 EDITORIAL SERVICES 647981 24 313000 132110 445110 AUTHOR FEES 519130 45067457 45067457 ADVERTISING 519130 483903 483903 SPONSORSHIPS 519130 425024 425024 REPRINTS 519130 48134 48134 46024518 719523 719523 12364549 498 12475870 0 -111321 498 -110823 -110823 OTHER ANCILLARY REVENUE 623990 688 688 688 47079016 45540615 483903 609388 2165197 1732157 433040 12957160 9110364 3846796 1535663 1091231 444432 1164072 885219 278853 159905 40553 119352 49505 49505 1991783 1565417 426366 887298 887298 449951 94088 355863 619341 354181 265160 968066 795890 172176 1120869 754160 366709 627438 523790 103648 PRODUCTION COSTS 11731595 11731595 TRAINING & RECRUITMENT 478881 44690 434191 BAD DEBT 82313 82313 LOSS ON EXCHANGE RATE 51913 51913 15000 15000 37055950 29610633 7445317 0 998005 1406920 104772 248286 1122734 1314482 51541 52969 500811 655525 3814978 1464833 1575055 2350145 16158274 25800284 20511192 31828611 1428591 2139855 2164359 2619639 1052608 1331819 4645558 6091313 X 14853168 24845552 1012466 891746 15865634 25737298 20511192 31828611 10023066 -151402 0 X X 0 1 X 1 0 X 792689 2364075 654948 337184 445110 4594006 8408828 12372998 21185299 32914369 45540615 120422109 9201517 14737073 21840247 33251553 45985725 125016115 1400000 353393 1753393 0 1400000 353393 1753393 123262722 7983 43413 190508 393561 719523 1354988 7983 43413 190508 393561 719523 1354988 17498 40730 188601 117567 72456 436852 785 688 1473 9226998 14821216 22219356 33763466 46778392 126809428 0.97200 0.96770 0.01070 0.00780 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 8940 0 1 11953 20893 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. 426541 114744 311797 1578464 613078 965386 1809973 737011 1072962 2350145 SECURITY DEPOSITS 8402 INVESTMENTS 25791882 25800284 ACCRUED PAYROLL LIABILITIES 1331819 1331819 X 46875701 -151402 -51913 -203315 47079016 0 47079016 37004037 0 37004037 51913 51913 37055950 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 -51,913. PART XII, LINE 4B - OTHER ADJUSTMENTS: LOSS ON EXCHANGE RATE 51,913. EUROPE (INCLUDING ICELAND & GREENLAND) - ALBANIA, ANDORRA, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM 1 50 PROGRAM SERVICES EDITORIAL SUPPORT TO SERVICE US OPERATIONS. 2722487 1 50 0 0 1 50 2722487 0 2722487 0 0 0 0 0 0 X X X X X 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ELIZABETH MARINCOLA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER BEG 8/12/13 132176 0 18300 0 14367 0 3435 0 6809 0 175087 0 0 0 PETER JERRAM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER END 5/10/13 185041 0 93232 0 387100 0 10200 0 18001 0 693574 0 0 0 STEPHEN BOROSTYAN CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER END 5/10/13 113432 0 0 0 191153 0 10200 0 21473 0 336258 0 0 0 KRISTEN RATAN PUBLISHER 204949 0 28898 0 0 0 9786 0 18779 0 262412 0 0 0 DARLENE YAPLEE CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER 188448 0 28000 0 0 0 9238 0 18779 0 244465 0 0 0 BRUCE FINGLES CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER 1/22-9/12/13 159918 0 0 0 47180 0 7428 0 19194 0 233720 0 0 0 RICHARD CAVE DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 163430 0 12722 0 3500 0 7060 0 18779 0 205491 0 0 0 SUSAN AU DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ACCOUNTING 164474 0 12393 0 0 0 7152 0 5697 0 189716 0 0 0 KATIE SHARABATI DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES 152565 0 21582 0 0 0 7109 0 200 0 181456 0 0 0 TRACY PELON DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION OPERATIONS 152822 0 10800 0 0 0 0 0 13457 0 177079 0 0 0 PAUL RASKIN DIRECTOR, CUSTOMER EXP. END 10/15/13 137514 0 7613 0 27913 0 6964 0 1883 0 181887 0 0 0 PART I, LINE 4A PETER JERRAM, CEO, $384,115 (TERMINATED 5/10/2013) STEVE BOROSTYAN, CFO, $191,153 (TERMINATED 5/10/2013) BRUCE FINGLES, COO, $47,180 (1/22/2013 - 9/12/2013) PAUL RASKIN, DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, $27,913 (TERMINATED 10/15/2013) FORM 990, PART III, 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 IS A LEADER IN OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING WITH A SUITE OF SEVEN INFLUENTIAL JOURNALS, PROVIDING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF RESEARCH ARTICLES THAT ARE IMMEDIATELY FREE TO ACCESS ONLINE, DISTRIBUTE AND REUSE. SHARING RESEARCH ENCOURAGES PROGRESS, FROM PROTECTING THE BIODIVERSITY OF THE PLANET TO FINDING MORE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR DISEASES SUCH AS CANCER AND MALARIA. 