Office of Scholarly Communication resource on the Revised NIH Public Access Policy - June 18, 2025

Guidance on the Revised NIH Public Access Policy, Effective July 2025:  https://osc.universityofcalifornia.edu/scholarly-publishing/policies-legislation/nih-public-access-2025/ 

 In advance of the implementation of the revised NIH public access policy, effective July 1, 2025, an Office of Scholarly Communication/Project Transform joint working group (including UC faculty and representatives from UC libraries and research offices) has developed guidance for the UC OSC site to assist UC authors in understanding and complying with the policy. We hope you and your campus community find this resource helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at osc@ucop.edu

Accelerating Access to Research Results: New Implementation Date for the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy - April 30, 2025

NIH Accelerates Effective Implementation Date for Public Access Policy to July 1, 2025

I am excited to announce that one of my first actions as NIH Director is pushing the accelerator on policies to make NIH research findings freely and quickly available to the public. The 2024 Public Access Policy, originally slated to go into effect on December 31, 2025, will now be effective as of July 1, 2025.

To be clear, maximum transparency regarding the research we support is our default position. Since the release of NIH’s 2008 Public Access Policy, more than 1.5 million articles reporting on NIH-supported research have been made freely available to the public through PubMed Central. While the 2008 Policy allowed for an up to 12-month delay before such articles were required to be made publicly available, in 2024, NIH revised the Public Access Policy to remove the embargo period so that researchers, students, and members of the public have rapid access to these findings.

NIH is the crown jewel of the American biomedical research system.  However, a recent Pew Research Center study(link is external) shows that only about 25% of Americans have a “great deal of confidence” that scientists are working for the public good.  Earlier implementation of the Public Access Policy will help increase public confidence in the research we fund while also ensuring that the investments made by taxpayers produce replicable, reproducible, and generalizable results that benefit all Americans.   

Providing speedy public access to NIH-funded results is just one of the ways we are working to earn back the trust of the American people. Trust in science is an essential element in Making America Healthy Again.  As such, NIH and its research partners will continue to promote maximum transparency in all that we do.    

Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health

Article: Meetz J et al.. 2024. “Empowering Early Career Humanities Researchers to Successfully Navigate the Scholarly Publishing Process.” Public Services Quarterly 20 (3): 161–75

 Meetz, Johanna, Jennifer Schnabel, Maria Scheid, and Ana Maria Jimenez-Moreno. 2024. “Empowering Early Career Humanities Researchers to Successfully Navigate the Scholarly Publishing Process.” Public Services Quarterly 20 (3): 161–75. doi:10.1080/15228959.2024.2365154.

Abstract

This case report illustrates how a scholarly communication librarian partnered with a humanities subject librarian and others to address knowledge gaps that graduate students and early career researchers at a large public research institution have about the scholarly publishing landscape. To address frequently asked questions the organizers identified from their individual experiences working with researchers, they chose a panel format where each speaker responded to a common scenario posed by a moderator. The webinar was recorded and shared internally on various sites as a reference. Feedback indicated the webinar was informative and helpful, and organizers plan to use it as a blueprint for future webinars or videos on specific topics about scholarly publishing.

NIST Research Data Framework and USDA Public Access Plan - febraruy 12, 2024

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released version 2.0 of its Research Data Framework (RDaF). The RDaF is available as both a publication and interactive web application. The framework is a tool that brings together information and resources on research data to support organizations and individuals in the management and dissemination of data. Version 2.0 expanded subtopics and added more profiles based on community feedback and serves as a comprehensive map of the research data ecosystem. Organizations, including universities, have already begun using earlier versions of the RDaF in their research data management activities. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) opened a second comment period on its draft public access plan and comments will close on February 28th at 5 pm ET. USDA also announced a Q&A Session scheduled for February 20th at 12 pm ET to discuss its draft plan and answer questions. SPARC will be providing public comments and will share them with members as soon as they are submitted. 

Katie Steen-James

SPARC | Manager of Public Policy & Advocacy 

katie@sparcopen.org

816-645-1189 (c)

@katiesteen627

she/her

New Open Access Book from eScholarship Publishing: The Art of Diversity by Susan Carlson - January 16, 2024

 

eScholarship Publishing, University of California, announces a new open access book release: The Art of Diversity: A Chronicle of Advancing the University of California Faculty through Efforts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 2010–2022 by Susan Carlson.

