UK Pub Med Central launched

Over 500,000 medical research papers are now available for free on the internet, following the launch of the UK PubMed Central online archive. The aim of UKPMC is to create a stable, permanent and free-to-access digital archive of the full text, peer-reviewed research publications (and datasets) that arise from research funded by the MRC, the Wellcome Trust and other members of the UKPMC Funders Group.

Under the protocols of UKPMC researchers funded by one of the funder institutions retain the copyright to the article but are expected to make it freely available via an open access journal or by submitting the article to the UKPMC.

Many of the open access journals are available on the NHS Scotland E-library but UKPMC represents a new model for the dissemination of the medical research which mirrors the successful US PubMed Central service.