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New NIH Policy Enhances Public Access to Archived Publications
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently implemented a new policyfor peer-reviewed publications based on research supported in whole or in part by NIH. It requests that manuscripts that have been accepted for publication be submitted to PubMed Central (PMC), the NIH digital repository of full-text, peer-reviewed journal articles. PMC is a publicly-accessible, permanent, and searchable electronic archive available on the Internet at <www.pubmedcentral.gov>. (Note: this policy does not apply to book chapters, editorials, reviews, or conference proceedings.) The policy, which became effective May 2, 2005, is voluntary, though investigators are strongly encouraged to comply by submitting their final manuscripts to PMC. "Final manuscript" is defined as the final version accepted for journal publication, and includes all modifications from the peer-review process. Authors may designate a specific time frame for submission to PMC – ranging from immediate release to a 12-month delay. An electronic submission process has been established, and the following NIH Web sites provide background information and access to the submission form: • To read the final NIH Public Access Policy Implementation, go to <www.nih.gov/about/publicaccess/publicaccess_imp.htm> • To find out more about the policy, or to contact the NIHMS (NIH Manuscript Submission) help desk, or to submit a manuscript go to: <www.nihms.nih.gov> • To create a new account go to: <https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/publicaccess/accountCreate.jsp>. Once logged in a personalized manuscript list is created for each user, with the following four categories: As of July 6, 2005, the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system will accept submissions from users who have an NIH My NCBI account. This account will enable “third parties” (e.g., administrative personnel, graduate students, etc.), with permission from the author, to deposit NIH-funded manuscripts into PubMed Central. If an account has not yet been established, a new My NCBI account can be set up during the NIHMS login process or by visiting the My NCBI homepage <www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi>. A new HSLS Web page <www.hsls.pitt.edu/guides/nihpublicaccess> provides quick access to the links and information contained in this article. --Alice Kuller |
