Information for Full Text Providers
Publishers, institutional repositories and other full text providers may use NCBI's LinkOut service to add a link from each PubMed record to the corresponding full-text article available on their own website. All link information is submitted by publishers, institutional repositories, journal owners, or publisher agents to LinkOut in the form of XML files. These providers are solely responsible for maintaining their links via updates to the XML files.
For Publishers and Publisher Agents
Publishers and publisher agents wanting to include full text links in PubMed should review the prerequisities for participation in LinkOut and then review this Full Text Provider documentation, which includes information on how to submit a particpation request to LinkOut.
For Institutional Repositories
Institutional repositories (IR) may participate in LinkOut. Requirements for participation include, but are not limited to:
- the ability to provide a minimum of 1,000 links to the full text of articles that are not deposited in PubMed Central (PMC)
- the full text articles linked to must not be under embargo
- the full text of the article must be free to the public with no access restrictions
After confirming they meet the requirements, Institutional Repositories should review this Full Text Provider documentation, which includes information on how to submit a participation request to LinkOut.
Institutional repositories participating in LinkOut include institutions based in the United States and around the world. See the current list of participating institutions.
Helpful Links for Full Text Providers
- Complete Full Text Provider documentation
- LinkOut Journal List
- List of Institutional Repositories Participating in LinkOut
- NLM Catalog
Frequently Asked Questions
What level of linking should we provide? Are links to a Table of Contents accepted?
Full text links must point to the full text version of individual articles. Links to a Table of Contents are not acceptable.
Can we restrict access to our full-text content?
Publishers and their agents may restrict access. Access to restricted resources is based on pre-existing agreements with the publisher, resource provider or the institution sponsoring the service. Learn More
Institutional repositories may not restrict access. All links must point to freely available full text articles.
What responsibilities do we have as a full text LinkOut provider?
See the information in Provider Responsibilities.
What are the specifications for the icons that display on PubMed for our journal(s) or resources?
See detailed icon specifications.
If my company provides linking information for several publishers, should we apply for multiple LinkOut accounts?
Each provider will be given only one LinkOut account. A single provider may submit links on behalf of multiple publishers; different icons may be used in PubMed to establish the identity for each journal.