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 MECHANISTTHERE WERE SEVERAL NOTABLE MILESTONES THIS YEAR AS PLOS CELEBRATED ITS FIRST DECADE AS AN OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHER AND WRAPPED THE YEAR BY PUBLISHING ITS 100,000TH ARTICLE. KEY MILESTONES FOR EACH JOURNAL SHOWCASED THE QUALITY, DIVERSITY AND GLOBAL REACH IMPACT OF OFFERINGS BY PLOS JOURNALS. FOR EXAMPLE, PLOS BIOLOGY CELEBRATED THE TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FIRST ARTICLES, AND PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY'S 'TEN SIMPLE RULES' SERIES OF EDITORIALS ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REACHED ONE MILLION PAGE VIEWS. THE ORGANIZATION ALSO WELCOMED NEW LEADERSHIP WITH ELIZABETH MARINCOLA AND RICHARD HEWITT JOINING PLOS AS NEW CEO AND CFO, RESPECTIVELY. PLOS CONTINUES ITS EFFORTS TO DRIVE OPENNESS IN DATA USE AND RE-USE WITH THE GOAL FOR ANYONE TO BE ABLE TO ANALYZE DATA (TO REPEAT AUTHORS' RESULTS) AND REUSE DATA (TO BUILD ON THE AUTHORS' FINDINGS). IN COLLABORATION WITH 27 SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS THAT SHARE A COMMON BELIEF IN THE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT OF OPEN ACCESS, INCLUDING MAJOR SPONSORS WELLCOME TRUST AND GOOGLE, PLOS LAUNCHED THE ACCELERATING SCIENCE AWARD PROGRAM IN MAY 2013. THE PROGRAM ATTRACTED OVER 200 NOMINATIONS FROM MORE THAN 30 COUNTRIES WITH THE TOP THREE WINNERS AWARDED A PRIZE OF $30,000 EACH DURING OCTOBER'S OPEN ACCESS WEEK. THE ASAP AWARD RECOGNIZES INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE APPLIED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH--PUBLISHED THROUGH OPEN ACCESS--TO INNOVATE IN ANY FIELD AND BENEFIT SOCIETY. THE ASAP WEBSITE IS THE ARCHIVAL LOCATION OF FINAL PROGRAM MATERIALS FEATURING MULTIMEDIA CONTENT THAT INCLUDES: THE ACCELERATING IMPACT AWARD PROGRAM VIDEO DESCRIBING THE AWARD PROGRAM AND CONTAINING COMMENTS FROM ADVOCATES IN PUBLISHING, POLICY, ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY; THE INDIVIDUAL FINALIST VIDEOS DESCRIBING THE AWARD-WINNING INNOVATIVE WORK THAT HIGHLIGHTS REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS AND ADVANTAGES OF OPEN ACCESS RESEARCH AND USE OF OPEN ACCESS RESOURCES; AND A PROGRAM PORTFOLIO BOOKLET, PUBLISHED IN CONJUNCTION WITH ASAP, THAT DETAILS THE HONOREES AND THE BENEFITS OF OPEN ACCESS, INCLUDING EXAMPLES OF HOW OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING IS AN ECONOMIC ENGINE FOR JOBS AND NEW BUSINESSES. OVER THE PAST YEAR PLOS 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, COMPRISING ALL THE DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A SINGLE PUBLISHED ARTICLE. TWO PLOS JOURNALS, PLOS BIOLOGY AND PLOS GENETICS, HAVE USED THE DRYAD REPOSITORY TO HOST DATA WHILE ARTICLES ARE UNDER REVIEW, PROVIDING CONFIDENTIAL ACCESS TO THE UNDERLYING DATA FOR EDITORS AND PEER-REVIEWERS. MEANWHILE, PLOS IS WORKING TO EVOLVE THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE ITSELF INTO A MORE DYNAMIC, LIVING FORM OF COMMUNICATION. PLOS ESTABLISHED A PARTNERSHIP WITH FIGSHARE TO MAKE THE DATA PUBLISHED IN OUR ARTICLES MORE ACCESSIBLE AND DISCOVERABLE. THE FIGSHARE WIDGET DISPLAYS THE CONTENTS OF SUPPORTING INFORMATION FILES WITHIN THE ARTICLE, REGARDLESS OF FILE TYPE (WHETHER DATASET, TEXT, DOCUMENTS, ANIMATED, VIDEO, OR PRESENTATION FILES). THIS ALLOWS USERS TO SEARCH, MAGNIFY AND DOWNLOAD THE MATERIAL IN WAYS NOT PREVIOUSLY SUPPORTED. THESE DEVELOPMENTS COINCIDE WITH THE COMPLETION OF PHASE TWO OF THE FULL RE-DESIGN OF THE PLOS WEBSITES. PHASE ONE FOR THE REDESIGN OF THE PLOS JOURNAL WEBSITES WAS COMPLETED LAST YEAR. THIS PROJECT HAD THREE PRIMARY GOALS: TO ENSURE READERS CAN QUICKLY ASSESS THE RELEVANCE AND IMPORTANCE OF AN ARTICLE; TO IMPROVE SITE NAVIGATION; AND