NIH Public Access and AASLD Journals
As of January 11, 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requires that investigators voluntarily submit an electronic copy of the final accepted version of a manuscript accepted on or after April 7, 2008, that reports NIH-funded research to PubMedCentral. PubMedCentral (PMC) is the NIH digital repository of full-text, peer-reviewed biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research journals. It is a publicly-accessible, permanent, and searchable electronic archive available on the Internet. At the time of voluntary submission to PMC, the authors will specify the timing of the posting of their final manuscript for public accessibility through PMC. Posting for public accessibility through PMC is strongly encouraged as soon as possible (and within 12 months of the publisher’s official date of final publication). The NIH requests but does not require investigators to:
1. Check the accuracy of the manuscript in the digital archival format used by the National Library of Medicine.
2. Reach an agreement regarding the timing of the release with the publisher of the journal in which the manuscript will appear.
The full policy can be viewed on the NIH Website/Public Access.
The NIH has stated that it will honor copyright agreements between authors and publishers. As such, AASLD will retain the requirement that all authors published in AASLD journals sign a copyright transfer agreement.
AASLD promotes research and education in liver disease and is actively and currently engaged in the concept of improving the diffusion of scientific knowledge in hepatology. However, AASLD maintains a commercial relation with the publisher of HEPATOLOGY and Liver Transplantation, John Wiley & Sons. The publisher has requested, and AASLD leadership has agreed, that the accepted but unedited, unformatted version of such manuscripts be deposited at PMC by Wiley immediately upon acceptance and posted to PMC by Wiley, not the author, 12 months after acceptance but not sooner.
We recognize this measure reflects a new era in scientific publication. It is likely that the current proposal will undergo changes and refinements, as many questions remain on the operation of this new policy. European initiatives in this area may add another layer of complexity. The journal publications committee of AASLD will maintain an active role in monitoring the effects of this changing environment.