1. Revised 7/19/10

2.  This policy states that, as of April 7, 2008, all articles resulting from U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds must be submitted to PubMed Central within 12 months of the official date of publication. ◦ PubMed Central is NIH’s free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature.

3.  The Public Access requirement is an important opportunity to make published research funded by NIH and written by you and your colleagues accessible to all - the public, health care providers, educators and scientists, among others. This improved access will help advance science and, ultimately, improve human health.

4.  The Policy applies to you, if your peer- reviewed article is based on work in any of the following categories: ◦ Directly funded by an NIH grant or cooperative agreement active in Fiscal Year 2008 (October 1, 2007- September 30, 2008) or beyond ◦ Directly funded by a contract signed on or after April 7, 2008 ◦ Directly funded by the NIH Intramural Program ◦ If NIH pays your salary

5.  If the NIH policy applies to you, you must ensure that the publisher will allow the article to be deposited into Pubmed Central.

6.  Some journals will submit the manuscript for you.  If the journal does not submit manuscripts: a)Inform the journal that the article is subject to the Public Access Policy when submitting it for publication. b)Make sure that any copyright transfer or other publication agreement allows the article to be submitted to NIH in accordance with the Policy. c)Submit the article to NIH, upon acceptance for publication using the NIH Manuscript Submission System http://www.nihms.nih.gov/.http://www.nihms.nih.gov/

7.  Laupus Library has a web page full of NIH Policy information under the How Do I? pages. http://www.ecu.edu/laupuslibrary/nihPolicy.c fm http://www.ecu.edu/laupuslibrary/nihPolicy.c fm  Contact a librarian ◦ Katherine Rickett: rickettk@ecu.edu ◦ Or call (252) 744-2230  Librarians are available to help you with submitting your articles, finding Pubmed Central ID numbers, and any other questions you might have.