A New Look and Feel for the PubMed Central® Public Access Page

The PubMed Central (PMC) Public Access & PMC page, available from the sidebar on the About PMC page, was recently updated to provide greater clarity and usability. Two new features were added:

1. Top-of-the-page links to navigate page content
2. A table for locating article reference numbers

New Location for Navigation Links

The Public Access & PMC page was reorganized and links to the page content are now at the top of the page (see Figure 1). The new design makes it easy to see what the page contains and how to find the answers to your Public Access-related questions.

Figure 1: New links.

We've Got Your Numbers

Additionally, a new table (see Figure 2) demonstrates all the ways to locate the identification number of an article or manuscript — whether you’re looking for a PubMed identifier (PMID), NIH Manuscript Submission identifier (NIHMSID) , or perhaps most important, the PMC identifier (PMCID), which is the identification number that must be cited by recipients of NIH funding to demonstrate compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy. As seen in the table below, you can find these numbers through viewing the PubMed abstract; a PMC search result; and in the PMC display for the final, published article or the author manuscript. To reach this table click on the question, "How can I find a PMCID, NIHMSID, and PMID?"

Figure 2: Table for finding article identification numbers.

To see where the article identification numbers appear in each of the four images, you may either hover over or click on the particular image. If you point your cursor on the image, you’ll get a pop-up window as shown in Figure 3 for the Author Manuscript selection.

Figure 3: View of the PMCID and NIHMSID in an author manuscript.

If you choose to click on one of the images, then you will get a different but equally informative view, as in Figure 4 below showing the PMC search result selection.

Figure 4: Finding the PMCID in a PMC search result.

So, sit back and enjoy the view — and learn more about Public Access!

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By Marla Fogelman
National Center for Biotechnology Information

Fogelman M. A New Look and Feel for the PubMed Central® Public Access Page. NLM Tech Bull. 2010 Nov-Dec;(377):e10.