Public access to NIH-funded research publications now mandatory

The five W’s of compliance Who: Any NIH funded investigator What: Any peer-reviewed manuscript funded by NIH When: Manuscripts accepted for publication after April 7, 2008 and cited on NIH applications, proposals, progress reports submitted on or after of May 25, 2008 Where: Submit manuscripts to NIH Manuscript Submission System Why: Help advance science and improve human health

All National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded investigators are now required to submit their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts to PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication.

The NIH mandate applies to current NIH funding, including continuing NIH grants or cooperative agreements that are active in federal FY2008.

Investigators also must include PubMed Central ID (PMCID) numbers when citing their own NIH-funded research publications in NIH applications, proposals and progress reports.

PubMed Central, an electronic archive of full-text journal articles, is different from PubMed, which is a database of bibliographic references. It is important to note that only PMCIDs meet the NIH requirement.

“We realize the NIH public access policy adds yet another item to an already busy investigator agenda,” said UNMC Vice Chancellor for Research Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D. “However, it’s the law. Noncompliance is not an option.

“A goal of researchers is to publish scientific findings but the public still faces many barriers in trying to obtain these findings. This information should not be kept secret from those who want to understand it, those who can advance it, or those who fund it. The NIH Public Access policy gives health care providers, patients, educators and scientists easier access to NIH funded work.”

UNMC supports this policy and believes it is consistent with the medical center’s vision of preparing the best-educated health professionals and scientists and advancing its commitment to community health, Dr. Rosenquist said.

Responsibility lies with the investigator and requirements can be met in a number of ways. Dr. Rosenquist said UNMC stands ready to assist investigators in meeting the requirement. Official UNMC guidelines can found by clicking here. A Public Access Toolkit is being developed on the McGoogan Library Web site.

Below is a list of resources investigators can access to help them submit their published work:

• For help interpreting the requirements, contact Nancy Woelfl, Ph.D., director of the McGoogan Library of Medicine, at 559-7078 or nwoelfl@unmc.edu to set up a time to present the requirements to your department;
  
• To learn about appropriate locations for literature citations within progress reports and applications, contact your assigned grants and contract specialist;
  
• For more information about self-submitting a manuscript to the NIH Manuscript System, contact Robin Taylor in the UNMC Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience at 559-3549 or rtaylor@unmc.edu; and
  
• To locate and cite a PMCID number or to incorporate PMCID numbers in RefWorks output style, contact the McGoogan Library Reference Department at 559-6221.