NIH Open Access Proposed Rule
December 10th, 2004 by UI Libraries
The recently passed Fiscal Year 2005 Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill includes language supporting the National Institutes of Health open access publishing proposal. The proposal, forwarded by NIH Director Zerhouni was available for public comment until November 16, 2004. The proposal is designed to make articles about NIH-funded research freely available to anyone on the Internet through a central database housed at the National Library of Medicine. Heavy lobbying by publishing industry representatives and others failed to derail the proposed rule through the appropriations bill.
Here is the language from the bill:
"The conferees are aware of the draft NIH policy on increasing public access to NIH-funded research. Under this policy, NIH would request investigators to voluntarily submit electronically the final, peer reviewed author’s copy of their scientific manuscripts; six months after the publisher’s date of publication, NIH would make this copy publicly available through PubMed Central. The policy is intended to help ensure the permanent preservation of NIH-funded research and make it more readily accessible to scientists, physicians, and the public. The conferees note that the comment period for the draft policy ended November 16th; NIH is directed to give full and fair consideration to all comments before publishing its final policy. The conferees request NIH to provide estimated costs of implementing this policy each year in its annual Justification of Estimates to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. In addition, the conferees direct NIH to continue to work with the publishers of scientific journals to maintain the integrity of the peer review system."
NIH Director Zerhouni was directed to have a final policy by December 1, 2004. He has asked for an extension of this date due to the large number of comments received on the proposal.
Stay tuned for further developments in the News@Hardin and the Hardin Scholarly Communication News. Questions about this proposed rule can be directed to Jean Sayre, Hardin Library Director, jean-sayre@uiowa.edu
