PubMed/Medline Recipes for a Federated Search

Presentation to 2011 NCNMLG/MLGSCA Joint Meeting , San Francisco, CA

February 24, 2011

Marcia Henry, Health Sciences LibrarianCalifornia State University Northridge

AbstractGovernment Printing Office announced in October 2010. a federated search tool using the ExLibris Metalib service. My presentation will address why you may want to  search  PubMed in the GPO’s federated search.  The initial release of GPO’s MetaLib contains fifty-three Federal Government databases, including PubMed, NIH, and the NLM gateway.  The study I am presenting uses several search examples: a disease, a chemical/drug, a current health topic.  What resources does the GPO's Metalib uncover?  What skills and understanding does a searcher (librarian, health practitioner, general public) need to search GPO Metalib effectively?  GPO has a growing list of full text documents and this study investigates if the use of  the new federated search  interface will offer quicker access to readily available full text.   This is very relevant to libraries facing budget and staff cutbacks.  Are there tools out there we can promote to our users that offer rapid delivery of authoritative full text?

 

Recipes for PubMed in http://metalib.gpo.gov

 General resources

 Health & Safety

 Build your own set of databases

What resources does the GPO's Metalib uncover? 

• Depends upon the resources the searcher chooses

• Default categories which include PubMed are General Resources or Health and Safety

What skills and understanding does a searcher need to

search GPO Metalib effectively?

• Ability to read complex help screens carefully

• Willingness to venture past the Basic search screen

• Ability and willingness to read the information screens describing the currently available 53 resources e.g. subjec tResource Details

• Type:   Subject Gateway Description:   As the U.S. government's official web portal, USA.gov makes it easy for the public to get U.S. government information and services on the web. USA.gov also serves as the catalyst for a growing electronic government. Publisher:   United States General Services Administration Search Hints:   Use the first search box only. All searches are done in All Fields.

Ability to work read and interpret symbols

Suggested Future Enhancements

 

PubMed record metalib.gpo.gov

Sample Search  1created custom set

 

 Sample Search 1custom set-airport security risks

What resources does the GPO's Metalib identify? 

.

NLM Gateway results can only be viewed at NLM gateway

NLM gateway cannot be viewed in metalib.gpo.gov

Expert Search Box

Discussion

• Offers opportunities to search PubMed, NLM Gateway, NIH, various EPA and ... resources simultaneously

• Lacking step by step tutorials • Leads to many freely available full text resources

PubMed does not link out to • Medlineplus links are hidden in PubMed, more

likely to be retrieved if PubMed and NIH are searched simultaneously

• Do librarians have a head start over general public?

Acknowledgements

Luiz MendesCSUN Library Electronic Resources Librarian