ARL prioritizes public access by advocating for policies that advance open science and open data, ensuring effective access and archiving strategies for these resources. Emphasizing the importance of accountability in the investment of research funds, both in the United States and Canada, ARL bridges research policy and practice through public access advocacy. This involves engaging with research partners, stakeholders, and decision-makers to collectively inform and shape the research and learning ecosystem, fostering effective institutional implementation.
The 2022 Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Nelson Memo
The release of the 2022 Nelson Memo, “Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research,” emphasized the importance of data sharing and access, mandating that federally funded research data be made publicly available to accelerate scientific discovery and innovation. This directive is particularly important for libraries, as they play a crucial role in managing, making available, archiving, and ensuring the accessibility of research data, thereby supporting compliance with these new federal requirements and enhancing the overall research infrastructure.
ARL’s Comments to Public Access Plans & Policies
- September 15, 2025: ARL Comments on NIH Publishing Costs RFI
- March 31, 2025: ARL Comments on Revised Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide:
- February 10, 2025: NSF PAPPG
ARL Comments on NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide - November 27, 2024: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
ARL Comments on National Institute of Justice Draft Public Access Plan
- February 10, 2025: NSF PAPPG
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released several plans and policies related to public access to meet evolving scientific and public needs:
- February 21, 2025: Comments on NIH Plan to Increase Findability and Transparency of Research Results Through the Use of Metadata and Persistent Identifiers
Comments on NIH Plan to Increase Findability - August 19, 2024: NIH Draft Public Access Policy
ARL Comments on the NIH Draft Public Access Policy - March 15, 2024: NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science
ARL Comments on the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science 2023–2028 - April 25, 2023: NIH Plan to Enhance Access
ARL Comments on NIH Plan to Enhance Access Results from NIH-Supported Research
- February 21, 2025: Comments on NIH Plan to Increase Findability and Transparency of Research Results Through the Use of Metadata and Persistent Identifiers
- June 12, 2024: Social Security Administration (SSA)
ARL Comments on Social Security Administration’s Plan for Increasing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research - January 2, 2024: National Science Foundation (NSF)
ARL Comments to National Science Foundation on NSF Public Access 2.0 - November 29, 2023: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
ARL Comments on Plan to Increase Public Access to USDA-Funded Research - August 17, 2023: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
ARL Comments on NASA Public Access Plan: Increasing Access to the Results of Scientific Research - May 31, 2023: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
ARL Comments on AHRQ Plan for Updating the Policy for Public Access to Scientific Publications and Scientific Data Resulting from AHRQ Funding - May 22, 2023: United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)
ARL Comments on Increasing Public Access to Results of USDOT-Funded Transportation Research
2022 OSTP Memo Resources
- US National Institutes of Health (NIH) 2008 and 2023 Draft NIH Public-Access Plan Comparison (March 2023)
- OSTP 2013 & 2022 Public Access Memo Comparison (October 2022)
- What Are the Copyright Implications of the New OSTP Public-Access Guidance? (December 2022)
Other Public Access Letters and Comments
- ARL Comments to the OSTP on Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise (December 2025)
- Open Access Working Group Letter on Public Access (November 3, 2023)
- ARL Celebrates Biden-Harris Administration’s Historic Policy to Make Federally Funded Research Immediately Available (August 2022)
- ARL Responds to US Office of Science and Technology Policy Request for Information on Public Access to Federally Funded Research (May 2020)
- ARL, AAU, APLU Present Statements on Public Access to Data, Publications (May 2013)
