> $1500 per paper should be amply sufficient to fund the
> publishing operation. I suggest that libraries support other
> ventures with more moderate charges.
Thomas, did you mean $500 ? Otherwise your posting does not quite
make sense. (PLoS is proposing $1500.)
If you meant $500 I remind you that PLoS is aiming explicitly for the
high (quality, impact, prestige) end of science publishing (the level
of Nature and Science) on the assumption that if the high end can be
won over to OA journals, the rest will follow suit.
$1500 may well cover extra enhancements that make the transition at the
high end more appealing to authors at this time. If and when there is
a wholesale transition from TA to OA, there can also be some downsizing
to just the essentials, in order to minimise unnecessary costs.