Frequently Asked Questions @ PSRML
Below are some sample questions that have come into the PSRML office over the last month. You may be interested in the answers too.
- A virus has infected our institutional network, and I do not have access to the Internet. What should I do about DOCLINE requests that are routing to my library?
- Why isn't a particular journal listed in LinkOut Journals list?
- How do I get my LinkOut holdings to display in PubMed?
- I want to help my hospital's residents register for Loansome Doc with my library. Do you have anything to help me with this?
- I do not yet offer Loansome Doc in my library. How can I get started?
Question: A virus has infected our institutional network, and I do not have access to the Internet. What should I do about DOCLINE requests that are routing to my library?
Answer
Call PSRML and speak with Andrea Lynch or Julie Kwan. We can help by deactivating your library's DOCLINE account temporarily and by logging into your account to update pending requests and to send requests to other libraries.
Question: Why isn't a particular journal listed in LinkOut Journals list?
Answer
Two main reasons: First, the journal may not be indexed in MEDLINE. Second, the journal publisher may not be sending full-text links to NLM.
Question: How do I get my LinkOut holdings to display in PubMed?
Answer
Your patrons need to access PubMed in a special way in order to "turn on" your library's icons. There are the two ways to do this:
- Create a link on your library's web page in the following format: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=medlib where medlib is the LinkOut User Name for your library. If your organization has several libraries that work together, you can display their holdings all including each LinkOut User Name separated by commas, e.g., http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=medlib,medlib2,medlib3.
- Change LinkOut preferences in Cubby - Instruct your library's users to log in to their Cubby and include your library in their LinkOut preferences. The NLM Technical Bulletin's "Hands On: Adding Your Library's Icon using the PubMed® Cubby" (June 13, 2001) provides step-by-step, illustrated details.
Question: I want to help my hospital's residents register for Loansome Doc with my library. Do you have anything to help me with this?
Answer
There are several resources from the National Library Medicine and National Network of Libraries of Medicine that will help. Take a look at these:
- Fact Sheet -- Loansome Doc® http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/loansome_doc.html The first main section heading of this page is "How to Register", which is just what is needed to get started with Loansome Doc. The other topics provided in the fact sheet are ordering via Loansome Doc, checking on requests, and charging for the service.
- Loansome Doc: First Steps http://www.nnlm.gov/nnlm/docdel/loansome.html This resource, geared to Loansome Doc patrons, is good for just getting started. It breaks down users into three groups based on their location: in the U.S., in Canada, or outside the U.S. and Canada. From there, the pages lists recommended questions that the patron should ask the library or libraries that they call to set up a Loansome Doc account.
- Using Loansome Doc® http://www.nnlm.gov/nnlm/docdel/loansome.html This web-based tutorial, created by the Regional Medical Library in the NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region, is a good place for Loansome Doc training ideas. This resource provides screen shots of Loansome Doc ordering and PubMed. Some of the screens are out of date (e.g., they do not include the Send To button), but nonetheless this is useful for developing a training program.
Question: I do not yet offer Loansome Doc in my library. How can I get started?
Answer
If you are new to your library, you should check to see if your library is already set up to offer Loansome Doc service. Log on to DOCLINE and check your DOCUSER record. Go to the Interlibrary Loan tab and select Loansome Doc from the pull-down menu. Are the boxes checked? In either case, the following guide will be helpful:
- Loansome DocTM Information for Librarians
http://www.nnlm.gov/libinfo/docline/loansome_lib.html
This is a great Loansome Doc resource that covers many aspects of Loansome Doc: the advantages, other services that can be offered because of Loansome Doc, charging and collecting, consortium and library group membership, DOCLINE routing table modifications, copyright compliance, training, and marketing.