NIH Public Access Policy Gary Byrd, PhD Linda Hasman, MSLS Health Sciences Library University at Buffalo State University of New York Gary Byrd, PhD Linda Hasman, MSLS Health Sciences Library University at Buffalo State University of New York

Why was the NIH Public Access Policy established? In order to advance science and improve human health, Congress decided that the public should have open access to the published results of NIH funded research.

What is the law?  Division G, Title II, Section 218 of PL (Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008)  “The Director of the NIH shall require that all investigators funded by the NIH submit, or have submitted for them, to the NLM’s PubMed Central an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed mss upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication... in a manner consistent with copyright law.”  Division G, Title II, Section 218 of PL (Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008)  “The Director of the NIH shall require that all investigators funded by the NIH submit, or have submitted for them, to the NLM’s PubMed Central an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed mss upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication... in a manner consistent with copyright law.”

What is the NIH Public Access Policy? It requires researchers to submit all final, peer reviewed manuscripts that arise from NIH funding into the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central repository, upon acceptance for publication.

How do I know if a member of the UB faculty is required to comply?  The NIH Policy applies to any peer-reviewed article that is based on work in one or more of the following categories:  Funded by an NIH grant or cooperative agreement active in Fiscal Year 2008 (October 1, 2007-September 30, 2008) or beyond; or  Funded by a contract with NIH signed on or after April 7, 2008; or  Funded by the NIH Intramural Program; or  If NIH pays the researcher’s salary  The NIH Policy applies to any peer-reviewed article that is based on work in one or more of the following categories:  Funded by an NIH grant or cooperative agreement active in Fiscal Year 2008 (October 1, 2007-September 30, 2008) or beyond; or  Funded by a contract with NIH signed on or after April 7, 2008; or  Funded by the NIH Intramural Program; or  If NIH pays the researcher’s salary

A Couple Notes  NIH Policy does not apply to articles that were accepted for publication before April 7, Those articles need not be submitted to PubMed Central.  The NIH Policy does apply, however, to some articles submitted for publication prior to April 7, 2008: those that were not actually accepted for publication until or after April 7,  NIH Policy does not apply to articles that were accepted for publication before April 7, Those articles need not be submitted to PubMed Central.  The NIH Policy does apply, however, to some articles submitted for publication prior to April 7, 2008: those that were not actually accepted for publication until or after April 7, 2008.

Responsibilities of the Principle Investigator (PI)  Must submit (or ensure author or journal submits) the final, accepted electronic manuscript version of each article to PubMed Central (PMC) repository.  After May 25, 2008 must include NIH manuscript ID number (NIHMS ID) or PMC ID number in references to each submitted article in all NIH progress reports & new or renewal grant applications.  Must submit (or ensure author or journal submits) the final, accepted electronic manuscript version of each article to PubMed Central (PMC) repository.  After May 25, 2008 must include NIH manuscript ID number (NIHMS ID) or PMC ID number in references to each submitted article in all NIH progress reports & new or renewal grant applications.

How can articles be submitted to PMC?  Four possible methods: 1)Publish in a journal that deposits all NIH-funded final published articles in PMC without author involvement. 2)Make arrangements with the publisher to deposit a specific article in PMC (they may charge for this service). 3)Deposit the article yourself using the NIH Ms Submission System (NIHMS) 4)Complete the submission process for an article the publisher has deposited in the NIHMS.  Four possible methods: 1)Publish in a journal that deposits all NIH-funded final published articles in PMC without author involvement. 2)Make arrangements with the publisher to deposit a specific article in PMC (they may charge for this service). 3)Deposit the article yourself using the NIH Ms Submission System (NIHMS) 4)Complete the submission process for an article the publisher has deposited in the NIHMS.

Example of PMCID article citation  Sala-Torra, O., et.al., Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) expression and outcome in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood April 1; 109(7): PMCID: PMC

PMCID numbers in PubMed (Medline) Searches  PMCID numbers are now included in PubMed (Medline) search results for articles in PubMed Central.  PubMed also has a new tool to convert PubMed ID numbers to PMC Id numbers, and vice versa:  PMCID numbers are now included in PubMed (Medline) search results for articles in PubMed Central.  PubMed also has a new tool to convert PubMed ID numbers to PMC Id numbers, and vice versa:

Responsibilities of the Author  Must ensure that copyright transfer agreements signed with publishers permit the submission of the electronic manuscript to NIH (PubMed Central).  Must coordinate submission and copyright compliance process with the PI (if the author is not the PI).  Must ensure that copyright transfer agreements signed with publishers permit the submission of the electronic manuscript to NIH (PubMed Central).  Must coordinate submission and copyright compliance process with the PI (if the author is not the PI).

Suggested UB letter to publisher NIH%20PubMedPublisherLetter.pdf NIH%20PubMedPublisherLetter.pdf

Other resources on UB Libraries Website  Keep this URL handy for reference to these resources:  Keep this URL handy for reference to these resources:

The Manuscript Submission System

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NIH Manuscript Submission  NIH has an extensive and lengthy tutorial on its website.  Following are highlights and key slides from the tutorial.  The full tutorial can be found at -- help/index.html help/index.html  NIH has an extensive and lengthy tutorial on its website.  Following are highlights and key slides from the tutorial.  The full tutorial can be found at -- help/index.html help/index.html

Begin by entering the journal name

Enter name or grant number

Enter the title of the manuscript

If more than one project is present in the account, click on the grant/project to be uploaded

Enter the file type

When all the files are uploaded, Click on Upload Files

A pop-up appears to track the progress of the upload

An example of a manuscript with multiple files…

Once all the files are uploaded, move on to the summary

Need to make changes? Ready to move on?

Click on the highlighted PDF Receipt to review the Files

Review the PDF

Now, select the Embargo Period

Select Approve

From this page, you can Change the Release Date, Disagree or Agree with the Submission Statement

If you Agree with the Statement, you can now Logoff or go to the Manuscript List

Completed Page of the Manuscript Submission System