[Insight-users] OPEN ACCESS: Howard Huges Medical Institute (HHMI) Announces New Policy for Publication of Research Articles

[Luis Ibanez]

http://www.hhmi.org/news/20070626.html

June 26, 2007
HHMI Announces New Policy for Publication of Research Articles

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute today announced that it will require
its scientists to publish their original research articles in scientific
journals that allow the articles and supplementary materials to be made
freely accessible in a public repository within six months of publication.




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“We have sought to balance the goal of public access with the important
principle of scholarly freedom in the formulation of this policy and
believe that it represents a positive step for us and for the broader
scientific community,” said Thomas R. Cech, HHMI's president.


“We have sought to balance the goal of public access with the important
principle of scholarly freedom in the formulation of this policy.”
Thomas R. Cech

Announcement of the policy follows extensive consultation within the
community of HHMI scientists, including Hughes investigators and
researchers at the newly opened Janelia Farm Research Campus. It
represents an extension of existing policies that already require HHMI
scientists to share published research materials, databases, and
software in a timely and useful fashion.

The policy applies to all manuscripts submitted on or after January 1,
2008, for which an HHMI scientist is a major author. Collaborative
research articles on which an HHMI scientist is not a major author are
not subject to the policy, but HHMI strongly encourages its scientists
and collaborators to meet its public access standards. For purposes of
the policy, HHMI defines a major author as those listed first or last on
a paper; however, if a middle author is designated as the corresponding
author, then that individual would be considered the major author.

HHMI has designated PubMed Central (PMC), the free digital archive of
biomedical and life sciences literature maintained by the National
Institutes of Health, as the repository for journals in the biological
sciences. Articles published in journals that are outside the biological
sciences are expected to be deposited in comparable repositories and
made publicly available within six months.

Cech noted that many journals in which HHMI scientists publish original
research articles already meet the policy requirements. Several months
ago, HHMI reached an agreement with Elsevier that brings Cell Press and
Elsevier journals into compliance with the new policy. The agreement
with Elsevier goes into effect on September 1 for all manuscripts
submitted after that date.

HHMI also announced today that it has signed an agreement with John
Wiley & Sons. Beginning with manuscripts submitted October 1, Wiley will
arrange for the upload of author manuscripts of original research
articles, along with supplemental data, on which any HHMI scientist is
an author to PMC. The author manuscript has been through the peer review
process and accepted for publication, but has not undergone editing and
formatting. HHMI will pay Wiley a fee for each uploaded article.

In addition, the American Society of Hematology, which publishes the
journal Blood, has extended its open access option to HHMI authors
effective October 1. Cech said that discussions with other publishers
are ongoing.

The policy and supporting resources have been posted on the Institute
web site and may be found at
www.hhmi.org/about/research/policies.html#papp.