Table 1: Common misconceptions about the new NIH open access policy
Fiction
Fact
The mandate is to publish in open access journals.
The mandate is to deposit in an open access repository (PubMed Central).
The mandate is to bypass journals and peer review.
The mandate is to provide open access to articles already published in peer-reviewed journals.
The mandate applies to the published version of articles.
The mandate applies to the final versions of the authors’ peer-reviewed manuscripts.
The mandate directs deposits to PubMed.
The mandate directs deposits to PubMed Central.
The mandate requires a 12-month embargo on the copy in PubMed Central.
The mandate permits an embargo of up to 12 months on the copy in PubMed Central.
The new NIH budget is US$29 million.
The new NIH budget is US$29 billion.
The new mandate will last for only 1 year.
The new mandate will last indefinitely.
The mandate requires violation of copyright law.
The mandate requires compliance with copyright law.
PS: This table is based on the most common misconceptions I'd heard in the first month after the policy's adoption. Now I'd add at least one more. Fiction: The policy requires deposit at the end of the embargo period. Fact: The policy requires deposit immediately upon acceptance for publication.
Update (4/27/08). Ruth Lewis and Cathy Sarli, both from Washington University, independently sent me the same addition. (Thanks Ruth and Cathy.) In my own words:
Fiction: The policy is retroactive and grantees must deposit all their previous articles.
Fact: The policy is not retroactive and grantees must deposit only those covered by the new policy.
The exact starting date for the policy's application depends on the type of grant and grantee. For most grantees, it starts with articles accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008. Check with the NIH about your own case if you're in doubt.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 4/16/2008 11:54:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
