Updated Guidance for Reporting Publication Changes to MEDLINE and PubMed Central (PMC) Journals

NLM reviews hundreds of applications annually to select new journals for inclusion in MEDLINE and PubMed Central (PMC), the two primary components of PubMed. Once added to MEDLINE or PMC, NLM expects a journal and publisher to continue to meet NLM's standards for the NLM Collection and notify NLM of any changes that may impact practices and scope of the publication.

As part of broader efforts to improve the transparency of processes applied to its literature databases, NLM has recently updated its policy statements on Changes to MEDLINE Journals and Changes to PMC Journals. These updates explain what journal or publisher changes should be reported to NLM such as changes to a journal's title, ISSN, ownership, publisher, or publishing format, as well as journal mergers and changes in scope, editorial board, or editorial policies or practices. The updated language reflects NLM's ongoing practice of monitoring MEDLINE and PMC journals for changes in publication practices over time.

To learn more, visit the MEDLINE Policies and PMC Policies webpages.