Libraries Help Researchers Comply with NIH Public Access Policy
The Libraries are partnering with UCI’s Institute for Clinical & Translational Science and Office of Research to assist researchers in navigating the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy and manuscript submission process.
The NIH Public Access Policy was established in 2008 as a law to ensure the public has access to the published research their tax dollars help support. The policy has become increasingly complex and strictly enforced, raising the risk of delayed or suspended research funding.
Scientists are now required to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication. To help advance science and improve human health, the policy requires that these papers are accessible to the public on PubMed Central no later than 12 months after publication.
To assist researchers with the process, the UCI librarians have created an NIH online research guide to supplement the Libraries’ ongoing NIH Public Access Compliance initiative. Information on upcoming or past workshops can be found on the front page of the guide and the tabs direct researchers through the compliance process.
Librarians with policy expertise are here to help guide you along the steps of determining applicability, addressing copyright, submitting papers to PubMed Central, and managing compliance with a personalized My NCBI account.
Please contact nihgroup@uci.edu with NIH policy questions, consultation requests, or to schedule an NIH Public Access Compliance workshop. For further information about the Libraries’ resources, please contact Bethany Harris, Research Librarian for Health Sciences (x46957 or harrisbr@uci.edu).