publisher simplifies NIH mandate compliance for NIH employees

[George Porter <george@library.caltech.edu>]

ASBMB Simplifies New NIH Publication Requirement
http://www.asbmb.org/News.aspx?id=1112

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) cover letter agreement, 
required for papers submitted by NIH employees, is now posted on 
all ASBMB journal websites. NIH-employed authors are not required 
to submit a copy to ASBMB journals. Instead, the text is 
automatically incorporated into ASBMB journal contracts with 
authors that are subject to NIH employee rules. This simplifies 
the publication process for authors that submit papers to the 
Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Lipid Research, and 
Molecular and Cellular Proteomics.

The coversheet is only for NIH employees and does not apply to 
authors that just receive NIH funding. Authors can download the 
cover letter for their own records here 
<http://www1.od.nih.gov/oir/sourcebook/oversight/NIHCover%20Sheet.pdf>.

****

The new cover sheet was finalized 6 August.  It is an NIH 
document.  ASBMB has posted both the letter, for NIH staff to 
print and sign for their own records, and an acknowledgment that 
the journals don't need to receive signed paper copies of the NIH 
staff publishing addendum.  This is an outstanding example of 
resource conservation and workflow simplification (for both NIH 
staffers and the ASBMB editorial offices).

Kudos to the Nancy Rodnan, ASBMB Director of Publications, and 
the editorial staff of ASBMB!

George S. Porter
Sherman Fairchild Library of Engineering & Applied Science
California Institute of Technology
Mail Code 1-43, Pasadena, CA 91125-4300