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Flow chart for Deposition in PubMed Central (PMC)

Am I the first author of a lab paper?

> Yes, then see next

Was work funded by NIH?

> Yes, then see next

Was paper published after April 2008?

> Yes, then see next

Work must be deposited in PMC

> Obtain NIH Grant number that publication was funded by and see next

Verify that copyright with publisher allows you to deposit in PMC.

> Yes, then see next

Does publisher automatically deposit paper in PMC?

> Yes - Verify that it is done and will be done within 12 months, if not you must do so see steps below

> No - see next

Will publisher allow you to deposit final published .pdf of article ? (MUST verify with publisher)

> Yes - deposit article

> No - must submit last version of manuscript sent to publisher (NOTE this is not the galley proofs or the published .pdf of the article) > See next

Collect manuscript, figures, tables, references, figure legends. This process is like the original submission to the journal.

> Go to PubMed Central (http://www.nihms.nih.gov/db/sub.cgi)

> Choose "eRA Commons" as the login option.

> Login to site or get login (available above login box).

> Follow instructions to submit paper.

> Record NIH Submission ID and pass to Ali .

Video explaining the process

Approving Submission of an Article to PubMed Central

What is PubMed Central?

PubMed Central is an archive of full-text biomedical journal papers available online without a fee. Papers collected under the Public Access Policy are archived on PubMed Central. More information about PubMed Central is available at http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/about/faq.html.

All papers originating from NIH funded projects must be deposited in PubMed Central.

EC. 218. 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.

Much more information can be found in a list of FAQ's (http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm#c2) that answers many questions about PubMed Central. It is strongly advised that you review this material.

Submission Methods to PubMed Central

There are four methods to ensure that an applicable paper is submitted to PubMed Central (PMC) in compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy. Authors may use whichever method is most appropriate for them and consistent with their publishing agreement.

Method A: Publish in a journal that deposits all final published articles in PubMed Central (PMC) without author involvement.

Some journals automatically deposit all NIH-funded final published articles in PubMed Central, to be made publicly available within 12 months of publication, without author involvement. See the list of these journals at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm.

List of Journals submitting to PubMed Central on the Authors Behalf.

http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm

Method B: Make arrangements to have the publisher deposit a specific final published article in PubMed Central.

Some publishers will deposit an individual final published article in PubMed Central upon author request, and generally for a fee. See the list of publishers at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/select_deposit_publishers.htm.

Method C: Deposit the final peer-reviewed manuscript in PubMed Central yourself via the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS).

Submitting a final peer-reviewed manuscript to PubMed Central (PMC) via the NIHMS involves three tasks, as explained below. Task 1 may be done by an author or by someone in the author’s organization (e.g., an assistant or a librarian). Tasks 2 and 3 must by done by the author.

For a video of this process, see Submitting an Article to PubMed Central (WMV Video - 12:01) (Help Viewing Captions).

Task 1: Deposit Manuscript Files and Link to NIH Funding

Upload a copy of the accepted final peer-reviewed manuscript and associated files (e.g., Microsoft Word document and figures) via the NIHMS. At the same time, identify the NIH funding associated with the manuscript. It usually takes less than 10 minutes to complete this task.

Task 2: Authorize NIH to Process the Manuscript

The author designates the number of months after publication when the manuscript may be made publicly available in PMC. The author then signs off, via the NIHMS, on a statement that confirms that the deposit of the manuscript is consistent with any publication and copyright agreements, and that NIH may begin processing the manuscript for use in PMC.

Task 3: Approve the PMC-formatted Manuscript for Public Display

The NIHMS will convert the deposited files into a standard PMC format, and email the author to approve the PMC-formatted manuscript for public display. The author reviews and approves the PMC-formatted manuscript via the NIHMS. Corrections to the manuscript, if necessary, may be requested at this time.

Following completion of task 3, PMC will automatically make the paper publicly available after the designated delay period has expired.

Notes:

• • Tasks 1 and 2 can be done at the same time, if the person performing them is an author of the manuscript.

  • Tasks 2 and 3 may be done only by an author who logs into the NIHMS with an eRA Commons or NIH employee account.

  • In many cases, the author who completes tasks 2 and 3 will be the Principal Investigator (PI) on the associated NIH award. When the author is not the PI, the NIHMS will notify the PI that a manuscript has been linked to the NIH award, upon completion of Task 2.

  • The NIHMS offers extensive online instructions.

Method D: Complete the submission process for a final peer-reviewed manuscript that the publisher has deposited in the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS).

In a variation of Method C, some publishers deposit the manuscript files in the NIHMS for an author and designate the number of months after publication when the paper may be made publicly available in PMC.

Though a publisher may make the initial deposit of files for an author in this case, institutions and investigators still are responsible for the timing of the deposit (i.e., upon acceptance for publication) and for completing the submission process after the publisher deposits the files.

The NIHMS will notify the author when the manuscript files are received from the publisher. At that point, the author must complete all of the tasks outlined for Method C, except for the file deposit part of Task 1 above.

Note: The journal that published my work deposits its papers in PubMed Central. Do I have to submit my paper myself?

