Pubmed Particulars

New MeSH Tree added in 2006

The new MeSH Tree is the "V" tree: Publication Characteristics. You can see the concepts in this new tree by going to the 2006 NLM MeSH browser at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2006/MBrowser.html and using the Navigate From Tree Top button. Or, go directly to the V tree at this link: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2006/MeSHtree.V.html

Read more about the changes to MeSH for 2006:

• MEDLINE/PubMed data element descriptions http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd05/nd05_technote.html#0
• MEDLINE data changes for 2006 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd05/nd05_med_data_changes.html
• What's new for 2006 MeSH http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd05/nd05_2006_MeSH.html
• PubMed notes for 2006 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd05/nd05_pm_notes.html

MEDLINE/PubMed Data Elements Descriptions

You can now see detailed descriptions of all the data elements that make up MEDLINE / PubMed records at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/mms/medlineelements.html. Want the real information about the allowed number of authors on a MEDLINE citation and when, in the past, that policy changed? Well, here's the skinny.

An Interesting Question: Saving search results in My NCBI

Someone wanted to know if there was a way to save search results in My NCBI. Not search strategies, but search results. A patron was doing some research and wanted chosen search results available to her on whatever computer she happened to be working on. She was correct in thinking that her My NCBI account could be the way to do that but couldn't figure out how to get the results saved there.

Actually, it's quite easy to do. Simply run your search and select citations in the usual manner (clicking the box adjacent to the citation number) and, using the Send to option, send the selected citations to the Clipboard.

Then go to the History page in PubMed. You'll see the contents of the clipboard listed there as search #0. Using the search box at the top of the page, type in #0 and click GO. Once you've done that, you'll see the selected citations (same ones that you put on the Clipboard) and you'll also see the "Save Search" link to the right of the search box. Click the link. PubMed will save this "search" in your My NCBI account as a list of PMID numbers.

There's only one problem with this method: new citations cannot be added to the group you just saved. That's because saved searches in My NCBI cannot be modified. If the patron would like to add PMIDs to her saved group, then each time new citations are to be added, she'll have to:

1. Go into her My NCBI account and run the saved search;
2. Add all those citations to the Clipboard;
3. Run any additional searches desired, selecting citations and adding those to the Clipboard, also;
4. Go into History and type #0 into the search box and then click GO;
5. Click on the Save Search link to save this set of PMIDs in My NCBI;
6. Now, go back into My NCBI and delete the previously saved search results.

Printer friendly format option added to PubMed

The Send to option in PubMed finally has a printer option! This will open a printer-friendly version of the PubMed page currently being displayed. There are two really nice features to this new option:

1. The PubMed banner displays at the top of the page. No more wondering what database these search results came from.
2. The search strategy is printed at the top of the page. Yippee!!

Email option sports new lingo

Are you one of those librarians that keeps receiving emails from NCBI but are scratching your head because you don't know which of your patrons is trying to communicate with you? Then perhaps you may have noticed that the Send to Email option has been altered ever so slightly. Above the box where an additional note could be added are now the words "Your name or additional text (optional)." Hopefully, those people who are emailing citations directly from PubMed to their librarian will include their names in this box so the librarian will know who is emailing them to request information.

NCBI Search Toolbar Available

It is bells and whistles. It's good and not-so-good. Some folks will love it. Some will hate it. It's the NCBI Search Toolbar which is now available for downloading. Read all about it here http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd05/nd05_toolbar.html. Give it a whirl.

Search Links Everywhere

By now, you've certainly noticed that journal titles, author names, MeSH terms, substance names, publication types, and secondary source identifiers are now search links in PubMed.

In the case of author names, clicking on the hyperlink will simply run a search in PubMed for all other citations bearing this author name.

The other hyperlinks will bring up a Links menu with options. Generally, these Links options follow this pattern:

1. PubMed - Use this to search the entire database for this term
2. MeSH or Journal - Use this to see this term's record in the appropriate database.
3. Add to Search - Use this to add this term to your search strategy

In the case of substances, you'll also see options in the Links menu to view the substance's record in PubChem.

My NCBI & LinkOut

Consider setting up a shared My NCBI account. With minimal work, you can share search filters, your library's LinkOut for Libraries tab, Outside Tool settings, and Document Delivery settings. Read all about it in the NLM Technical Bulletin at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ja05/ja05_share_my_ncbi.html. It's a really nice feature. Take a look at it. Your users will love it.

NLM Technical Bulletin

Catch up on what's changed, what's new, and the inside scoop by reading the NLM Technical Bulletin. It's on the web at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/tb.html. Or, better yet, subscribe to the NLM-Announces email list and have NLM email you when articles are added to the Technical Bulletin. You'll be the first on your block to know what's going on! See https://list.nih.gov/archives/nlm-announces.html for details.

Donna Berryman, Outreach Coordinator