About PubMed & OpenURL based Services

OpenURL is a syntax for packaging metadata and identifiers describing information objects and for pointing to a user-specific appropriate copy of the object. The syntax has been accepted as a NISO standard.

PubMed supports library link resolver software that use OpenURL syntax through Outside Tool. Outside Tool allows libraries to place a link to their link resolver software on all PubMed records. If your library has implemented a link resolver, see the section Evaluate your Link Resolver to see whether it qualifies for the Outside Tool service.

Implementing Link Resolver Software in PubMed

Fully implemented link resolver software can be registered with NCBI to provide a link from the Abstract display of PubMed records. Your library’s link resolver can be implemented as an Outside Tool.

Outside Tool does not differentiate between online holdings, print holdings, or items that will have to be ordered from another institution. Outside Tool does not allow users to limit a search to library holdings or to display library holdings as a filter in the search result.

Evaluating Your Link Resolver

To register a link resolver for Outside Tool, we require the service to provide functional links to a landing page with the following qualified resources. This requirement allows us to best serve the PubMed user community, by avoiding "blind" links that do not provide useful and specific information for each PubMed record.

Qualified resources are:

• Full-text: The link should lead directly to the article level for the online full text, not the table of contents or the journal homepage.
• Library holdings via the local OPAC: The link should lead directly to the OPAC Holdings display or to the corresponding bibliographic record with holdings/location information displayed. The link should not lead to a general catalog or search page.
• Local document delivery service: The link should produce a form with citation information already populated for the user. This is a requirement for Outside tool implementation. Due to the scope of PubMed, it is unlikely that any single library will be able to provide electronic holdings for every citation in PubMed. A link to a local ILL service must be available to provide users a means to obtain the full text for articles the library does not hold.
• Citation style information.

In order to best serve all users and expedite processing, libraries requesting Outside Tool must provide a unique base URL that identifies their link resolver. Outside Tool requests that list a base URL already registered will not be assigned a new Outside Tool account. Instead, the existing link resolver with the same base URL should be used.

To determine whether your link resolver software meets the qualifications for implementation as an Outside Tool, construct a URL to your link resolver and retrieve the PubMed records listed below.

To construct the URL to your link resolver, combine the base URL of your service with a PMID:

Please test all of the following PMIDs to verify that your service is working correctly. Your link resolver MUST provide at least two qualified resources for each PMID tested.

PMIDs for testing

18984876

20042755

14316043

15390390

12337850

12076440

12259237

All link resolvers must be implemented at the library’s site before a registration request is submitted. If your link resolver cannot provide two qualified resources (ILL requirement + other from list above) for each PMID tested, it cannot be implemented as an Outside Tool.

Displaying Library Icons through a special URL to access PubMed

To display a library’s Outside Tool icon through a simple link to PubMed, use the following URL:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov?otool=OutsideTool username

Replace OutsideTool with the Outside Tool username assigned by NCBI.

To display up to five Outside Tool icons through a simple link to PubMed, use the following URL syntax:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov?otool=OutsideTool1,OutsideTool2,OutsideTool3,OutsideTool4 , OutsideTool5

Replace each OutsideTool entry in the URL above with the Outside Tool username for each library.

Displaying Library Icons using a shared My NCBI account

My NCBI accounts can be configured so that database filter selections, Outside Tool selections, and highlighting selections can be shared by multiple users. Outside Tool icons can be selected in My NCBI and activated using a special URL. To do this, please follow the instructions in the Sharing My NCBI Account Settings section of this manual.

Displaying Library Icons in My NCBI

Outside tool icons can be selected in My NCBI and displayed while the user is signed in to their My NCBI account. See PubMed Preferences – Outside Tool.

To display icons without signing into My NCBI, set up a Sharing My NCBI Account Settings for your patrons.

About Cookies and Special URLs

Sharing My NCBI Account Settings

My NCBI accounts can be configured so that Filter selections, Outside Tool, and highlighting selections can be shared by multiple users.

To share account settings:

1.

Register for a My NCBI account that will be used to share settings with patrons.

2.

Sign in to the account and click NCBI Site Preferences to select the services you want for your library’s My NCBI account. Under PubMed Preferences:

a.

To select Filters, click PubMed Filters and Icons. On the resulting page search select a popular filter or create a custom filter.

b.

To select an Outside Tool, click Outside Tool. On the next page, select the checkbox next to the desired libraries. You may select up to five libraries.

c.

To select highlighting preferences, click the link Highlighting under Common Preferences. Select the radio button next to the desired color and click “Save”

3.

To select which services to share click the links NCBI Site Preferences and click the Shared Settings link under Common Preferences. On the resulting page, click the check boxes next to the services you would like to share. Only the settings for a service where the Share Selection box is checked will be shared.

After selecting the features you want to share, use the following special URL to activate the settings:

PubMed:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov?myncbishare=MyNCBIusername

Settings activated using a shared My NCBI account URL will time out after 8 hours of inactivity.

Clearing Settings Using a Special URL

To clear LinkOut settings activated using a special URL and return to the default PubMed display, access PubMed using the following URLs:

To clear the Outside Tool icon:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov?otool=__reset

To clear the myncbishare setting:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov?myncbishare=__reset

In the above URLs, there are two underscores ( _ ) preceding reset.