Jump Right In!
Hospital Libraries Link PubMed to Print Holdings
It was a great day when NLM extended LinkOut so that libraries could link to print holdings! LinkOut to SERHOLD has now moved beyond the testing stage and is open to any library with SERHOLD data that wishes to participate. It is easy to do, takes almost no time, and points your library's users to your print holdings.
LinkOut uses your SERHOLD data so that PubMed will display your print holdings. When your users look at PubMed records in the abstract or citation view, they will see an icon for your library.
When the user clicks on the icon, a new window opens showing your library's holdings, and, if you desire, will also display the location of the journal collection and a link to your library's online catalog.
What do you need to link to your SERHOLD data?
1. You must be a DOCLINE library with SERHOLD data to participate at this time.
NLM is considering other ways to offer linking to print holdings for non-DOCLINE libraries.
2. Register for LinkOut.
Send a message to lib-reg@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Put "LinkOut Registration Request" as the subject of your message. Include the following information: library name, contact person, email address of contact person, telephone number of contact person, and address of library. NLM will send you a user name and password.
3. Get an icon to represent your print holdings.
How do you get an icon? Check first with your hospital graphics department; they may be able to create one for you. You can also ask PSRML for help; Andrea Lynch has created icons for several network members. If you do not have a publicly accessible server where your icon can be stored, PSRML will host it for you. Since an icon has limited space (100 x 25 pixels), we've found that some form of corporate image plus the word "print" works well and communicates clearly to users. Once they've clicked on the icon, they know what to expect and keep coming back. If you wish, you can use a default icon supplied by NLM. (Note: you will need another icon if you offer LinkOut to your electronic holdings.)
4. Enter your library's LIBID and other optional information.
Use the user name and password that NLM has sent to you to log on to the LinkOut File Submission Utility at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/linkout/libHld. Click on LinkOut-SERHOLD on the left sidebar. Click on the registration link to add your LIBID, location of print collection, URL for your print icon, and if you wish, the URL for your library catalog.
5. Check the results the next day.
You can see changes to your LinkOut information at noon, Eastern Time, the day after you submit the information. To see your icon display, you must use a special form of URL (you will not see it if you go to http://pubmed.gov which is really an alias). Instead, point your browser to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=medlib where "medlib" is the user name assigned to your library.
6. Make sure your users can see your icon.
If you have a link to PubMed on your library's web page, change the link as above. If you do not have a web page, instruct your users to point their browsers as above, or, have them select your library in their Cubby. Instruct them to log into their Cubby and select All LinkOut Providers or Provider Categories under Cubby Resources; then put a check by your library.
7. Keep your SERHOLD data up-to-date.
Aren't you glad you kept your SERHOLD data up-to-date?! Just be sure to continue to keep it up-to-date since it will now be visible to your library's users.
You can go even further by entering your electronic journal holdings into the LinkOut File Submission Utility (see The Hospital Librarian's Guide to LinkOut for Libraries at http://nnlm.gov/psr/hl_linkout.html). Then, when your library's users click on the icon they will pass through to the full-text of the article.
Finally sit back and relax a bit. Enjoy the fact that with minimal effort you are really increasing access for your users! JKK
[Note: Do not enter titles into SERHOLD unless you can supply them on interlibrary loan.]