1. NIH Public Access Policy-
Update
Karen M. Albert, MLS, AHIP
Senior Director, Education & Information Services
July, 2009

2. “…“…publication is the lifeblood in the career of a workingpublication is the lifeblood in the career of a working
scientist. Publication is the means by which anscientist. Publication is the means by which an
investigator tells his or her colleagues, the world ininvestigator tells his or her colleagues, the world in
general, and posterity about what he or she hasgeneral, and posterity about what he or she has
found in the course of doing experiments…”found in the course of doing experiments…”
Harold Varmus ,Harold Varmus , The Art and Politics of Science (2009), pg247

3. Outline and Objectives
 Presentation outline:
 Brief policy overview
 How to comply-Library support
 Typical problems – solutions
 Answer questions
 Objectives:
 Gain a basic understanding of the policy and how
to comply
 Learn how the Library can help

4. NIH Public Access Policy
Rationale
 Signed into law December 2007
 Formerly a recommendation, now a requirement
 Pressure to make results of tax-payer funded
research accessible to the public
 “To ensure that the public has access to the
published results of NIH-funded research to help
advance science and improve human health.”

5. The Law --
NIH Public Access Policy
Requires all investigators funded by the NIH to submit or have
submitted for them to . . . PubMed Central an electronic
version of their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts upon
acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no
later than 12 months after the official date of publication. . .
in a manner consistent with copyright law.
--Responsibility of the grantee to ensure articles are submitted

6. Policy Applies to Any Final
Manuscript that ….
 Is peer-reviewed, and
 Accepted for publication in a journal on or after April
7, 2008, and
 Arises from:
 Direct funding from an NIH grant or cooperative
agreement, or
 Direct funding from an NIH contract signed on or
after April 7, 2008
 Does NOT apply to non-peer-reviewed materials
such as letters, editorials or book chapters

7. U.S. Government Initiative:
PubMed Central (PMC)
 Free digital archive of biomedical & life
sciences journal literature
 Developed & managed by NIH/NLM/NCBI
 Publishers deposit electronic content
 Content available immediately or after a
specified embargo period
 Voluntary participation by publishers was
low

8. www.pubmedcentral.gov

9. PubMed vs. PubMed Central
 PubMed Central (PMC)
 Digital archive of full-text, peer-reviewed journal papers
 Each paper indexed with a PMCID

Series of numbers preceded by ‘PMC’

Content is publicly accessible and integrated with other
databases
 PubMed:
 Provides access to citations from biomedical literature.
 Includes 17 million+ citations from MEDLINE and other life
sciences journals.
 Science journals for biomedical articles back to the 1950s
 Links to full text articles and other scientific resources.
 Each citation indexed with a PMID

10. Points to consider in
complying
 Which submission method will be used?
 What version of the paper will be made available
on PMC?
 Who will submit the paper?
 When will it be submitted?
 Who will approve the submission?
 When will the paper be made public on PMC?

11. How to Comply
Step 1-Address copyright
Before signing a copyright transfer agreement,
make sure the publisher permits deposit of the
article in PubMed Central (via NIHMS System)

12. How to Comply
Step 2- Check Library website for
journal/publisher policies – Some journals post
for you!
See Journal Deposit/No Deposit List

13. Journals List
Library website: http://www.fccc.edu/library/talbot

14. How to Comply
Step 3 -
Submit article to NIH - 4 Methods:
Method A: Publish in a journal on this
list that deposits all NIH-funded
final published articles in PMC
without author involvement -
Examples:

15. How to Comply
Method B: Make arrangements to have a
publisher on this list deposit a specific
final published article in PubMed Central.
This is generally an “Open Choice”-
author-pays model- which costs $$$

16. How to Comply
Method C: Deposit the final peer-reviewed manuscript
in PMC yourself via the NIH Manuscript System (
NIHMS)
The Library will do this for you!
Email: nihpublications@fccc.edu

17. Submission form
Library website: http://www.fccc.edu/library/talbot

18. Library’s submission request form

19. The number of months after publication
that the full-text manuscript can be
made freely available in PubMed
Central.
-- usually 12 months --
Journal Embargo Period

20. Author approval still required
 NIHMS emails corresponding author to
approve manuscript

Can be done only by authors who log into NIHMS with
an eRA Commons Account or NIH Account.
 NIHMS emails author again to approve
PMC-formatted manuscript for public
display
 After specified delay period, NIHMS
automatically sends article to PMC for
public posting

21. How to comply-
Publisher submits -- Author Approves
Method D: Complete the submission
process for a final peer-reviewed
manuscript that the publisher has
deposited in the NIHMS.

