Big Changes at Public Library of Science Help Prior Art Searchers

Public Library of Science  (PLOS) is a publisher of seven peer-reviewed and open-access journals which users can search through an online portal that has recently undergone some major renovations. I first looked at the PLOS network back in April 2012, and I concluded that PLOS is another useful non-patent literature resource that professional patent searchers can utilize during an extensive prior art search, especially in the biomedical field. Since April 2012, the PLOS portal has seen some big changes to the appearance, search, and navigation features of the site, including a makeover to the visual appearance of the network in July 2012 and a redesign of all PLOS journals in December 2012. Herve Basset of the Science Intelligence and InfoPros blog recently announced the December 2012 redesign of the PLOS network, so I decided to jump over to the portal and take a look at the updated search and navigation options, including new metrics data and alert options for registered users.

Read on for an overview of recent changes implemented to enhance the usability, access to key information, and navigation on the PLOS network!

Search Free Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journals Through PLoS

Open Access depositories and online journals are an excellent free source of non-patent literature (NPL) prior art.  Today I’d like to highlight a popular open access publisher that I first heard about through a  CHMINF listserv discussion: the Public Library of Science (PLoS).  PLoS describes itself as “a non-profit publisher, membership, and advocacy organization,”  and PLoS produces seven peer-reviewed online journals that users can search and view for free.  PLoS also produces a number of Currents, blogs, Hubs, and Collections, which discuss or aggregate content around specific scientific topics.

Continue reading to learn about the open access content produced by PLoS, and we’ll also look at how you can search through this NPL content!