Can I get them after lunch? Or, How to Use LinkOut for Your Library's Emergency Requests
Imagine this: In the midst of a busy morning, you get a request for articles - and, oh yes, the punch line - "Can I get them after lunch?" Your requester wants just a few good articles that you have in your library's collection. It happens all the time!
Did you know that you can use PubMed's LinkOut feature to create a subset of PubMed that corresponds to your collection? Simply incorporate the following into a PubMed search:
loprovmedlib [sb]
What does this mean and how do you use it? First, 'loprov' stands for LinkOut Provider - there is some logic to it since your library is providing LinkOut information. Second, substitute 'medlib' with your library's LinkOut user name; this is the user name you were sent when you registered for LinkOut. Now you can limit a search in PubMed to citations that contain your library holdings. Here's an example, using the PSRML demo LinkOut account (where psrmlib is PSRML's LinkOut user name):
So, how can you get maximum benefit from this? How can you get the greatest number of citations in this subset? Here are some things you can do:
- Sign up for LinkOut to SERHOLD.
This is by far the easiest, and it is something every DOCLINE library should consider. You have kept your SERHOLD data up-to-date haven't you?!? (Note: for in-depth instruction, go to Jump Right In! Hospital Libraries Link PubMed to Print Holdings in the January/February 2003 issue of Latitudes.) - Link your electronic journal holdings.
Although time consuming, when you enter your library's electronic journal holdings into the LinkOut File Submission Utility, you will then be able to click through to the full-text. This will really save you time when you get the "Can I get them after lunch?" question. - Link to PubMed Central articles.
This is a new feature of LinkOut, announced early in February 2003. When you edit your LinkOut electronic full-text holdings, simply select PubMed Central as a LinkOut provider. Then, select the titles you want to link to. Note that you can click in one box to 'Check All'. - Link to free articles from Highwire Press.
Stanford University's Highwire Press includes many free journal articles. You can go to the Highwire Press site to retrieve a list of titles with free articles in issues or to titles that are free in their entirety. We test drove this option at PSRML; it took our student less than an hour to add a lot of free content. To get this list, go to:
http://highwire.stanford.edu/lists/freeart.dtl
(Note: This includes only the FREE journals from Highwire Press.)
Finally, click on Display Holdings while in the LinkOut File Submission Utility. You can get lists of your electronic journals arranged by title or by provider as well as a count of titles. This list will not include your SERHOLD titles; however, it is still can be an impressive array! Just remember, when you use 'loprovmedlib [sb]' in a PubMed search, you will retrieve your electronic holdings as well as your SERHOLD holdings.
As a reminder, there are two ways to view your library's icons in PubMed. First, you can log into Cubby; make sure that your library is one of your LinkOut preferences. Second, your library icon will display if you use the following URL to go to PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=medlib, where "medlib" is the User Name assigned to your library. If you go to http://pubmed.gov, you will not see your icons.
If you are just starting out with LinkOut, take a look at the LinkOut Tutorial that is available at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/linkout/doc/linktutorial.html
PSRML also has the following resources available on the PSRML web site:
- Hospital Librarian's Guide to LinkOut for Libraries, http://nnlm.gov/psr/hl_linkout.html
- PSRML LinkOut FAQ, http://nnlm.gov/psr/linkout_faq.html
- LinkOut at the US Naval Hospital, Guam, http://nnlm.gov/psr/lat/v10n5/linkout.html
Feel free to contact Julie Kwan (310-825-5342, jkkwan@library.ucla.edu) or Andrea Lynch (310-206-5633, andlynch@library.ucla.edu). You can also call us toll free at 800-338-7657. JK