22. Publisher submission
Some publishers (like Elsevier) submit final manuscripts
to PMC on behalf of authors.-- You still have to
approve the manuscript via the NIH
Manuscript Submission system

23. Publishers that submit, but
require PI approval
 Elsevier (except for J Urology)
 Taylor and Francis
 Wiley-Blackwell
 Oxford U. Press
 Nature – some journals
 MaryAnn Liebert
 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

24. Method D – Process Details
 Publishers submit the manuscript to NIHMS
 NIHMS emails the corresponding author
 Author must approve the manuscript
 Author receives NIHMS number
 NIHMS emails corresponding author again
 Author approves PMC-formatted version for public display
 Once the process is complete, NIHMS emails all authors the
citation and PMCID no.
 After specified delay period, NIHMS automatically sends article to PMC
for public posting

25. One of the Two approval
steps

26. How to Comply
Step 4 - Demonstrate Compliance
 Cite NIHMS (temporary number)
 Cite PMCID (permanent number)
 Provide reason article does not fall under the policy

27. How to Comply: Cite
PMCID number
In all grant applications, renewals, progress reports or
biosketches
 List the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) at end of journal citation.
 If a PMCID number is not yet available, include the NIH Manuscript Submission
system reference number (NIHMS ID) instead.
 See “Citation Methods” Web page at
http://publicaccess.nih.gov/citation_methods.htm
Example:
Varmus H, Klausner R, Zerhouni E, Acharya T, Daar A, Singer P. 2003.
PUBLIC HEALTH: Grand Challenges in Global Health. Science
302(5644): 398–399. PMCID: PMC243493

28. Locating PMCID’s
PubMed: Abstract or Abstract Plus Format

29. PubMed Central (PMC)-
formatted article
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/

30. PMID to PMCID Converter
Use this link to find PMCID numbersUse this link to find PMCID numbers
when you have the PMID number:when you have the PMID number:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/pmctopmidhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/pmctopmid

31. NIH Grantee Compliance Reminder-
Acceptable Explanations
 Explanations to use for lack of required #’s:
 “Paper accepted prior to April 7, 2008”
 “Paper was not peer-reviewed”
 “PMC Journal – In Process”
Papers from journals that submit final published version
directly to PMC on behalf of authors NOTE:
Use only for Methods A or B journals
FAQ: http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm#c7

32. Summary of Steps
Step 1 -- Address Copyright
Step 2 -- Identify Journal Submission Policy
Step 3 -- Submit article to NIH
(via Methods A, B, C or D)
 Method A: Journal submits final article of PMC
 Method B: Author-pays an Open Choice fee; Journal submits final article to
PMC
 Method C: Library submits; Author approves
 Method D- Publisher submits; Author approves
Step 4 -- Demonstrate compliance
 PMCID
 NIHMS
 Other wording

33. Problems/Questions:
Which version should be submitted?
Final peer-reviewed manuscript: The
Investigator's final manuscript of a peer-reviewed
paper accepted for journal publication, including all
modifications from the peer review process.
Final published article: The journal’s authoritative
copy of the paper, including all modifications from the
publishing peer review process, copyediting and
stylistic edits, and formatting changes.

34. Problem with publisher submission
 Where is my manuscript’s NIHMSID?
 Three sources of information:

Ask the corresponding author- See Library’s
sample letter

Ask the Publisher

Ask the NIHMS Help Desk
at: http://www.nihms.nih.gov/db/sub.cgi?page=email&from=faq
 If no response, ask Library for help

35. Configuring EndNote
 To configure EndNote to include the
PubMed Central ID (PMCID):
 See Library’s EndNote page -- scroll to
bottom or link here:
http://www.fccc.edu/library/endnote.html
 Contact the Library for help, if needed

36. Points to Remember
 Act on accepted papers promptly
 Follow up on all eligible papers to obtain
PMCIDs
 Email or call the Library for help:
nihpublications@fccc.edu or x2711
Lydia.Hecker@fccc.edu
 See NIH Public Access Homepage:
http://publicaccess.nih.gov/index.htm