NIH panel reaffirms public-access policy

An NIH advisory panel charged with implementing a public-access policy has reaffirmed its November 2005 recommendation that all NIH-funded research be made publicly available via PubMed Central no later than six months after publication. The panel, Public Access Working Group (PAWG), reissued its call for a mandatory six-month public-access policy at a meeting on April 10. NIH's current policy in this area was issued last May and calls for voluntary posting of agency-funded work on PubMed Central within a year of publication. One group that supports the reissued PAWG policy is the Alliance for Taxpayer Access (ATA). "We are very pleased that PAWG has reaffirmed its original recommendations for a mandatory policy and a maximum six-month embargo period," said ATA's Heather Joseph. She added that to achieve the agency's stated goals of enabling NIH to manage its research portfolio better and to provide public access to NIH-funded research publications, a mandatory policy is needed. Ultimately, the decision on public access must be made by NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni. He is considering revisions to the current policy, which are expected to be announced this year.