There appears to be some confusion about the Revised NIH Public Access Policy among some researchers, librarians, and grant administrators. Some mistakenly think that ASPET’s journals are not in compliance with the NIH policy, apparently causing some concern about publication in any of the ASPET journals. The information below is being provided to set the record straight.

All NIH-funded articles ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION AS OF APRIL 7, 2008, MUST be deposited with PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication. The April 7 date applies to the manuscript acceptance date--not to the grant date. This condition of NIH funding is described in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts (NOT-OD-08-033).

Since April 2005, ASPET has allowed the manuscript version of NIH-funded articles accepted for publication in JPET, MolPharm, and DMD to be deposited in PubMed Central with a 12-month embargo. The Revised NIH Public Access Policy, which went into effect on April 7, 2008, also includes review articles. NIH-funded manuscripts for Pharmacological Reviews accepted on or after April 7 may be deposited with PubMed Central as well.

These are the only stipulations that ASPET makes about PubMed Central deposits: 1) the manuscript must be based upon NIH-funded research, and 2) the author must set the embargo period at PubMed Central to 12 months. This is within the NIH’s requirements. To deposit an NIH-funded manuscript, go to www.nihms.nih.gov.

ASPET makes JPET, MolPharm, and DMD manuscripts freely accessible immediately upon acceptance for publication. Unfortunately, this does not meet the NIH’s deposit requirement. Authors of NIH-funded articles MUST deposit their accepted manuscripts with PubMed Central if the article was accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008.

As of May 25, 2008, NIH applications, proposals, and progress reports must include the PubMed Central reference number when citing an article that falls under the policy. This policy includes applications submitted to the NIH for the May 25, 2008 due date and subsequent due dates. Manuscripts deposited with PubMed Central will be assigned a PubMed Central reference number. The number is available from PubMed Central.

We recognize that these policies are complex and may cause considerable confusion. It is important that everyone be familiar with the changing landscape and appreciate that ASPET wishes to remain committed to its authors and to the policies of NIH funded research. If you have any questions about ASPET’s journals and the Revised NIH Public Access Policy, please contact Rich Dodenhoff, ASPET’s Journals Director, at rdodenhoff{at}aspet.org.