[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 47 (Monday, March 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12745-12746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4676]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Notice of Public Meeting: Seeking Comments on Implementation of 
the NIH Public Access Policy

AGENCY: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: With this notice, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of 
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the 
following public meeting and seeks public comment regarding 
implementation of the NIH Revised Policy on Enhancing Public Access to 
Archived Publications Resulting From NIH-Funded Research. The policy 
and supporting materials can be found at http://publicaccess.nih.gov. 
Comments may be submitted in advance of the meeting to NIH Public 
Access staff at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/comments/comments.htm. All 
comments for consideration at the meeting must be received on or before 
March 17, 2008. In addition, NIH advises that it will publish in the 
Federal Register in March 2008 a notice of availability of a Request 
for Information (RFI) asking for comments about its Public Access 
Policy (Policy) and the effectiveness of the Policy's implementation.
    Public Meeting Time and Date: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Thursday, March 
20, 2008.

    Location: Main Auditorium, NIH Natcher Conference Center, 9000 
Rockville Pike, Building 45, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
    Background: The National Institutes of Health (NIH)--The Nation's 
Medical Research Agency--is comprised of 27 Institutes and Centers and 
is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It 
is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, 
clinical, and translational medical research, and investigates the 
causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For 
more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
    The NIH Public Access Policy implements Division G, Title II, 
Section 218 of Public Law 110-161 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2008) which states:

    SEC. 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

[[Page 12746]]

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.

    As described in NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts (NOT-OD-08-033 
available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-033.html), as of April 7, 2008, applicable articles arising from NIH 
funds must be submitted to PubMed Central upon acceptance for 
publication. As of May 25, 2008, NIH applications, proposals, and 
progress reports must include the PMC reference number when citing an 
article that falls under the policy. This policy includes applications 
submitted to the NIH for the May 25, 2008 due date and subsequent due 
dates.
    Request for Comments: The purpose of the Thursday, March 20, 2008 
meeting is to seek comment from the public on implementation of the NIH 
Public Access Policy. The meeting is open to everyone, including NIH-
funded researchers, representatives of universities and other NIH 
grantee organizations, publishers (including commercial organizations, 
professional societies and journal editors), patients and public health 
advocates, and members of the public.
     NIH desires broad participation and comment. NIH is 
particularly interested in obtaining information on its Public Access 
Policy and the effectiveness of the Policy's implementation.
    This meeting is open to the public. For space planning purposes, 
all participants are requested to register for the meeting at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/comments/registration.htm. The public may also 
view the meeting via live videocast. Videocast details will be posted 
to http://publicaccess.nih.gov by March 17, 2008.
    Individuals, groups, and organizations interested in submitting 
written comments on the NIH policy for consideration at the meeting 
should direct their comments to the following NIH Web site: http://publicaccess.nih.gov/comments/comments.htm. Such written comments 
should be submitted prior to March 17, 2008. All submitted comments are 
considered public and will be made available through the NIH Public 
Access site. In addition, as set forth below, NIH will provide another 
opportunity for submission of comments, by issuing a Request for 
Information on the Public Access Policy.
    Agenda and selection of speakers: An agenda for the meeting will be 
posted to http://publicaccess.nih.gov/comments.htm by March 17, 2008. 
Individuals wishing to present comments at the meeting can sign up to 
do so during the registration period at the start of the meeting. An 
estimated total of 30-40 comments will be presented.
    Report and Subsequent Request for Information and Public Comment: 
In addition to this March 20th stakeholders meeting, in March 2008 NIH 
will publish in the Federal Register a notice of availability of a 
Request for Information (RFI) asking for comments about its Public 
Access Policy (Policy) and the effectiveness of the Policy's 
implementation. The RFI will solicit public comments for 60 days. The 
NIH plans to respond to the comments and announce any amendments to its 
Policy within 120 days of the end of the comment period.
    Contact Person for Information: Questions concerning the meeting 
may be addressed to: Neil M. Thakur, PhD, Special Assistant to the NIH 
Deputy Director for Extramural Research, Building 1, Room 134, 
Bethesda, MD 20892, Telephone 301-496-1096, Fax 301-402-3469, 
[email protected].

    Dated: March 5, 2008.
Norka Ruiz Bravo,
Deputy Director for Extramural Research, NIH Office of Extramural 
Research, National Institutes of Health.
 [FR Doc. E8-4676 Filed 3-7-08; 8:45 am]
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