{"id":4285,"date":"2011-12-05T08:04:28","date_gmt":"2011-12-05T15:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/?p=4285"},"modified":"2011-12-14T17:00:51","modified_gmt":"2011-12-15T00:00:51","slug":"best-bytes-accessing-pubmed-on-the-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/?p=4285","title":{"rendered":"Best Bytes: Accessing PubMed on the Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Contributed by Lisa Federer, Health and Life Sciences Librarian, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, UCLA<\/em><\/p>\n

As much as we\u2019d love to see our patrons in the library every day, the reality is that we as 21st<\/sup> century librarians often provide services to patrons we may never actually meet in person.\u00a0 Whether it\u2019s a busy clinician at the point of care, a stressed student studying at 3:00 AM, or a researcher in the lab, many of our patrons need access to high-quality information on the go.\u00a0 Luckily, a multitude of apps and mobile sites make it easy to get information anytime, anywhere.\u00a0 Several apps and mobile versions of PubMed allow users to perform advanced searches, access full-text articles, and email and save articles.<\/p>\n

Apps<\/strong><\/p>\n

Users who need to access PubMed from their Android or Apple device may prefer to download one of several apps, with their easy-to-use interfaces and their powerful sharing and saving features.\u00a0 Depending on your mobile platform, several apps are available for free and for purchase:<\/p>\n

PubMed on Tap and PubMed on Tap Lite<\/strong><\/a> (iPhone\/iPod Touch\/iPad)<\/p>\n

Available through the iTunes Store, this app allows users to access PubMed from the iOS device using a simple, clean interface.\u00a0 The advanced search interface is easy to use, allowing users to select a field to search, tap to select Boolean operators, and set limits.\u00a0 Articles can be saved to the in-app library or emailed along with PDFs.\u00a0 Users can also configure the app to work with their institution\u2019s proxy server to give them full-text access to all of their library\u2019s subscriptions.\u00a0 The full version costs $2.99, but the free version, PubMed on Tap Lite, offers the same functionality with some limitations, like limiting the number of saved articles in the library.<\/p>\n

PubMed Clip<\/strong><\/a> (iPhone\/iPod Touch\/iPad)<\/p>\n

PubMed Clip\u2019s search and browse offerings don\u2019t greatly differ from those of PubMed on Tap, but its integration with web services and other apps may make it a favorite among a social-media-savvy crowd.\u00a0 Users can share links to articles on Facebook and Twitter or send citations to Evernote, a popular note-taking platform.\u00a0 The in-app library also offers more functionality, such as folders and the option to sort articles by author, title, or tag.\u00a0 The app can be configured for proxy access and is available for $2.99.<\/p>\n

PubMed Mobile and PubMed Mobile Pro<\/a> <\/strong> (Android)<\/p>\n

Android users can also access PubMed using PubMed Mobile.\u00a0 Its offerings are similar to PubMed on Tap\u2019s, allowing users to perform both basic and advanced searches with limits, save and email citations, and read full-text articles.\u00a0 However, PubMed Mobile does not currently offer proxy integration, so users will not be able to take advantage of their library\u2019s subscriptions.\u00a0 Like its iOS cousin, PubMed Mobile is available in both a free and full version; the fully functional free version is ad-supported, while the Pro version costs $2.99.<\/p>\n

Mobile-Enhanced Sites<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even if your device isn\u2019t supported by one of these apps, you can still access PubMed from your mobile device using one of PubMed\u2019s mobile interfaces.\u00a0 You\u2019ll get the same access to PubMed that you would from any other computer, but these sites have been redesigned to be easily readable on your mobile device.\u00a0 Most mobile devices can be configured for your institution\u2019s proxy, so you\u2019ll be able to get access to full-text articles available through your subscriptions.<\/p>\n

PubMed Mobile (Beta)<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n

This no-frills version of the PubMed website only allows users to perform basic searches, but does accept field tags in brackets and Boolean operators, so knowledgeable searchers may still find the interface workable. [Note from MLGSCA Link editors: at the time this column was written, PubMed Mobile was in Beta mode, but it became an official mobile app during the publication process.]<\/p>\n

PubMed for Handhelds<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Users who rely on search filters like Clinical Queries or Systematic Reviews will prefer the PubMed for Handhelds version of the site.\u00a0 The ask<\/em>MEDLINE search allows users to enter natural language questions and incorporates an English-language spellchecker.\u00a0 Its ability to interpret the question is passable, but not perfect.\u00a0 For example, when I asked \u201cWhat are the main causes of chest pain,\u201d the first article in my results list discussed an unusual and rare condition \u2013 hardly one of the main<\/em> causes.\u00a0 The site also offers a handy PICO search interface that incorporates a spellchecker as well.<\/p>\n

At this point, these two mobile-enhanced versions of the site are mainly useful for performing basic searches in PubMed in a format that you\u2019ll actually be able to read on your mobile device\u2019s screen.\u00a0 Unfortunately, neither version currently offers integration with MyNCBI or allows users to email citations or otherwise save them.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favorite way to access PubMed on the go?\u00a0 Tell us about it in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contributed by Lisa Federer, Health and Life Sciences Librarian, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, UCLA As much as we\u2019d love to see our patrons in the library every day, the reality is that we as 21st century librarians often provide services to patrons we may never actually meet in person.\u00a0 Whether it\u2019s a busy clinician […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,106],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4285"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4328,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285\/revisions\/4328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}