FAQ
Getting Copies of Journal Articles, Books and Other NLM Materials

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There are several ways to obtain full text journal articles, books, reports or audiovisuals.

• - The item may be available in a library in your area. Check your local resources first.
  
  
• - Books, audiovisuals and photocopies of medical journal articles are available from the NLM through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) procedures to libraries in the US.
  
  
• - An ILL request to the NLM must originate from your local library. Contact your library for information on its ILL services and fees.
  
  
• - The NLM does not lend material in original form outside the US.
  
  
• - Only photocopied articles (not originals) are available to international libraries.
  
  
• - Journal articles may be directly available to you from the journal's publisher, most likely for a fee.
  
  
• - If the journal is available on the Internet from the publisher's Web site, articles may be free. Policies vary by publisher and by journal.
  
  

Journal articles may also be available from document delivery companies. Look in your telephone book's yellow pages under Library Research & Services. The NLM does not endorse these companies or the services they provide.

PubMed links to some journal publisher sites. Web-based journals may contain the full text of the journal article, but this is not always the case. It varies by publisher and journal. Publishers may also charge to view the full text. The PubMed list of journals linking to publisher Web sites is at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/journals/loftext_noprov.html.

You may also establish a Loansome Doc account so you may order documents from home. See http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/faqill.html#LD.

If you live outside of the United States and would like to register for Loansome Doc, please read the information found at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/ldnonus.html.

Related Questions:

Loansome Doc (article ordering service) questions

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Last updated: 06 May 2004
First published: 01 January 1998
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanence Not Guaranteed