Call to action: Act by April 14 to expand the NIH policy

"Incredibly, April 7, 2011 marks the third anniversary of the first U.S. policy to ensure public access to the published results of publicly funded research: that of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In three short years, the policy has come to deliver free and open access to over two million full-text articles, which are accessed by nearly half a million PubMed Central users from all sectors of the public every day. This milestone is a critical opportunity for public access supporters to press for the expansion of the successful NIH policy to other federal agencies. Please join us in calling on key policy makers to take advantage of this occasion and share letters (as an individual and/or on behalf of your organization) no later than April 14, 2011. As always, suggested talking points and contact information are available [link]...We’re encouraging letters to three different offices: [1] Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kathleen Sebelius, calling for the expansion of the policy to other agencies within HHS. [2] Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), John Holdren, for the expansion of the policy to federal agencies with extramural research budgets of $100 million or more. [3] Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Francis Collins, celebrating the success of the policy and encouraging a shorter embargo period...."