Frequently Asked Questions @ PSRML
Below are some questions that have come into the PSRML office since the last issue of Latitudes. You may be interested in the answers too!
- What is the difference between PubMed Central and LinkOut?
- What are the definitions of the following terms: Regional Medical Library, Resource Library, and Primary Access Library?
- Are there any instructions on how to modify my library's DOCLINE routing table?
Question: What is the difference between PubMed Central and LinkOut?
Answer
These are two different, but related, things. PubMed Central (PMC) is the National Library of Medicine's digital archive of full-text life sciences journal literature. LinkOut is the PubMed feature that helps users "linkout" of PubMed to a variety of resources, including full-text articles from PubMed Central.
PMC articles, along with other articles available in free full-text, are indicated in the PubMed summary display with a special icon to the left of the citation. When viewing citations in the abstract display, users will see a PubMed Central button. Clicking on either of these icons will take the user to the full-text of the article using PubMed's LinkOut feature.
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In addition, libraries can "linkout" to their print and electronic holdings by:
- registering for this service with NLM,
- authorizing NLM to display holdings for their DOCLINE serial holdings or, if the library does not participate in DOCLINE, by submitting a file in XML format of their holdings, and
- entering their electronic full-text holdings data.
Libraries may choose to include PubMed Central titles when entering their electronic holdings information into LinkOut. Doing this will allow PubMed users to view both the electronic and print holdings of the library and titles in PubMed Central.
More information about LinkOut is available at the NN/LM LinkOut Survival Guide, available at http://nnlm.gov/libinfo/ejournals/linkout/. An article describing how to create and use a subset of your library's holdings is available in a previous Latitudes article, "Can I get them after lunch? Or, How to Use LinkOut for Your Library's Emergency Requests", http://nnlm.gov/psr/lat/v12n2/after_lunch.html.
Question: What are the definitions of the following terms: Regional Medical Library, Resource Library, and Primary Access Library?
Answer
Here are the definitions:
Regional Medical Library (RML): These are major institutions under contract with the National Library of Medicine. The Regional Medical Libraries administer and coordinate services in the network's eight geographical regions. The UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library serves as the Regional Medical Library for the Pacific Southwest Region. It also houses the Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library (PSRML). PSRML assists the National Library of Medicine in developing, marketing, and distributing its products and services and coordinates the operation of the regional network of libraries to carry out programs cooperatively. PSRML also provides NLM with feedback on how information is being used, suggestions for improvements to existing products and services, and new ideas for products and services. In all of these areas, PSRML strives to involve other network libraries and to design programs to facilitate communication at all levels of the network.
Resource Library (RL): Resource Libraries are designated institutions within the Pacific Southwest Region whose quality and size of collections or uniqueness of materials add significantly to the region's resources. Resource Libraries participate in resource sharing activities and make materials available to libraries for charges at or below the national maximum for lending within the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. They also assist the Regional Medical Library in planning, coordinating and implementing a variety of network programs and serve as backup reference resources for smaller regional libraries. You will find a list of our region's Resource Libraries (with photos!) at http://www.nnlm.gov/psr/rlweb.html.
Primary Access Library (PAL): Primary Access Libraries include hospital libraries and all other network member libraries that generally represent the user's first point of access into the network. These libraries serve health professionals who plan, manage, and provide health care as well as teachers and students in these areas. Increasingly, public libraries are joining the network and serving as the Primary Access Library for their communities.
Question: Are there any instructions on how to modify my library's DOCLINE routing table?
Answer
For instructions for selecting libraries to include in your DOCLINE routing table, please visit the following webpage: http://www.nnlm.gov/psr/rtinst.html. More information about how to update your routing table is included in another article in this issue, "It's Now Easier to Update Your DOCLINE Routing Table!"