Making research accessible: National Institutes of Health (NIH) public access and PNAS open access policies

In an effort to establish a “comprehensive, searchable, electronic resource of NIH-funded research results and provide free access to all,” NIH has unveiled its long-awaited public access policy. The policy, which goes into effect May 2, 2005, requests, not requires, that NIH-funded investigators submit to PubMed Central (PMC) their accepted, peer reviewed manuscripts for posting at PMC within 1 year of publication in a journal. This policy will ensure that publicly funded research is publicly accessible. The authority and influence of NIH will encourage further progress in this important area.

PNAS complies with the NIH …