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LocatorPlus® Fact Sheet


LocatorPlus® is the National Library of Medicine® (NLM®) online catalog available at //locatorplus.gov.

Coverage and Scope:

LocatorPlus is continuously updated and includes:

  • over 1.4 million catalog records for books, audiovisuals, journals, computer files, and other materials in the Library's collections
  • holdings information for journals and other materials
  • links from catalog records to Internet resources, including online journals
  • circulation status information for materials, including those on-order or in-process at the Library

Search Capabilities:

Search LocatorPlus by keyword, author, title, journal title, MeSH® (Medical Subject Headings), call number, and other specific fields using simple and advanced search menus.

You can limit keyword search by type of media, format, language, date of publication, or shelving location.

Retrieval is listed alphabetically or in rank order by relevancy. Each retrieved item displays NLM holdings, detailed bibliographic information, MARC records, and electronic links (if available). You can print, download, or e-mail records to any address.

LocatorPlus provides direct access through its "Other Databases" menu to additional free resources:

  • NLM databases, including MEDLINE®/PubMed®
  • Consumer health information and MedlinePlus®
  • History of Medicine databases
  • NLM Catalog
  • PubMed Central®
  • TOXNET® and toxicology databases
  • Health services research and HSTAT
  • Catalogs of other U.S. medical and consumer health libraries

LocatorPlus and NLM's Integrated Library System

LocatorPlus is one component of NLM's integrated library system, Voyager. NLM uses Voyager for acquisitions, serials control, cataloging, collection management, circulation, preservation, and as an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC).

Differences between LocatorPlus and the NLM Catalog

The NLM Catalog, available at (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=nlmcatalog), also provides access to NLM bibliographic records for journals, books, audiovisuals, computer software, electronic resources, but it uses the NCBI Entrez system. The NLM Catalog links to NLM holdings information in LocatorPlus.

Either database may be searched to find a known item.

Search LocatorPlus to:

  • find author or organization names if unsure about the exact name
  • find NLM holdings or the circulation status of a title
  • view or use bibliographic records in MARC 21 format
  • view or use authority records for names and titles

Search the NLM Catalog to:

  • explode on MeSH® headings
  • find LJI subject headings assigned to indexed journals
  • find a known name of the author or organization
  • view or use bibliographic records in XML format

Learn more about the NLM Catalog:

Learn more about LocatorPlus:

For general information on NLM services, contact:

National Library of Medicine
Customer Service
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
Telephone: 1-888-FINDNLM (1-888-346-3656)
email: //www.nlm.nih.gov/contacts/contact.html
NLM Customer Service Form at Contact NLM

A complete list of NLM Fact Sheets is available at:
(alphabetical list) //www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/factsheets.html
(subject list): //www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/factsubj.html

Or write to:
FACT SHEETS
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20894

Phone: (301) 496-6308
Fax: (301) 496-4450
email: publicinfo@nlm.nih.gov