New Open-Access Requirement Starts Today at NIH

Beginning with manuscripts accepted for publication today, all research papers financed by grants from the National Institutes of Health must be made freely available online within a year of publication.

The NIH made the text of its open-access mandate available in January at the behest of Congress. The papers must appear in PubMed Central, the NIH’s Web database.

The policy has been controversial, with critics assailing it as both too restrictive and too lax. The NIH continues to request comments on the policy.

Various universities and library associations have developed Web sites to help NIH-backed researchers comply with the policy. Peter Suber, an open-access advocate and research professor of philosophy at Earlham College, has compiled a list of the resources in his monthly newsletter. —Lila Guterman