The NIH Public Access Policy requires compliance from faculty, researchers, and students for published, peer-reviewed manuscripts funded by NIH since April 7, 2008. Various submission methods exist for authors to manage compliance and obtain necessary identifiers (PMCID, NIHMSID, PMID), which include journal submissions and author self-submissions. Maintaining a 'My Bibliography' can assist in tracking publications and compliance status effectively.

1. NIH
Public Access Policy
SHAUNA AYRES
APRIL, 2016

2. WHAT IS THE NIH PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY?
PUBLIC ACCESS
to results of
PUBLIC-FUNDED
research
SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENT

3. How does the NIH Public Access Policy
affect my work?
Compliance Funding
NON-
compliance
Delays in
review &
funding
Increases in
administrative
oversight,
work, &
frustration
Detrimental
to current
research &
future
program

4. USER ACCOUNTS NEEDED
eRA
commons
My
NCBI
NIH
All systems are designed to link.
This makes it easier for
researchers to communicate
progress, publications, and
funding.

5. When & How to Comply
with the NIH Public Access Policy
Preparing a
manuscript
•Determine need to
comply
Submitting to
journals
•Determine
submission
method
Accepted for
publication
•Add publication to
“My NCBI”
Reporting to
NIH
•Include NIHMSID
or PMCID
After
publication
•Ensure PMCID is
assigned
•Verify correct
funding
•Maintain “My
Bibliography”

6. Determining need to comply
Do I need to comply with the
NIH Public Access Policy?
All faculty,
researchers, &
students
Determining if a publication needs to
comply?
If your manuscript meets all 3 requirements,
you must comply.
 Peer-reviewed
 Published after April 7, 2008
 NIH funded (full or partial)

7. PMCID vs. PMID vs. NIHMSID
PMCID
NIHMSID
PMID
PMCID
NIHMSID
PMID

8. Submission methods for obtaining an
PMCID
A B
C D
Methods
A. Journal submits final
article to PMC
B. Publisher submits final
article to PMC
C. Author self-submits
publication to NIHMS
D. Publisher submits final
article to NIHMS, author
completes approval steps

9. Method A
Journal submits final article to PMC (free service)
◦ Check to see if journal offers this service.
◦ The author must inform the journal the article needs to
be submitted to PubMed Central.
◦ The author is still responsible for ensuring a PMCID is
assigned WITHIN 3 MONTHS OF PUBLICATION.

10. Method B
Publisher submits final article to PMC
(fee-based service provided on an article by article basis by some journals)
◦ Check to see if the journal/publisher offers this service and
the cost.
◦ The author must inform the journal/publisher the article
needs to be submitted to PubMed Central.
◦ The author is still responsible for ensuring a PMCID is
assigned WITHIN 3 MONTHS OF PUBLICATION.
NOTE: You are NOT required to pay journals to submit articles to PubMed Central.
You can do it yourself for free (METHOD C).

11. Method C
Author self-submits publication to NIHMS (free service)
◦ The author must inform the journal/publisher the article needs to
be submitted to PubMed Central.
◦ The author, or delegated person, submits the final peer reviewed
manuscript (NOT the journal’s final version of the publication) to
NIHMS.
◦ The reviewer completes the initial approval step upon submission
and an NIHMSID will be assigned. THIS MUST BE COMPLETED
WITHIN 3 MONTHS OF PUBLICATION.
◦ After 4-6 weeks of processing, the author/reviewer will complete a
final review.
◦ A PMCID will be assigned to the publication and appear in the
PubMed citation for the publication.
◦ NOTE: Include NIHMSID numbers in citations for NIH progress
reports and grant applications to demonstrate compliance.

12. Submitting to NIHMS

13. Method D
Publisher submits final peer reviewed manuscript to NIHMS, author
completes approval steps
◦ The author must inform the journal/publisher the article needs to be
submitted to PubMed Central.
◦ The publisher submits final peer reviewed manuscript files to NIHMS. THIS
MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 3 MONTHS OF PUBLICATION.
◦ The author is still responsible for managing NIHMS submissions (online)
and ensuring PMCIDs are assigned.
◦ After 4-6 weeks of processing, the author/reviewer will complete a final
review.
◦ A PMCID will be assigned to the publication and appear in the PubMed
citation for the publication.
◦ NOTE: Include NIHMSID numbers in citations for NIH progress reports and
grant applications to demonstrate compliance.

14. Summary of Steps by Method
A B
C D
Methods

15. CITATIONS
Lastname FI, Lastname FI, (list all authors in
same format). Publication title. Journal. YYYY;
Vol: pp. PMCID: PMC#######.

16. WHAT IS MY BIBIOLOGRAPHY?
It will HELP you:
• Keep a comprehensive list of publications
• Track publication compliance
• Get funding

17. Managing My Bibliography
Automatically adds publications by you (My bibliography)
with NIHMS & PMCID numbers
Automatically adds others’ publications associated with your
grants (Other citations) with NIHMS & PMCID numbers
Organize it how it makes sense to you.
There is not wrong way, except not doing it.

18. Compliance status
NON-COMPLIANT
IN-PROCESS
COMPLIANT
UNKNOWN
N/A COMPLIANCE NOT REQUIRED
EDIT STATUS
Walks through prompts
to determine if
compliance is needed.
ADD/DELETE AWARDS
You can do this with any
compliance status.

19. Collapsing Citations
Make an identical copy and My
NCBI will combine (collapse) them.
You will need additional support if you want
to delete citations with these symbols

20. Creating a BioSketch in SciENcv
o Within My NCBI (which is linked to eRA commons.
o Pulls information from eRA commons for you.
o Fill out form and select publications and awards to include.
This another reason why to maintain My Bibliography.
o Get a URL or export file.
eRA
commons
My
NCBI
NIH

21. More Information
Shauna Ayres
slayres2008@gmail.com or shaunala@live.unc.edu
801-708-1794
UNC-CH HSL--Ask a Librarian:
http://asklib.hsl.unc.edu/
NIH Public Access Policy homepage:
https://publicaccess.nih.gov/