Category Archives: Tips, Tricks & Tutorials

Learning how to improve your productivity with online tools

Speed Up Your Searching with LibKey Nomad

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LibKey Nomad is a browser extension (available for Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari, and more!) that provides seamless one-click access to full-text MSK library resources from a wide variety of databases and journals!

Simply install the extension in your preferred browser; during installation you will be asked to select your organization – search and select Memorial Sloan Kettering Library.

How LibKey Nomad Works

Once you’ve downloaded and installed the LibKey Nomad browser extension, a new icon will appear at the bottom of the page when searching on various databases, websites, and journal platforms.

Note: Depending on the browser and/or the settings you have set, you may need to tell LibKey Nomad to allow access to a website, which you can usually set to always allow access to a specific site (eg. PubMed’s website). The browser extension should be visible in the top of your browser and will look like the green LibKey icon above.

Once the page loads, the browser extension will identify the citation(s) and, based on our library’s collection, will guide to access the full-text of each citation on the page.

If PDF full-text is available, a single-click Download PDF button will appear below the citation. If additional authentication is required you will be prompted to sign in via the MSK single sign-on. In most cases the PDF will be coming directly from the publisher or a supporting platform, however in some cases it may find the full-text through PubMed Central (PMC) or a institutional repository.

LibKey Nomad access buttons

  • Download PDF: In a single click the user should be able to either view the PDF in their browser or be prompted to download the PDF to their computer.
  • Article Link: Similar to the PDF full-text, this option appears when either the full-text is only available as HTML, or if a PDF is available but an additional click is required once arriving at the publisher’s website
  • Manuscript PDF: This option appears if the article has been located in a repository as an Accepted Manuscript; while this manuscript has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication, it is likely not formatted for publication yet and may simply be a Word document converted to PDF
  • Manuscript Link: Like the Manuscript PDF button, this will appear if the manuscript is available, but not in PDF format (HTML, Word document, etc.)
  • Access Options: Lastly, if full-text cannot be located immediately, this button will bring you to the MSK Library catalog where you can submit a request through our document delivery service[
  • View Complete Issue [BrowZine]: Integration with BrowZine in certain databases will provide a link to the entire journal issue in BrowZine for a selected citation

Where can I use LibKey Nomad?

Third Iron is continually adding new platforms and publishers to their list of places with LibKey Nomad integration. Currently the extension is supported in a number of databases and websites, as well as a wide range of major journal and eBook publishers.

Library databases with LibKey Nomad Integration:

publishers/Platforms with libkey nomad integration

Note: These publisher sites and platforms represent the discovery starting points but do not represent the coverage of content which extends to *all* eBooks and journals within a libraries collection!  

What’s the difference between libkey nomad and Browzine?

Both LibKey Nomad and BrowZine are produced by Third Iron and they work in conjunction to provide access electronic access to journal articles. LibKey Nomad is a browser extension to identify full-text articles on the web, while BrowZine is a platform to browse and read articles. In certain databases a citation may be able to provide both a link to download the PDF as well as a link to view the entire journal issue that the citation is found in.

For more information about LibKey Nomad

LibKey Nomad tutorial video:

ThirdIron: LibKey Nomad browser extension delivers one-click article access (1:58 min)

2025 MeSH Update and PubMed Year-End Activities

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At the end of each year, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) produces their annual updates to PubMed’s MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). These changes are made at every level of the MeSH infrastructure, including descriptors (headings or terms), qualifiers (subheadings), and supplementary concepts, and are made in response to changes in scientific discovery, taxonomy, ethical considerations, and published literature. The National Library of Medicine describes the necessity of these changes as this: “In biomedicine and related areas, new concepts are constantly emerging, old concepts are in a state of flux and terminology and usage are modified accordingly. To accommodate these changes, descriptors must be added to, changed or deleted from MeSH with adjustments in the related hierarchies, the Tree Structures.”

