PubMed: How Soon Is Now?

10/29 Edit: Yep, we all know it's changed now! In addition to the stuff below,

Need a SlideShare Presentation?

New PubMed

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Sorry, couldn't resist. Unexpected exclamation points do that to me.

At approximately 10:00 am Pacific time today the PubMed Preview transitioned to the main page, held steady for a little bit, then died. After a while the prior version was put back into place with notice via a listserv (more on that below) that the switch would happen in a few days.

That's normal enough, we've all had databases go down for much longer than a few hours, but this is also your wakeup call: Get familiar with the new redesign now if you haven't already! Don't make me resurrect this post :)

Need quick help and handouts?

Redesigned PubMed QuickTours - by author, author & subject, simple subject, journal
Updated Trifolds - PubMed Basics, Searching PubMed with MeSH, MyNCBI
Where Has It Gone? - comparison resource from University of Washington Health Sciences

Need National Library of Medicine PubMed webinars with questions & answers?

October 2009 webcast - most recent updated information
August 2009 Western regions - please ignore my voice and pay attention to the Q&As
August 2009 Midwest/Southern regions -more written Q&As
August 2009 Eastern regions - no written Q&As


Need a WordPress video tutorial?

MyNCBI -Custom Filters by Melissa Rethlefsen at Mayo Clinics


Need YouTube?

PubMed - New Interface Demonstration by U Manitoba


While the announcement of the transition on the PUBMED-ALERTS listserv was at the same time the PubMed New and Noteworthy RSS feed broadcast (albeit with a broken website link) this morning, notice of the reinstatement (as of 9:45 pm Pacific) still has not appeared on the RSS feed. I consider it noteworthy that a transition had to go in reverse.

I don't like having to second guess which communication channel regarding PubMed is most accurate and reliable. The RSS feed is prominently promoted from the redesigned PubMed front page and there's no mention of the listserv. Communication about PubMed, unlike making sure the entire database platform is stable, should be simple and not require digging nor duplication.