"Instead, we went to those nice people at Google Scholar, who do
understand what open URL link resolvers are" but not what indexes are
and why they are useful. Without MeSH searching PubMed can be a very
difficult task.
David L. Osterbur, Ph.D.
Access and Public Services Librarian
Countway Medical Library
Harvard Medical School
10 Shattuck Street
Boston, MA 02115
Voice: 617 432-2636
Fax: 617 432-4739
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: An informal open list set up by the UK Serials Group
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jason Harper
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:52 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: PubMed and Open URL Link Resolvers - Summary
First of all, thankyou to everyone who replied, and apologies for the
delay in providing this summary to the list.
I shall try to summarise as best I can, and give details of who's got
what working where (I hope they don't mind me giving names), so that
anyone else in a similar boat knows where they can go to for advice.
Open URL Link Resolving Technology:
------------------------------------------------------
Unlike most subscription databases services, and other freely available
services (e.g. Google Scholar - see at the end of this message) PubMed
doesn't support the proper use of open URL link resolving technology,
and has come up with it's own convoluted solutions.
Outside Tool:
-------------------
This is the preferred solution for open URL linking to Pubmed, providing
a recognisable link (usually a chosen icon) to local library holdings
for each PubMed record. However, in order to set it up, you have to
satisfy NCBI that your link resolver can meet certain requirements:
1) It must be capable of providing a link to the online journal
2) and/or a link to the printed holding in the catalogue
3) and/or a link to a pre-populated document delivery/ILL form (where
the holding Library does not have access to a journal)
You must prove that these requirements have been met by sending NCBI
evidence of your link resolver's response to various test records.
If accepted, your Library appears as a selectable option (along with all
other favoured libraries) under the "Outside Tool" menu of a personal
"My NCBI" account
Link Out Local:
-----------------------
This is the cut-down version for those who cannot meet the strict
requirements of Outside Tool. It doesn't insist on a pre-populated
document delivery form. PubMed keeps a local version of your e-journal
and opac (print journal) holdings - from a file derived from the
information in your link resolver database. This file must be updated
monthly.
Once registered, the local library holdings can be selected as a filter
under the "Libraries" category of the "Filter" menu in a personal "My
NCBI" account. Local library "Link Out" hyperlinks then appear next to
records for which there are holdings.
NB default linkout filter options (such as "free" journals) already
exist for people who have created a My NCBI account.
Searches can be set up within My NCBI to filter results by local library
holdings and free journals for instance.
Round-up:
---------------
Of all the respondents, no-one (sadly) was using Serial Solutions'
Article Linker (360).
4 Libraries had looked at setting their link resolver up as an Outside
Tool with PubMed:
University Library Bremen (contact Rachel Ellis) - successfully
installed Ovid Linksolver
Queen Mary University Library, London (contact Alain Besson) - had a
successful installation using Ex Libris SFX
The other two that looked into it were:
University of Warwick using Innovative WebBridge (contact Steve Barber)
University of Sheffield using Ovid Linksolver (contact Jane Dwyer)
Both of these decided that they could not meet the requirement to have a
pre-populated ILL form accessible for use by all university members
LinkOut:
Warwick are now looking at setting up their Link Resolver with Link Out
instead.
Of others who have looked at Link Out...
Kings College London (contact Sarah Lawson) have successfully set it up
using Exlibris SFX (which provides a specific PubMed export file, making
it easy to update the holdings records each month)
University of Leicester (contact Keith Nockels) using Sirsi Dynix have
looked into setting it up, but cannot undertake the work to prepare and
submit a file of holdings updates each month
What are Kernt doing?
--------------------------------
Nothing now. Sadly, I don't have the time to tackle this, and we do not
have enough technical staff who can afford to do this extra work (for
what is essentially a free resource requiring us to bend all the rules
to suit them).
We do not want to make a pre-populated ILL form available to all members
of the University* (undergraduates - with a few exceptions, are not
entitled to make document delivery requests), and we don't have the time
to prepare a holdings update file each month (our link resolver doesn't
appear to produce a "canned" one for PubMed).
Instead, we went to those nice people at Google Scholar, who do
understand what open URL link resolvers are, aren't frightened of them,
and who, after a short email discussion, flicked a switch so that people
coming from our designated IP range now see localised links to our
holdings for all the results in their database (which, of course,
includes PubMed).
Perhaps we should all do the same :O)
Best wishes,
Jason
Jason HarperAssistant Librarian for the Sciences and Social
SciencesTempleman LibraryUniversity of KentCanterburyKent CT2 7NU
E-mail: [log in to unmask]: 01227 827608
* There are crafty ways around this, which I have seen, and I may be
prepared to put you in touch with the people who know, if you cross my
greasy palm with enough silver
|