Types of MeSH Changes

  • Added Terms — brand new terms added, either as MeSH headings or Supplementary Concepts that currently do not warrant a full heading
  • Modified Terms — MeSH concepts that were changed (either name or hierarchical location), also referred to the the “Preferred Term“
  • Replaced Terms — Descriptors or Supplementary concept terms are replaced by another term; this can include Supplementary Concepts upgraded to Descriptors as well as merged terms
  • Merged Terms — Multiple Descriptor or Supplementary concept terms combined under a single concept term
  • Combined Terms — Descriptor and Qualifier (subheading) combination made into a new separate concept
  • Deleted Terms — Descriptor or Supplementary concept terms removed, due to either being combined, upgraded, or renamed

What’s New in 2025

Artificial Intelligence

The 2025 Annual MeSH Update includes a variety of important and much-needed changes. One of the biggest and most needed expansions in the 2025 update is to the Artificial Intelligence concept, including dozens of new MeSH Descriptors found within the broader concept, including:

Publication types

Several changes were made to publication types for MeSH 2025, including two new publication types:

Note: The NLM has made an exception to their general rule of not retroactively indexing; so just as they did in 2019 when “Systematic Reviews” became a separate publication type, citations will be retroactively updated to reflect these two new publication types.

The Network Meta-Analysis publication type was previously a Descriptor (MeSH Heading); thus for existing citations, the Descriptor term (“Network Meta-Analysis”[MeSH]) will be replaced with either the “Network Meta-Analysis”[Publication Type] OR “Network Meta-Analysis as Topic”[Mesh] as appropriate. This is an important change, as it extends the scope of indexing the publication type back to the introduction of the original term in 2017.

The “Scoping Review”[Publication Type] will replace either the “Review”[Publication Type] or “Systematic Review”[Publication Type] on appropriate citations extending back to 2020, the first year this term appears in MEDLINE. Additionally, “Scoping Review as Topic”[Mesh] has been expanded from the “Review as a Topic”[Mesh] term.

Additionally, NLM will discontinue indexing following Publication Type terms:

Note: As with previously discontinued Publication Types, which include “Government Publication,” “Newspaper Article,” “Overall,” and “Scientific Integrity Review,” these Publication Types will continue to exist in MeSH, appear on existing citations, and be searchable in PubMed. However, they will no longer be applied to new citations.

How Does this Impact Searching?

Since there are so many changes to MeSH terms and structure, if you save search strategies or search alerts, or want to rerun a search that was previously conducted (such as from a systematic review), these changes may impact if and how your search strategy functions. Below are some steps to take to ensure that your search strategy is not only viable but also the best reflection of the current database.

  1. Check search viability — Run your search in PubMed and go to Advanced Search and check if there are issues being highlighted in the Details section. Terms that were removed or modified (name changed, upgraded, merged, etc.) will likely be in red. If your search is suddenly retrieving no results, this also could be the cause.
  2. Identify relevant new terms — Refer to the New MeSH Descriptors for 2025 list to see if there are any relevant terms that were added for 2025 that may make your search strategy more robust or specific.
  3. Identify replaced terms — Refer to the MeSH 2025 – Replace Report to identify any terms that were replaced by another term, upgraded to Descriptors, or consolidated with another term.
  4. Review publication types — Refer to the Annual MeSH Processing for 2025 NLM Bulletin for changes to publication types

If you have searches saved in your My NCBI account and/or you are getting PubMed e-mail alerts, or if you need to update your Systematic Review based on your previous search strategy, you may want to consult a Research Informationist to ensure your saved searches are not affected by the annual changes in the MeSH terminology. Don’t hesitate to ASK US!

Important Note from NLM Regarding Reindexing

Typically, the NLM does not retroactively re-index MEDLINE citations with new MeSH heading concepts. Therefore, searching PubMed for a new MeSH term tagged with [mh] or [majr] effectively limits retrieval to citations indexed after the term was introduced. Searchers may consult the MeSH database to see the previous indexing terms most likely used for a particular concept before the new MeSH heading was introduced. For terms without previous indexing information, consider the next broader term(s) in the MeSH hierarchy. or more searching guidance, see the on-demand class MeSH Changes and PubMed Searching.

