How to Update a Library from PubMed

EndNote EndNote How To
1

As many of you well know, the information available on PubMed evolves, especially with very new or very old references.  So, if you have a library that has been around for a while, key details may be missing that were not available when the library was created that have become available on PubMed.  If you ran a new search to rebuild the library from scratch, that would mean getting any new publications since the original search also imported into the mix (unwanted in my case).  So, is there a way to take an existing library and query PubMed for any updated fields?  New to the forum, so if this has been addressed elsewhere, my apologies.

2

EndNote X5 has just such a feature. The following is from the X5 Help Guide on Updating References:

You can select and update individual references or multiple references from the Review Available Updates dialog by retrieving information from source databases outside EndNote such as Web of Science and PubMed.

The Find Reference Updates option is available from the References menu and as an icon from the Reference window. When you select this option, EndNote searches for and retrieves available field updates for the selected reference. If a reliable match is found, EndNote displays a Review Reference Updates dialog that shows you all the updates that were found. An error message displays if a reliable match cannot be found or if no updates are available.

To update a reference:

  1. Select one or more references (highlight them) from the Reference List or open a reference in the Reference window.

  2. From the References menu, select the Find Reference Updates option to open the Review Available Updates dialog.

Note: Click the Find Reference Updates icon from the tool bar if you are updating a reference from the Reference window.

  1. All updates are highlighted in blue in both the Available Updates and the My Reference panels. For each update that EndNote finds for a record, you can:
  • Click the Update All Fields button to update all the fields in the My References panel with updated information from the Available Updates panel.
  • Click the Update Empty Fields button to update every empty field in the My Reference panel with the new information from the Available Updates panel.

  1. If necessary, edit any of the information in the fields in the My Reference panel.

  2. When you are done making your changes, click the Save Updates button to save your changes.

  3. Click Yes when the EndNote dialog appears prompting you to save your changes.

Note: If you have selected more than one reference, click the Skip button to skip a particular reference that you do not wish to update.

Note: All fields within the My Reference panel will display even if they are empty.

With older versions of EndNote, the updates would need to be done manually. The alternative would be to delete and then obtain the same record again.

Jason Berman
Technical Sup Rep RS

Thomson Reuters

Phone: +1 800-336-4474
thomsonreuters.com

3

Jason,

Thank you for the awesome and fast reply.  Is there a fix for the humble public servant sadly relegated to X2.04?

Thanks!

Nathan S. Ivey, PhD

US FDA

4

EndNote X2.0.4 would not have the ability to update existing records using this method. With older versions of EndNote, the updates would need to be done manually by copying and pasting the updated data into the records individually. The alternative would be to delete the existing records and then obtain the same records again.

Jason Berman
Technical Sup Rep RS

Thomson Reuters

Phone: +1 800-336-4474
thomsonreuters.com