TO LAUNCH A FLEXIBLE PLATFORM FROM WHICH TO BUILD OUT FUTURE INNOVATIONS. THE NEW WEBSITES OFFER MORE PROMINENT FIGURES, AN IMMEDIATELY ACCESSIBLE SUBSET OF ARTICLE-LEVEL METRICS (ALM) DATA CALLED METRICS SIGNPOSTS, CUSTOM SAVED SEARCH, AUTHOR DATA, FASTER NAVIGATION, AND MUCH MORE. ADDITIONALLY, ENHANCEMENTS TO ARTICLE PAGES ENABLES THE ADDITION OF MEDIA STORIES TO INDIVIDUAL ARTICLE PAGES. PLOS WAS AWARDED 'BEST IN CLASS' FOR NONPROFIT WEBSITES AT THE 2013 INTERACTIVE MEDIA AWARDS. PLOS ENCOURAGES THE EVALUATION OF RESEARCH AT THE ARTICLE LEVEL. PLOS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PUBLISHERS TO PLACE ARTICLE-LEVEL METRICS ON EVERY ARTICLE. ALMS PROVIDE A FULL AND CONSTANTLY UPDATED PICTURE OF HOW A PAPER IS BEING 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 CENTRAL USE, SCOPUS, WEB OF SCIENCE AND CROSSREF CITATIONS, CITUULIKE AND MENDELEY REFERENCE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, RESEARCHBLOGGING.ORG AND NATURE 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. OVER THE LAST YEAR, PLOS UPDATED ITS ALM PROGRAM TO ALLOW USERS TO VIEW AND DOWNLOAD ALMS FOR ANY ARTICLE. THESE ALM REPORTS ENABLE USERS TO CHART THE DATA AND IDENTIFY PATTERNS AND TRENDS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. PLOS ALSO RELEASED THE FIRST ITERATION OF ALM RELATIVE METRICS TO PROVIDE CONTEXT: THEY DISPLAY THE AVERAGE USAGE CALCULATION FOR SIMILAR ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN THE SAME TIME PERIOD AND RESEARCH AREAS, ALLOWING USERS TO EVALUATE RELATIVE PERFORMANCE IN DIFFERENT FIELDS. PLOS HAS USED THE CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION (CC BY) LICENSE FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS AS THE DEFAULT FOR THE RESEARCH THAT IT PUBLISHES. PLOS ADOPTED CC BY V4.0 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 RESEARCHERS SINCE THEY ADDRESS ISSUES THAT COULD HAVE MADE REUSE OF PUBLISHED RESEARCH MORE CUMBERSOME. FIRSTLY, THE REUSE RIGHTS FOR DATA WITHIN AN ARTICLE ARE MADE CLEARER AND MORE CONSISTENT BETWEEN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND REGIONS. SECOND, THE LICENSES PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY ON ATTRIBUTION. THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR RESEARCH, AND PARTICULARLY FOR TEXT AND DATA MINING, WHERE A MULTITUDE OF ARTICLES MIGHT BE ANALYZED TOGETHER. THE NEW LICENSES STILL ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE ATTRIBUTION BUT ALLOW ALL ATTRIBUTIONS TO A LARGE CORPUS TO BE COLLECTED TOGETHER. PLOS CONTINUES TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHERS IN THE OPEN ACCESS COMMUNITY TO CAPTURE THE INTEREST AND SUPPORT OF RESEARCHERS, GOVERNMENTS AND FUNDERS. 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 EFFORTS. THESE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS HAVE YIELDED POSITIVE IMPACT IN SHAPING POLICY CONVERSATIONS IN THE US, UK AND EU FOR TAX FUNDED RESEARCH PAPERS TO BE MADE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC. BEING FREELY ABLE TO READ CONTENT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. PLOS IS ALSO FOCUSED ON THE BROADER RE-USE VALUE OF OPEN CONTENT AND HAS COLLABORATED WITH THE SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING AND ACADEMIC RESOURCES COALITION, SPARC, AND OPEN ACCESS SCHOLARLY PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION, OASPA, TO ENABLE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING AND COMPARISON OF PUBLISHERS' OPEN ACCESS POLICIES. TOGETHER, THE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE CREATED "HOWOPENISIT?" A GUIDE THAT IDENTIFIES THE CORE COMPONENTS OF OPEN ACCESS, THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND HOW THEY ARE IMPLEMENTED ACROSS THE SPECTRUM FROM OPEN ACCESS TO CLOSED ACCESS. THIS THEME OF "INFORMED DECISIONS" IS ALSO REFLECTED IN PLOS' ONGOING ENDORSEMENT OF ALMS. PLOS ALSO PROVIDED $3.4 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 EMERGING ECONOMIES AND EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS IN DEVELOPED ECONOMIES 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.