A newsletter for patrons of the Galter Health Sciences Library

Fall 2005
New Series #38

Inside this Issue:

Director's Report: Responding to LibQUAL+ Survey Comments

Meet the Staff

The Health SmartLibrary: Better than Ever

Collections: Current and Future Directions

Linking from Databases to Full-text Articles

Computing @ the Library

Library Services: Document Delivery, Hours, and More

Study Space: Meeting the Needs of Groups and Individuals

This Issue

Previous Issues

Credits

Galter Library Web Site

Contact Us

Linking from Databases to Full-Text Articles

Michelle Frisque, MLS, Head, Information Systems, mfrisque@northwestern.edu

During the LibQUAL+ survey, we received many comments about linking to full-text articles from the databases on our Web site. We would like to recap the various ways you can link to these resources. Remember, if you are searching any of these databases from off-campus you must first log in to the Health SmartLibrary. If you do not log in you will not be able to retrieve the full-text article.

PubMed

PubMed allows a library to tailor local PubMed access so that direct links from a citation to its full-text can be easily established. In order to take advantage of this service, do not go directly to PubMed. Instead click on the PubMed link from the Galter Web site so that the URL unique to Galter Library is activated: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=norwelib. Users who do not use this link will not be able to access Galter Library licensed journals directly via PubMed.

Once a search has been retrieved, select either Abstract or Citation for the Display of the citation. If a full-text article is available, the Galter Full-Text Online icon will appear (see above). Articles are only available if the Galter Library has a current subscription to the e-version of the journal and the publisher has made an arrangement with the National Library of Medicine to allow linkage to its electronic journals. Click on the Galter Full-Text Online icon to retrieve the full-text article. Yes, it is that easy!

Ovid

Ovid has two ways to link to full-text articles. The first is to click on the Full-Text link (see above), if available, that appears with citation. The full-text link provides access to Ovid and non-Ovid full-text journals subscribed by the Galter Library. The full-text link provides direct linkage from a citation to its article only if the library has a current subscription to the electronic version of the journal and the publisher has permitted Ovid to make the link to its journal. The other way to access full-text articles from Ovid is to use the Find it @ NU button.

Find it @ NU

The “Find it @ NU” button is another way to link to the full-text copy of an article, if it is available. The “Find it @ NU” button can be found in Ovid databases as well as other databases such as ISI's Web of Science. It is not currently available in PubMed. Here is how the Find it @ NU button works: when you see the Find it @ NU button (see above), click on it. A menu will then appear. If the article is available in full-text, a link will appear saying “Full-text available from…” Click on that link and it will take you to the article. The “Find it @ NU” service links to more full-text journals then the Ovid and PubMed Full-Text service. It also links you to the online catalog, NUcat, for information about both print and electronic holdings of the journal or to the Galter Library ILL form (for requesting the article) if an online version of the article is not available.