Nature Publishing Group & Self-Archiving

[Liblicense-L Listowner <liblicen@pantheon.yale.edu>]

10 January 2005

Nature Publishing Group announces change to self-archiving policy

As of January 2005, authors of original research papers published by
Nature Publishing Group (NPG) will be encouraged to submit the author's
version of the accepted, peer-reviewed manuscript to their relevant
funding body's archive, for release six months after publication. In
addition, authors will also be encouraged to archive their version of the
manuscript in their institution's repositories (as well as on their
personal web sites), also six months after the original publication.

This policy has been developed to extend the reach of scientific
communications, and to meet the needs of authors and the evolving policies
of funding agencies that may wish to archive the research they fund. It is
also designed to protect the integrity and authenticity of the scientific
record, with the published version clearly identified as the definitive
version of the article.

Nature was launched in 1869, and has always aimed to communicate science
not only between scientists but also to the broader public. For many years
Nature has worked closely with the world's press to ensure scientific
discoveries can be communicated as widely as possible. Nature has always
aimed to provide analysis and background information to present science in
context, both through its award winning daily free news service
news@nature.com, and through review and commentary material.

NPG recognizes the balance of rights held by publishers, authors, their
institutions and their funders (Zwolle Principles, 2002), and has been a
progressive and active participant in the recent debates about access to
the literature (see:  <http://www.nature.com/nature/focus/accessdebate/>)

In 2002, NPG was one of the first publishers to allow authors to post
their contributions on their personal web sites, by requesting an
exclusive license-to-publish, rather than requiring authors to transfer
copyright. We see this most recent development as another step forward in
the evolution of scientific communication on the Internet.

We plan to actively support the self-archiving process, and we will take
further steps in the coming months to facilitate this. We will continue to
work with our authors, readers, subscribers, and site license holders to
develop our policies, publications and services in line with their needs.
By recognizing the rights and needs of all relevant stakeholders, we hope
to ensure that NPG enhances its position as the world's highest impact
publisher.

Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd,
dedicated to serving the academic and professional scientific community.
NPG's flagship title, Nature, is the world's most highly-cited weekly
multidisciplinary journal and was first published in 1869. Other
publications include Nature research journals, Nature Reviews, Nature
Clinical Practice, and a range of prestigious academic journals, including
society-owned publications.

NPG is a global company, with headquarters in London and offices in New
York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, Tokyo, Paris, Munich and
Basingstoke. For more information, please go to  <outbind://46/www.nature.com>

Contact details:

David Hoole (Nature Publishing Group, London, UK)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4727, E-mail: d.hoole@nature.com 
Links:

 <outbind://46/www.nature.com/nature> 
 <outbind://46/www.nature.com/news>

Declan Butler
European correspondent, Nature
7 rue Guy de la Brosse
75005 Paris, France
Tel: (33) 1 43 36 59 90
d.butler@nature.com or d.butler@nature-france.com

For science, read  <http://www.nature.com/nature/>
and for the best of science journalism:  <mailto:news@nature.com>

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