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NIH Public Access Policy

About the Policy

Who?

  • NIH Principal investigators who have peer-reviewed manuscripts accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008 are required to comply.
  • Individuals completing NIH applications, proposals and progress reports on or after May 25, 2008 are required to comply.

What?

  • This Policy applies to all peer-reviewed manuscripts resulting from research fully (or partially) funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It ensures that these manuscripts are made publically available through deposit in NIH's digital archive, PubMed Central (PMC).
  • Within all NIH applications, proposals and progress reports, a PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) for citations referring to NIH funded research articles which fall within the new policy must be included.

When?

  • PMCIDs are assigned to each article once made viewable within PMC. example - PMCID: PMC2223688.

How?

  • There are four ways to get your manuscript into NIHMS and PMC - Details
  • Include the PMCID at the end of the citations in your NIH applications, proposals and reports - Examples

Why?

  • Compliance with current NIH policy.
  • PMC is a well-respected digital repository which makes submitted articles freely accessible to researchers and students around the world.

Additional Policy Details

Help for Policy Compliance

FAQ - NIHMS
FAQ- Public Access Policy
Submission Tutorials
NIHMS  Help Desk
Contact JMU Libraries for Assistance
Copyright Issues

Before you sign your publication agreement, ensure that it allows submission of your manuscript to the NIHMS. - More Information

JMU approved copyright addendum (drafts) &

Cover Letter

Publisher Policies

Consider choosing publications that will automatically submit your manuscript to PMC - Publishers that will submit on your behalf