How To Comply
To comply with this policy, each NIH-funded principal investigator will need to:
- Ensure that your copyright transfer agreement allows submission to NIH’s PubMed Central. NIH recommends the following language:
"Journal acknowledges that Author retains the right to provide a copy of the final 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." (See NIH sample copyright agreement) - Submit the accepted peer-reviewed manuscript (not the print-ready copy) to NIH through the NIH Manuscript Submission system (http://nihms.nih.gov/). Third-party submitter (such as publishers, grant administrators, and library staff) may submit on your behalf. The third-party submitter designates one of the manuscript's authors to review the submission.
- Receive a PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) to confirm your submission. The PMCID will be required for future NIH grant applications, progress reports, and proposals when citing previously published articles that were the result of research funded under this policy. Until the PMCID is issued, you may use the NIH Manuscript Submission reference number (NIHMSID) in your citations.
If your journal routinely deposits articles in PubMed Central, action on your part may or may not be needed. It depends on the version of the article that is deposited and on the terms of the publisher's agreement with NIH. See NIH Journal Depositors List. See SHERPA RoMEO for a summary of permissions publishers' copyright transfer agreements.
| Scenario | Action Required |
|---|---|
| Journal deposits final published article and makes it available within 12 months | No further action. However, if you have more than one active NIH grant, you may have to sign on to NIH Manuscript Submission system and indicate which NIH grant(s) applies to the article. |
| Journal deposits final published article but delays its release to the public for more than 12 months after publication | Deposit a copy of your accepted, peer-reviewed manuscript |
| Journal deposits accepted peer-reviewed manuscript | Sign on to the NIH Manuscript Submission system to review and approve release of the article to PubMed Central |
| Journal does not deposit accepted peer-reviewed manuscript or final published article, but copyright agreement allows author to deposit | Deposit a copy of your accepted, peer-reviewed manuscript |
| Journal copyright does not allow author to comply with the NIH Public Access Policy | Negotiate with publisher or ask Library's NIH Subgroup to negotiate on your behalf |
Submission Procedure
Submit your manuscript using the NIH Manuscript Submission form. See NIHMS System Slide Shows for detailed instructions. The following information is needed for submission:
- PI name and email address
- Title of the journal
- Title of the manuscript
- Grant number(s)
- Manuscript files (Word, Excel, PPT, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, PDF, etc.
- Embargo/Delay Time period
Questions?
Contact Julie Schneider, Ebling Library, with questions about the NIH public-access policy.