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Free Full Text Biomedical Literature: What to do when you can't find free full text

Advice about finding full text of biomedical literature without a university affiliation

Find a new library

We have bad news and good news. No other library is quite like Cushing/Whitney Medical Library... but many other libraries are also interested in helping you access the literature and evidence that you need. Look for libraries that can support you at your new institution.

  • Does your new organization have a library? You might be surprised! Many companies and international organizations have in-house libraries. Look for "knowledge managers" and "informationists" as well as "librarians."
  • Are you located near a university? All public universities (including community colleges) and many private universities welcome researchers from the community. You may need to jump through some hoops: going to the physical library, filling out a registration form, using library-owned computers to access electronic resources, maybe even signing up as an external researcher. Find out the services that are available and take advantage of them.
  • Are you part of a government agency? You probably have electronic access to a library. It might be run by another department, part of a state hospital, contracted out to an academic institution, or in a research branch of a public library.
  • Are you part of a public health department? Your state or local public health department can access e-journals and e-books through the Public Health Digital Library, from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Public Health Coordination Office. Visit their site to find out how to become a member.
  • Speaking of public libraries -- many public libraries and consortia provide some electronic access to scholarly literature (and to funding databases that are useful for grant writing). They may also have useful interlibrary loan services.

Once you find a new library, remember that you can consult with the librarian as well as searching yourself!

Ask and you may receive

So you've found an article that you want to read, but you can't get the full text for free. It's time to reach out and touch someone! Find the email address of the corresponding author -- in PubMed, it's above the abstract. Or you can contact an author through ResearchGate or LinkedIn. Then write something like this:

Dear ________,
I have read the abstract of your article __________________. Unfortunately I can't access the whole paper. Could you please send me a PDF or electronic preprint? That would help my work on _______________. Thank you!

  • Make sure you include the full citation -- a prolific author won't necessarily remember papers by topic or even title.
  • Write a clear subject line -- you want the recipient to open the email.
  • Don't ask for a copy if the paper is easily available online.

old-fashioned postcard requesting a preprint

Interlibrary loan

For current Yale affiliates, interlibrary loan is fast and free.

For alumni and other people who aren't associated with Yale, interlibrary loan is fast but not free.

Visit https://library.medicine.yale.edu/services/ill for details, and ask your new library about their interlibrary loan service, too.

Find a substitute

If you've found a great article, but you can't access it, maybe you can find similar articles that are available for free. Look up the great article in PubMed and explore the similar articles.

 PubMed article page Similar Articles box