SPARC

NEW: Complying with the NIH Public Access Policy - Copyright considerations and options, a joint white paper from SPARC, Science Commons, and ARL

On January 11, 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a revision to its Public Access Policy. The policy now requires eligible researchers to deposit copies of final manuscripts upon acceptance into a peer-reviewed journal so that they may be made publicly available within 12 months of publication. This policy applies to any journal articles resulting from research supported in whole or in part by direct funds from NIH. The manuscript is defined as the final version accepted for journal publication and includes all modifications from the publishing and peer-review process.

The NIH has provided a comprehensive set of resources to explain the details of the policy:

• The text of the law
• The full NIH policy
• How to comply
• How to deposit in PubMed Central
• Frequently asked questions (Updated May 5, 2008)

The NIH also tracks submission rates and statistics: (Monthly Aggregate Submission Statistics from NIHMS)

You also may find it useful to refer researchers on your campus to these resources provided by NIH:

• List of journals that currently deposit articles in PMC on behalf of their authors
• Article from NIH’s Office Extramural Research Newsletter outlining what the new policy means to NIH-funded investigators

As libraries and administrators explore local approaches to education and compliance, please keep in mind these additional helpful resources that are currently available:

• The SPARC Author Addendum, which specifically enables authors to retain the rights they need to deposit articles in PMC after publication in a journal.

• The Scholar’s Copyright Addendum Generator, from SPARC and Science Commons, which offers authors the choice of four different sets of rights in addenda that may be completed online.

• The SPARC Author Rights Forum, a new, private discussion list where libraries can together explore the needs and opportunities that emerge as they consider how best to implement this policy. (To request membership, send any message to sparc-arforum-feed@arl.org). The list is moderated by Kevin Smith, JD, of Duke University Libraries.

• A letter to SPARC Directors and Advocates pointing to these resources

• NIH Public Access Policy: Guide for Research Universities, from the Association of Research Libraries

• On March 17, 2008, SPARC responded to the NIH call for comments held in conjunction with a public meeting to be held on the NIH Public Access Policy, March 20. A copy of those comments follows: SPARC continues to support the timely implementation of the NIH mandate

• SPARC comments from the March 20 public meeting are also available.

For background on the widespread community support for the NIH Public Access Policy, visit the Alliance for Taxpayer Access Web site.