Published May 22, 2026 | Version v1
Conference Presentation Open

When "Immediate" Isn't Clear: Mapping Publisher Responses to the 2025 NIH Public Access Policy

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Northwestern University
  • 2. ROR icon University of California, Los Angeles
  • 3. ROR icon University of North Texas

Abstract

Background  
The updated U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy, effective July 1, 2025, eliminates embargo periods and requires immediate public availability of the author-accepted manuscript (AAM) in PubMed Central (PMC) upon publication. While the policy language is clear, its implementation, particularly for authors publishing in hybrid or subscription journals, has introduced widespread uncertainty. Health sciences librarians are increasingly asked to interpret publisher author guidelines, advise on NIHMS workflows, and mitigate compliance risk, often without authoritative or consolidated publisher guidance.  

 

Description  
In response to this gap, librarians at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine conducted a structured Request for Information (RFI) outreach to publishers whose journals are commonly used by Feinberg’s NIH-funded authors. The RFI asked publishers to clarify whether their standard copyright transfer agreements permit immediate AAM deposit to NIHMS without embargo or fees, whether publishers provide NIHMS submission support, and what publication metadata is available at acceptance.  

 

As the scope and relevance of the effort became clear, the project expanded into a collaborative initiative with members of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) Scholarly Communication Committee. Committee members assisted with publisher follow-up, response tracking, and transition planning to support long-term maintenance of the resource. Publisher responses were systematically documented in a shared tracking spreadsheet capturing journal-level policy variation, deposit permissions, publisher-provided services, and links to authoritative documentation. Qualitative responses were summarized to support consistent guidance, and workflows were developed to manage non-responses and ambiguous language.  

 

Importantly, while stewardship support is provided through AAHSL, the resource is intentionally open and designed to welcome contributions from any interested institution, reducing duplication of effort and promoting shared infrastructure for NIH public access support.  

 

Objectives  
Participants will be able to:  

  • Identify common compliance risks for NIH-funded authors publishing in hybrid and subscription journals.  

  • Describe a practical approach for gathering, documenting, and updating publisher policy information.  

  • Apply this model to local NIH public access support and researcher education workflows.  

Evaluation  
Evaluation will include tracking institutional use of the resource, documenting reductions in repetitive compliance inquiries, and collecting qualitative feedback from librarians and research administrators contributing to or using the shared documentation.  

 

Conclusion  
As NIH compliance expectations accelerate, this project demonstrates how targeted publisher outreach and practical documentation can transform uncertainty into actionable guidance, an approach readily transferable across institutions.  

Other

Medical Library Association Annual Conference  

May 19 – 22, 2026  

Milwaukee WI  

https://www.mlanet.org/meetings-events/mla-2026/  

Files

2026_05-06 When Immediate Isnt Clear_MLA Lightning Talk_Gutzman_Shaw_Wilson (1).pdf

Files (875.1 kB)

Additional details

Related works

Compiles
Table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gv1nXIWxj40EeS0zZNeZwImBm2J5ouC2/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=108226314174808678444&rtpof=true&sd=true (URL)