9. FIT-IH: PubMed LinkOut to library journals
If you want to know if an article is available through your library, either online or in the physical
library, ask if they are a LinkOut library.
If they are, ask them for the special URL that shows icons only for their subscriptions. This URL looks like this:
< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=medlib_fft_ndi > with your library's code substituted for medlib in the URL.
This is a wonderfully geeky feature of PubMed that only a librarian could love, but you will find helpful when you are in a hurry to get your hands on an article.
To start your search go to the special URL.
When you have results change the "Display" of your results to "Abstract". You will see icons that either take you to the full-text online, or tell you that a paper copy is available in the physical library.
By using this link you are also deleting the links to the $30 per article commercial sites, and adding all the free online journals that are available in PubMed.
Details:
To see the icons you need to do one of the following at the beginning of your search, and then another action after you get your search results.
You begin by:
1) using the special URL to go to PubMed to begin your searching or
2) using your MyNCBI which you have set up with your library as one of your LinkOut suppliers (more on this in another message)
Then, after you run your search and have some results, change the results display to "Abstract" or "Citation" to view the icons. On the Action Bar (under the Feature Bar) the default is the "Summary" display.
To change this to "Abstract" so you can see the icons choose the term "Abstract" from
the down arrow pick list.
These methods (special URL and My NCBI) give you comprehensive search results, so you may have to wade through a lot of references to find the ones available from the library.
After you change the display to "Abstract" you will see one or two icons by some references in your search results. If there are two icons the first will be for e-Journal access, and second the print information icon.
Clicking on the icon for "e-Journals" will take you to the article in a free source, or a commercial site that your library has paid for access to (contact your library for access information). The "Print" icon means it is available in paper in the physical medical library. If you click on the "Print" icon it opens a new window that tells you the citation and that the library should have that issue on the shelf.
You may order copies of articles that don't have icons by using Loansome Doc (ask for details if you don't already have an account) or emailing, calling, sending a note, faxing, or texting your library the ordering information.
After your name, the PMID number is the most important piece of information in the reference.
happy travels!
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