NIH Public Access Policy
The NIH Public Access Policy requires that an electronic copy of the final, peer-reviewed version of all articles accepted for publication that arise from funding--either in part or in whole--supplied by the National Institutes of Health be submitted to the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Central database to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication.
Steps to comply with the Policy
1. Copyright:
When considering a copyright transfer or other publication agreement to allow your paper to be published, make sure that agreement allows your article to be submitted to the NIH/PubMed Central.
2. To submit the paper:
Many journals will submit the final version of your article for you--see http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm for a list of these journals.
If your article is being published in a journal not on the above list:
- When submitting your manuscript, inform the journal that the final, peer-reviewed version of your paper is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy.
- As noted above, make sure that any copyright transfer or publication agreement allows the final version of your paper to be submitted to the NIH.
- Then, submit the final, peer-reviewed version of your article to the NIH at the time your paper is accepted for publication. The paper can be submitted online at http://www.nihms.nih.gov/. More information about the submission process can be found at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process.htm.
Questions or to get help
For further information about the Policy or assistance with depositing your manuscript in PubMed Central, please contact your consulting librarian.
Key points
The law -- http://publicaccess.nih.gov/policy.htm
PubMed Central -- http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/
Further questions
For more complete information about the Policy, see http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm.
