The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), US, has developed a Web-based guide to assist research institutions in implementing the new Public Access Policy adopted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The ARL guide, 'The NIH Public Access Policy: Guide for Research Universities,' will be helpful to a range of campus constituencies that may be involved in implementing the new policy, including research administrators, legal counsel, and librarians.
The new NIH Public Access Policy, which becomes effective April 7, 2008, calls for mandatory deposit in PubMed Central of peer-reviewed electronic manuscripts stemming from NIH funding. The change from a voluntary to mandatory policy creates new expectations, not just of funded investigators, but also of the grantee institutions that support those investigators.
The ARL guide focuses on the implications of the NIH policy for institutions as grantees, although some information for individual investigators is included and links to further details are provided. In addition to compliance concerns, the guide also considers the benefits of the new policy and institutions' opportunities to build on the policy requirements by seeking additional rights for using funded research to address local needs. Reflecting the dynamic nature of campus implementation activities, the guide will be updated as more campuses release plans, resources, and tools that can serve as models for their peers.
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