Creating a browser extension to improve PubMed record full text linking

Abstract

PubMed is a free search engine developed and maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) which searches the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. As such it is a valuable search tool for researchers in the health sciences. In my work as a Digital and Technical Services librarian at SUNY College of Optometry, I have registered complaints from frustrated users seeking to connect to full text articles from PubMed. They have reported finding the process confusing and containing too many steps which disrupt their search process. This project took a critical look at PubMed’s linking service, LinkOut, used information design theory to propose improvements, and implemented those improvements through the design and development of a browser extension which will be presented to the SUNY Optometry community. This paper describes the process taken to complete this project.