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Open Access

2006-2008

NIH Public Access Policy

Fiscal Year 2008--Section 218 of H.R. 2764, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 makes the NIH Public Access Policy mandatory beginning April 7, 2008. The legislation provides that

"The Director of the National Institutes of Health shall require that all investigators funded by the NIH submit or have submitted for them to the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Central an electronic version of their final peer-reviewed manuscripts upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication: Provided, That the NIH shall implement the public access policy in a manner consistent with copyright law."

Resources to Guide Libraries Through the Implementation Process

National Institutes of Health

Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries

Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)

Resources for Small, Non-research Libraries

Sample Implementation Models

MLA Statements in Support of NIH Public Access Policy

  • Joint MLA/AAHSL Letter PDF download to House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property (September 2008)
  • Joint MLA/AAHSL Letter PDF download to House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittees (July 2007)
  • Joint library association letter PDF download to U.S. Senate urging opposition to proposed amendments to FY 2008 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill that would impede the ability of the NIH to make results of research available to the public (October 2007)
  • Letters to Senator Harkin PDF download (D-IA) and Rep. Obey PDF download (D-WI) expressing appreciation for their support of NIH public access policy and asking them to support the April 7, 2008 implementation date (February 2008)
  • MLA comments to the NIH in support of the NIH Public Access Policy (March 2008)

EPA Libraries

Fiscal Year 2008-Division F PDF download of the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Package provides $3 million in funding for restoration of the EPA libraries recently closed and directs the Agency to submit a report to the Committee on Appropriations regarding actions it will take to restore publicly available libraries to provide environmental information and data to each EPA region within 90 days of enactment of this Act.

Fiscal Year 2007-- The Administration's FY07 budget proposes cuts to the EPA that are resulting in the closing of EPA libraries around the country.

Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) of 2006—a bill that seeks to improve access to the scientific literature and ensure that published information is preserved.

2004-2005

2003
Thanks to Rittenhouse for their sponsorship of MLA's website.

Thanks to Mosby's Index for their sponsorship of the MLA website.

Thanks to the Endocrine Society for their sponsorship of the MLA website!