It depends on which version of the paper the journal is depositing – the final published article or the final peer-reviewed manuscript – and on the terms of any agreement that the journal may have with NIH. There are three possible cases, described below. In the first case you do not have to take any action. In the other two, you do have to take certain actions.

a) Journal deposits final published article and makes it available within 12 months: If your journal deposits the final published article in PubMed Central and allows NIH to make it available to the public within 12 months of publication, you do not need to submit a manuscript.

b) Journal deposits final published article but does not make it available within 12 months: If the journal deposits the final published article in PubMed Central, but delays its release to the public for more than 12 months after publication, you will have to deposit a copy of your final peer-reviewed manuscript yourself.

c) Journal deposits final peer-reviewed manuscript: See Method D under Submission Methods

How to submit a manuscript to PubMed Central.

For a video demonstrating author tasks on the NIHMS for Method D, see Approving Submission of an Article to PubMed Central(WMV Video - 6:26).

Citation Methods

The NIH Public Access Policy ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH funded research. One requirement of the policy is that anyone submitting an application, proposal or progress report to the NIH must include the PMC reference number (PMCID) when citing applicable papers that they author or that arise from their NIH-funded research. The steps below describe how to cite a paper in accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy.

How to Cite

1. Include the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) at the end of citations.

List the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) at the end of the already-required full journal citation for the paper in NIH applications, proposals and reports. If the PMCID has not been assigned yet, the following can be used to designate compliance with the Policy:

• • If using Submission Method A or B, indicate “PMC Journal - In Process” in place of the PMCID at the end of the full citation.

  • If using Submission Method C or D, provide the NIH Manuscript Submission System reference number (NIHMS ID) in place of the PMCID at the end of the full citation.

NIH expects NIH applications, proposals and reports to provide the most up-to-date information available on Public Access Policy compliance. Awardees are reminded to use the PMCID once it is assigned. However, previously submitted applications, proposals and reports need not be updated when the PMCID becomes available.

2. Place the Literature Citations in the appropriate location.

The appropriate locations for literature citations vary depending on the application type. See the Guide Notice NOT-OD-08-119for details.

Additional Information

• • The Difference Between PubMed Central and PubMed

  • Examples of Citations

  • Locating the PMCID

The Difference Between PubMed Central and PubMed

The PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) is different from the PubMed reference number (PMID). PubMed Central is an index of full-text papers, while PubMed is an index of abstracts. The PMCID links to full-text papers in PubMed Central, while the PMID links to abstracts in PubMed. Compliance with the Public Access Policy requires providing applicable citations with the PMCID as described above. The PMCID can be located using PubMed.

Examples of Citations

Sala-Torra O, Gundacker HM, Stirewalt DL, Ladne PA, Pogosova-Agadjanyan EL, Slovak ML, Willman CL, Heimfeld S, Boldt DH, Radich JP. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) expression and outcome in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood. 2007 April 1; 109(7): 3080–3083. PMCID: PMC1852221

Cerrato A, Parisi M, Santa Anna S, Missirlis F, Guru S, Agarwal S, Sturgill D, Talbot T, Spiegel A, Collins F, Chandrasekharappa S, Marx S, Oliver B. Genetic interactions between Drosophila melanogaster menin and Jun/Fos. Dev Biol. 2006 Oct 1; 298(1): 59-70. PMCID: PMC2291284

Examples, before the PMCID is available:

For Submission Methods A and B, use “PMC Journal - In Process”:

Sala-Torra O, Gundacker HM, Stirewalt DL, Ladne PA, Pogosova-Agadjanyan EL, Slovak ML, Willman CL, Heimfeld S, Boldt DH, Radich JP. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) expression and outcome in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood. 2007 April 1; 109(7): 3080–3083. PMCID: PMC Journal - In Process

For Submission Methods C and D, use the NIHMSID:

Cerrato A, Parisi M, Santa Anna S, Missirlis F, Guru S, Agarwal S, Sturgill D, Talbot T, Spiegel A, Collins F, Chandrasekharappa S, Marx S, Oliver B. Genetic interactions between Drosophila melanogaster menin and Jun/Fos. Dev Biol. 2006 Oct 1; 298(1): 59-70. NIHMSID: NIHMS44135

Note: NIH expects NIH applications, proposals and reports to provide the most up-to-date information available on Public Access Policy compliance. The NIH Manuscript Submission reference number (NIHMSID) or "PMC Journal - In Process" should not be used once the PMCID is available. Previously submitted applications, proposals and reports need not be updated when the PMCID becomes available.

Locating the PMCID

The PMCID is posted in PubMed as soon as an article has been successfully processed by PMC, which usually occurs around the time of publication. PMCIDs are listed in the lower right corner of the AbstractPlus view of PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed). If the paper is successfully processed but not yet publicly available on PMC, PubMed will also list the date the paper will become available. NIH provides other methods of obtaining PMCIDs (e.g.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/pmctopmid), as do several bibliography management software packages.

Guides (see files below)

It is very important that all papers which acknowledge NIH funding be submitted to Pub Med Central. Whenever we submit progress reports, proposals, or NIH biosketches the PMCID number must be included on all cited papers.

To meet the NIH Pub Med Central requirements, please use the attached template as your cover letter when you submit a paper. When the copyrights come back, if they don’t expressly say that the journal will upload the manuscript for you into Pub Med CENTRAL, you should add the disclaimer that you reserve the right to upload the paper to Pub Med Central.

Please remember that Pub Med Central is different than Pub Med. Please read the attached Pub Med Central FAQ also.