In this institutional history, Carlson details the University of California’s systemwide efforts to increase the diversity of its faculty during her tenure as Vice Provost, UC Office of the President. It tells the story of a remarkable alignment of California stakeholders—from the UC Regents and University leaders to the Academic Senate and the California legislature, from small faculty teams to multicampus coalitions—and how they worked to create a 21st-century faculty that reflects the diversity of California.

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Open Book Collective: Collective Path Toward an Open and Sustainable Monograph Future - Lidia Uziel - Nov. 6, 2023

 The Open Access (OA) publishing movement is at our doorstep. However, as an academic community, we are not yet ready to fully embrace and support the OA monograph transformation.   Books continue to lag behind journals in terms of OA publishing, infrastructure, and distribution.   The Open Book Collective (OBC) provides some key solutions for the existing challenges while charting a new collective path toward an open and sustainable monograph future.  The proliferation of OA policy mandates and library-funded OA pilots led by academic publishers or scholar-led presses combined with recent developments in infrastructural support for OA book publishing are important milestones […]

The post Open Book Collective: Collective Path Toward an Open and Sustainable Monograph Future appeared first on Office of Scholarly Communication.

FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes New Steps to Advance Responsible Artificial Intelligence Research, Development, and Deployment - May 23, 2023

 Sharing the Fact Sheet released by the White House on May 23, 2023.

• Updated National AI R&D Strategic Plan
• Request for Public Input on Critical AI Issues: Comments due July 7, 2023
• A new report on the risks and opportunities related to AI in education, summarizing the risks and opportunities related to AI in teaching, learning, research, and assessment.

 

MAY 23, 2023

FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes New Steps to Advance Responsible Artificial Intelligence Research, Development, and Deployment

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new efforts that will advance the research, development, and deployment of responsible artificial intelligence (AI) that protects individuals’ rights and safety and delivers results for the American people.

AI is one of the most powerful technologies of our time, with broad applications. President Biden has been clear that in order to seize the opportunities AI presents, we must first manage its risks. To that end, the Administration has taken significant action to promote responsible AI innovation that places people, communities, and the public good at the center, and manages risks to individuals and our society, security, and economy. This includes the landmark Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and related executive actions, the AI Risk Management Framework, a roadmap for standing up a National AI Research Resource, active work to address the national security concerns raised by AI, as well as investments and actions announced earlier this month. Last week, the Administration also convened representatives from leading AI companies for a briefing from experts across the national security community on cyber threats to AI systems and best practices to secure high-value networks and information.

Today’s announcements include:

• An updated roadmap to focus federal investments in AI research and development (R&D): The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is releasing a National AI R&D Strategic Plan—updated for the first time since 2019—a roadmap that outlines key priorities and goals for federal investments in AI R&D. Developed by experts across the federal government and with public input, this plan makes clear that when it comes to AI, the federal government will invest in R&D that promotes responsible American innovation, serves the public good, protects people’s rights and safety, and upholds democratic values. It will help ensure continued U.S. leadership in the development and use of trustworthy AI systems.
• A new request for public input on critical AI issues: OSTP is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to seek input on national priorities for mitigating AI risks, protecting individuals’ rights and safety, and harnessing AI to improve lives. This RFI will support the Administration’s ongoing effort to advance a cohesive and comprehensive strategy to manage AI risks and harness AI opportunities. It complements work happening across the federal government to engage the public on critical AI issues.
• A new report on the risks and opportunities related to AI in education: The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology is releasing a new report, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Future of Teaching and Learning: Insights and Recommendations, summarizing the risks and opportunities related to AI in teaching, learning, research, and assessment. The report recognizes that AI can enable new forms of interaction between educators and students, help educators address variability in learning, increase feedback loops, and support educators. It also underscores the risks associated with AI—including algorithmic bias—and the importance of trust, safety, and appropriate guardrails.

In addition to these new announcements, the White House is hosting a listening session with workers today to hear firsthand experiences with employers’ use of automated technologies for surveillance, monitoring, evaluation, and management. The listening session will include workers representing diverse sectors of the economy, including call centers, trucking, warehousing, health care, and gig work, as well as policy experts, researchers, and policymakers. This listening session follows an RFI released by OSTP earlier this month to advance the Administration’s understanding of the design, deployment, prevalence, and impacts of automated technologies that monitor and track workers.