Loansome Doc FAQ

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What is Loansome Doc?

Loansome Doc is the document ordering component of PubMed, the free, public version of MEDLINE developed by the National Library of Medicine and the National Center for Biotechnology Information.  This service enables you to request documents by simply checking off the articles you want from your search results, selecting "Order" from the "Send to:" menu, and typing in a password.  Your request then goes directly to the medical library where you have established an account.

Why should I use it?

• Ordering documents from within the PubMed database saves the time and effort of entering citations into an order form. 

• Your contact information and order preferences will be saved from one session to another, and can be changed at any time online.

• You can track the progress of your order online.

• Best of all, you will be sending complete and accurate citations—enabling us to fill your order faster than would otherwise be possible. 

For more information about Loansome Doc, see the fact sheet on the NLM website.

Doesn’t Lewis Library’s document request system do the same thing?

Yes, the Lewis Library system for Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan provides features and benefits that are very similar to Loansome Doc.  An account in that system is required for online delivery of copies, so you may want to use it consistently for all your requests.  However, only one request at a time can be sent to the Lewis Library system, so an additional Loansome Doc account can be helpful if you typically order multiple documents at once from PubMed.  It also provides a more efficient workflow for those who are not affiliated with the UNT Health Science Center.

How do I get started?

1. Complete the one-time registration in Lewis Library's Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan system.  
2. Contact us by phone or e-mail (illemail@unthsc.edu) and request the Loansome Doc registration code. 
3. Register on the Loansome Doc website with the code to have your requests routed directly from PubMed to Lewis Library for fulfillment.