The document summarizes the NIH Public Access Policy, which requires researchers who receive NIH funding to submit final peer-reviewed manuscripts to PubMed Central. It discusses how the policy benefits researchers, patients, and the public. It also outlines how libraries can help by advising authors on copyright issues, assisting with publisher agreements, and coordinating compliance efforts. The library's role is presented as helping relieve burdens on researchers while supporting open access to the biomedical literature.

1. NIH Public Access Policy
(and how librarians can help)
By Stephanie Ballard, M.L.S., M.Ed.
2009

2. Why involve the Library?
 Institutions receive $$$ from National
Institutes of Health for research
 As grantees, institutions are liable for
complying with NIH policies
 Shows proactive & responsible
approach

3. Overview of presentation
I. Benefits
II. Logistics
III. Copyright
IV. Library

4. I. Benefits

5. Benefits of Policy to researcher
 Increased visibility for your work
 Your articles are archived in perpetuity
 Easy access to colleagues’ PMC
articles
 Continued eligibility for NIH grants
 Integration with NLM databases:
PubMed, Clinical Trials, Gen
Bank, PubChem

6. Benefits of Policy to others
 Unprecedented access to biomedical
literature via PubMed Central
 Allows researchers to more quickly
build on cutting-edge discoveries
 Speeds process of translating
scientific findings to clinical care
 Adds transparency & accountability to
federal spending

7. PubMed Central
 NLM’s digital repository
◦ “free internet-accessible archive of full text
articles from peer-reviewed scholarly
biomedical journals”
 Permanent & searchable
 Links to publisher websites
 Includes many articles reporting on
research not funded by NIH

8. PubMed homepage

9. II. Logistics

10. Brief history
 Congress assigned NIH job of drafting
Public Access Policy
 Voluntary Policy enacted in 2005, but
compliance rates were low
 Became mandatory in 2008
 Applies to articles accepted for peer-
reviewed publication after April 7, 2008
or grants active as of October 2007
◦ Prior to mandatory date: OK but not required
 All types of NIH grants, not just research

11. Resistance to Policy
 H.R. 801 by Rep John Conyers
◦ “Fair Copyright in Research Works Act”
◦ Referred to House committee in March
 Attempt to reverse Policy
 H.R. supported by publishing lobby
 H.R. opposed by scientific community,
patient advocates & librarians

12. Five W’s of deposit in PMC
 Who: Principal Investigator, author or third-party
designee, such as a helpful librarian
◦ Some publishers also submit articles
 What: final peer-reviewed manuscript in MS Word
◦ Excel, TIFF, JPG & other formats
◦ Also PDF submitted by publisher
 When: upon acceptance for publication
◦ Maximum 12-month embargo
 Where: NIH Manuscript Submission system
◦ portal used to upload manuscripts/articles
 Why: see slide #3 “Benefits of Policy to researcher”
 How: include NIH grant number(s)
◦ NIH formats manuscript into uniform XML-based format

13. Other options for deposit
 Use journal that automatically deposits
all applicable articles
 Arrange with journal to deposit your
specific article (may charge fee)
 Journal starts process and PI or
author completes it by approving
submission

14. Identification numbers: PMCID
 Must add PubMed Central ID to
citations of articles reporting NIH-
funded research
 Also in grant applications, proposals &
progress reports
 If PMCID not yet available, then use
interim NIHMSID (NIH Manuscript
Submission Identification)

15. PMCID vs. PMID
 PMID number not acceptable to NIH
 Translate PubMed IDs to PubMed
Central IDs with online converter

16. PMCID & NIHMSID

17. PMCID/PMID & full-text links

18. III. Copyright

19. Copyright alert for authors !
 Ask your friendly librarian for help
 Before selecting journal, check
publisher’s policies for cooperating
with NIH Policy
◦ SHERPA website for publishers’ policies
 Include submission notice & amend
publisher agreement, if necessary

20. Sample listing in SHERPA

21. Article submission notice
 Authors should include notice to
publisher that article, if accepted, is
subject to Public Access Policy
 Extra protection when used with
amendment to publisher agreement

22. Amend publisher agreement
 Add to agreement SPARC’s
Addendum or
 NIH’s suggested language
◦ “Journal acknowledges that Author retains
the right to provide a copy of the final
peer-reviewed 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.”

23. Copyright alert for grantees !
 Institutions must assume greater
administrative role in compliance
 Risk management focus on how PI’s
handle publishers agreements
 Once author signs rights
away, grantee may be in non-
compliance
 Requiring pre-approval of journals
may spur resistance from authors

24. Grantee license
 Authors, rather than employer, often
own copyright to their work
 Employer may acquire rights from
authors to ensure its compliance
 Use a non-exclusive license with
authors which automatically allows
grantee to submit works to PMC
 Grantee may also seek right to post
works in institution’s own repository

25. IV. Library

26. Library involvement--why?
 PubMed Central (PMC) is housed in
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
 3 librarians on NIH Advisory
Committee from start of planning
 Libraries are supportive of Policy
 Librarians have traits required for task

27. How Library can help
1. Advise authors re: copyright issues
2. Research publishers’ policies
3. ID publishers that submit to PMC
4. Assist in amending publishing
agreements
5. Locate citations & PMCIDs

28. How Library can help (cont’d)
6. Coordinate various departments
7. Stay current on new developments
8. Presentations & written updates
9. Dedicated staff can better handle
complicated tasks of Policy

29. Library’s vision
 Relieve research staff of burden
 Provide support, resources &
education
 Carrot-not-stick approach
 Show NIH Public Access Policy is an
opportunity rather than annoyance

30. References
1. Carroll, M. W. (2008). Complying with the National Institutes of Health public access policy
Copyright considerations and options. Cambridge, MA: Science Commons.
http://www.arl.org/sparc/bm~doc/NIH_Copyright_v1.pdf
2. Homan, J. Michael; Watson, Linda A. STM publishing meets NIH digital archive: librarian
service on the PubMed Central National Advisory Committee. Reference Services Review,
2004, Vol. 32 Issue 1, p83-88, 6p; DOI: 10.1108/00907320410519504; (AN 14083164)
3. National Institutes of Health (U.S.). (2008). Analysis of comments and implementation of
the NIH Public Access Policy. Bethesda, Md.?: NIH.
http://publicaccess.nih.gov/analysis_of_comments_nih_public_access_policy.pdf
4. The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition.Addendum to publication
agreement. http://www.arl.org/sparc/bm~doc/Access-Reuse_Addendum.pdf Accessed
May 25, 2009.
5. The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition. Author Rights: Using the
SPARC Author Addendum to secure your rights as the author of a journal article.
http://www.arl.org/sparc/author/addendum.shtml Accessed May 25, 2009.
6. Shepard P. Schizophrenia Bulletin and the revised NIH public access policy. Schizophrenia
Bulletin [serial online]. September 2008; 34(5):799-800. Available from: PsycINFO, Ipswich,
MA. Accessed May 25, 2009.
7. University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries. NIH Public Access Policy: Frequently Asked
Question. http://www.library.wisc.edu/scp/nih/faq.html Accessed May 25, 2009.
8. Willinsky J. The publisher's pushback against NIH's public access and scholarly publishing
sustainability. Plos Biology [serial online]. January 27, 2009;7(1):e30-e30. Available from:
MEDLINE with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed May 25, 2009.