Converting EndNote Citations to Unformatted Citations or Plain Text in Microsoft Word

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The citation management software EndNote allows authors to easily add references from their EndNote library directly into their manuscripts in Microsoft Word, and these citations can move and respond as changes are made within the document. This works by including behind-the-scenes code into the Word document that is able to “talk” to the EndNote library. However, because of this additional information within the Word document, it can cause issues when it tries to talk to an EndNote library, but that library is not available (e.g. on another person’s computer).

Thus, it’s important to be able turn off this functionality without removing all the citations that have already been added to a manuscript. There are a few different options to turn off this functionality, including both temporary and permanent options.

Unformatted Citations

Unformatted citations is a temporary method of turning off this talking between Word and EndNote. This option can be used during the active writing stage, where a manuscript might be shared amongst collaborators or across devices and these different parties are all editing the document. It also can be used in conjunction with regularly formatted citations, where some citations are actively formatted and some are converted to unformatted temporary placeholders in the document.

This method converts the in-text citations to plain text, but with language that can be read by EndNote. However, t’s not actively talking to EndNote. In this method the in-text citation information is stored within {curly brackets} as a placeholder, and at any time the document can be reformatted and the proper in-text citations and bibliography will once again be functional and talking to EndNote.

Since this option will add curly brackets with the citation information within, those whom the manuscript is shared with must understand to be careful not to delete or move this bracketed information. If there is a risk that a collaborator might accidentally manipulate this information, see the plain text option below. Collaborators can add additional text and references as plain text that can be added through EndNote later once the document is reformatted.

Unformatted citations can also be used when dealing with extremely large documents with hundreds of citations, that can become very slow. There is also an option to turn off automatic formatting, which only talks to EndNote when you explicitly tell Word to update the bibliography.

EndNote for Windows OS

On the EndNote 21 tab within Microsoft Word, go to Convert Citations and Bibliography, and select Convert to Unformatted Citations.

If you are unformatting the entire document, this unformats all of the in-text citations and removes the current bibliography.

If you want to remove formatting for a specific citation or section, simply highlight that citation or section and then select Convert to Unformatted Citations.

EndNote for Macintosh OS

On the EndNote 21 tab within Microsoft Word, go to Tools, and then select Convert to Unformatted Citations.

If you are unformatting the entire document, this unformats all of the in-text citations and removes the current bibliography.

If you want to remove formatting for a specific citation or section, simply highlight that citation or section and then select Convert to Unformatted Citations.

Plain Text Citations

Plain text citations or Removing Field Codes is a permanent method of disabling the behind-the-scenes code that allows the Word document to communicate with EndNote. Since this method is permanent, it should be done after the active writing stage, and when the document needs to be sent to a publisher, editor, or outside reviewer.

Converting citations to plain text means stripping all metadata associated with EndNote from the Word document, and the in-text citations and bibliography are turned into regular Word document text.

This option can also be used during the writing process, if for example, there is a fear or risk of collaborators accidentally manipulating the information within the curly brackets of the unformatted citations, or if the curly brackets create a difficult reading environment. It can also be used if for some reason a reference has formatting errors that cannot be corrected through EndNote and need to be fixed manually.

Since this method is permanent, Word prompts you to save the plain text as a separate copy, so there is always a fail-safe if changes need to be made there is still a version that is connected to EndNote.

EndNote for Windows OS

On the EndNote 21 tab in Microsoft Word, go to Convert Citations and Bibliography, and select Convert to Plain Text. Click OK in the confirmation dialog to create a new document. A copy of the document, without field codes, appears in a new document window.

EndNote for Macintosh OS

On the EndNote 21 tab in Microsoft Word, go to Tools, and select Convert to Plain Text. Click OK in the confirmation dialog to create a new document. A copy of the document, without field codes, appears in a new document window.