Quick Facts
- All peer reviewed articles arising from NIH funds are required to be submitted to PubMed Central.
- Submitting a manuscript usually takes less than 10 minutes.
The Law
The NIH Public Access Policy implements Division G, Title II, Section 218 of PL 110-161 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008) which states:
SEC. 218. The Director of the National Institutes of Health shall require that all investigators funded by the NIH submit or have submitted for them to the National Library of Medicine’s 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: Provided, That the NIH shall implement the public access policy in a manner consistent with copyright law.
About the Policy
On December 26, 2007, President Bush signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2007 (H.R. 2764) which requires that all investigators funded by the NIH submit or have submitted for them to the National Library of Medicine’s 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. Previously this was requested, but was not required.
The NIH has created a website for information regarding this policy.
Creighton University Office of Grants Administration NIH Public Access Policy
When it goes into effect
This requirement goes into effect for all peer-reviewed articles accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008.
What you need to do
The investigator or someone in his/her organization, such as an assistant or library staff member may deposit a copy of the peer reviewed manuscript using the NIHMS system.
Journals that submit on your behalf
Some journals already submit your journal articles to PubMed Central on behalf of their authors. If you publish in one of these journals, no further action is needed to comply with the submission requirements of NIH Public Access Policy. Some journals may charge a fee for this service.
Suggested language for contracts
From the NIH:
Authors own the original copyrights to materials they write. Consistent with individual arrangements with authors' employing institutions, authors often transfer some or all of these rights to the publisher when the journal agrees to publish their article. Some publishers may ask authors to transfer copyrights for a manuscript when it is first submitted to a journal for review.
Authors should work with the publisher before any rights are transferred to ensure that all conditions of the NIH Public Access Policy can be met. Authors should avoid signing any agreements with publishers that do not allow the author to comply with the NIH Public Access Policy.The NIH provides this example:
"Journal acknowledges that Author retains the right to provide a copy of the final manuscript to the NIH upon acceptance for Journal publication, for public archiving in PubMed Central as soon as possible but no later than 12 months after publication by Journal."
From Creighton University:
Publisher Submission Letter - This letter should be attached to any article submission.
Copyright Addendum - This document should be used to retain rights to submit a copy of your final manuscript to the NIH.
What the Health Sciences Library can do to help
The Health Sciences Library would like to support faculty participation in this effort by offering to assist with the submission of manuscripts via the National Institute of Health Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). Information on the NIHMS and links to a detailed FAQ are available at http://www.nihms.nih.gov.
For more information and assistance, please contact Judi Bergjord at 280-5199 or bergjord@creighton.edu.
Links to other resources
- Public Access Policy FAQ’
- Association of Research Libraries NIH Public Access Policy guide
