I suggest that the med center library stop using OVID for online subscriptions for journals. The database is terrible to search in, and doesn’t give PDF files- right now I am looking in the database for a paper that came out this month in Diabetes, but it doesn’t show up in OVID online!
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: The Medical Center Library responds:
The easy answer would be that the Medical Center Library loves to torture its patrons and increase its print income by making everyone print HTML files! But to really answer this we have to wander through the complexities of purchasing electronic full-text journals and what libraries must accept in order to obtain access to certain titles. As you read through this you also have to remember that the publisher still has the ultimate control over the format, date of release and the platform used for their titles. The library rarely has a say over any of these. First, it is difficult to eliminate all the journals on the Ovid system since many of the electronic titles are only available through the Ovid system. When possible, we have moved journals to other vendors, but for most of the remaining titles we do not have any other choice if we want the title in electronic format. Publishers also dictate to Ovid (and other distributors) the format and release date of the electronic version. Many publishers have not moved to PDF files due to concerns over controlling the sharing of PDF files and their copyright rights. Others still do not have the technology to offer the articles in another format. Many libraries have told Ovid they prefer the PDF format, but the publishers make the final decision. Remember Ovid does not own the content; they lease the right to make it available on their system. In addition, some publishers embargo the latest issue of a journal and do not release it to Ovid or any other vendor for several days, weeks or months–they want their print subscribers to receive it first. Even if they do not embargo it, Ovid has to wait to receive the article and then post it. Unfortunately publishers are not punctual about delivering content. These are some possible and fairly typical reasons why the issue of Diabetes was not online as quickly as you expected it. Finally, the interface is clunkier than some because you are searching through publications from several different publishers, instead of just one publisher, as in the case of Science Direct. Ovid has had to create an interface to accommodate many competing titles. Ovid also has to authenticate who has access to each title which makes their interface issues more complex than the collections where we have no choice but to buy it all. The advantage to Ovid is that the Library can buy only the titles it wants, but the search engine is less elegant. That is also why we recommend users begin their searches directly with MEDLINE, which has direct links to specific articles, and not through individual journal titles.