You can search our catalog (Primo) to find books, DVDs, and other items owned by the OCOM Library. Primo also searches the collections at the other Portland Area Health Libraries (PAHL) such as NUNM, OHSU, and UWS. You can place holds and request items from sister schools directly from our catalog, and because we have a bike courier who picks up deliveries every week, you can just use the OCOM Library as your hub and not have to go in-person to any of the partnering PAHL libraries.
There are three main scopes that you can search in Primo: (1) OCOM-owned titles, (2) titles owned by any of the PAHL schools, (3) titles owned by any of the PAHL schools plus journal articles and electronic materials.
How do I find out if an item is available?
When you find a record in the catalog for a book you are interested in, click on the record to see the availability. You can see where the item is located, its specific call number, and if the item is available. If an item is NOT available, you can sign in and place a hold on the item.
When you find a record in the catalog for a book you are interested in, click on the record to see the availability. You can see where the item is located, its specific call number, and if the item is available. If an item is NOT available, you can sign in and place a hold on the item.
If you are not finding what you are looking for in our catalog, you can try to find a book by using WorldCat Discovery. This service searches catalogs at libraries from across the world. OCOM has reciprocal borrowing privileges with most college libraries in the Pacific Northwest, so you can always request items via Interlibrary Loan! Simply find a book in WorldCat, then click the request button and fill out your contact information.
If you'd like to try out WorldCat Discovery, click on the following link: https://ocom.on.worldcat.org
One resource that the library highly recommends is using Google Books. The great thing about Google Books is that many of the titles are fully scanned, so you can search within a text by keyword. Copyright restrictions might prevent you from being able to see the entire book, but you can at least read portions of the text to see if the book is applicable to your research.
If you find a book you'd like to borrow, you can request it via Interlibrary Loan! Either search WorldCat Discovery to place a hold, or fill out the Interlibrary Loan form. Books generally take 4-7 days to arrive, so plan accordingly!
If you find a book you'd like to borrow, you can request it via Interlibrary Loan! Either search WorldCat Discovery to place a hold, or fill out the Interlibrary Loan form. Books generally take 4-7 days to arrive, so plan accordingly!
Primo Library Search
Find books, journals, DVDs and more from OCOM and the PAHL libraries.WorldCat Discovery
Books and items not available via Primo.
OCOM students and staff have access to ebooks through a number of resources, including EBSCO, Overdrive, and OVID platforms. You can find and access ebooks by searching our Primo catalog, or you can browse the individual platforms to view ebook titles. When searching for materials in Primo, eBooks will look like this:
Click on Available Online or the title of the book. In the "View It" section you will find a link for access to the full text.
You can also search for eBooks by going directly to the EBSCO eBook Collection, Overdrive Collection, or the OVID eBook Database (also found in the OCOM Library's list of databases).
If you are looking for an ebook that we don't have access to, you are welcome to fill out a Suggest a Purchase form, and specifically note that you are looking for the ebook version.
Click on Available Online or the title of the book. In the "View It" section you will find a link for access to the full text.
You can also search for eBooks by going directly to the EBSCO eBook Collection, Overdrive Collection, or the OVID eBook Database (also found in the OCOM Library's list of databases).
If you are looking for an ebook that we don't have access to, you are welcome to fill out a Suggest a Purchase form, and specifically note that you are looking for the ebook version.
You have 3 options for viewing:
PDF Full Text: PDF view of book (choose this if no EPUB version).
EPUB Full Text: Newer format for Ebooks, choose this format for better viewing and accessibility.
Download: Choose this option to view from your device offline later.
Using download is not recommended, because it is viewable on your device for only 5 days and no other users will be allowed to access the book during that time. We recommend using the Print/Save/Email option, which willl allow you to access your saved PDF permanently on your device.
After choosing the format, you will be able to view the book. From there, you can also save, print, or email selected pages for later use.
PDF Full Text: PDF view of book (choose this if no EPUB version).
EPUB Full Text: Newer format for Ebooks, choose this format for better viewing and accessibility.
Download: Choose this option to view from your device offline later.
Using download is not recommended, because it is viewable on your device for only 5 days and no other users will be allowed to access the book during that time. We recommend using the Print/Save/Email option, which willl allow you to access your saved PDF permanently on your device.
After choosing the format, you will be able to view the book. From there, you can also save, print, or email selected pages for later use.
NOTE: If you are unable to view the full-text, try clearing your browser cache or using another browser (such as Firefox).
To Save, Print, or Email Selected Pages:
Ebsco only allows you to save/print/email 100 pages (or less) at a time.
Click on the first page of the section you want to save/print/email. Click on either Save, E-mail, or Print Pages at top of page. Select number of pages. If you would like to save more than the limit, you will need to close out of the window and then re-open the eBook. You can then save/print/email up to another 100 pages from where you left off.
Ebsco only allows you to save/print/email 100 pages (or less) at a time.
Click on the first page of the section you want to save/print/email. Click on either Save, E-mail, or Print Pages at top of page. Select number of pages. If you would like to save more than the limit, you will need to close out of the window and then re-open the eBook. You can then save/print/email up to another 100 pages from where you left off.
To check out an Ebsco ebook to read offline later, you will need to create an Ebsco account in order to use this function (only takes a moment to create an account). Once you are signed in, you can click on Full Download to check the book out.
Using download is not recommended, because it is viewable on your device for only 5 days. If you are looking to save for longer, see instructions for Print/Save/Email Ebsco eBooks (above). Using the save method will allow you to have access permanently on your device.
Using download is not recommended, because it is viewable on your device for only 5 days. If you are looking to save for longer, see instructions for Print/Save/Email Ebsco eBooks (above). Using the save method will allow you to have access permanently on your device.
You can find OCOM Library's Overdrive collection of eBooks and audiobooks at ocom.overdrive.com.
New books are added all the time ranging from medical texts, self-improvement, and sociology! Browse by subjects to get a sense of what is available.
When you've found a title you are interested in borrowing:
New books are added all the time ranging from medical texts, self-improvement, and sociology! Browse by subjects to get a sense of what is available.
When you've found a title you are interested in borrowing:
- Select "BORROW".
- Sign into Overdrive using the same login you use for the OCOM Library.
- Choose the length of check-out (typically 7 or 14 days).
- Choose how you'd like to read your eBook. You can send the title to a kindle, read on your phone or tablet using the Libby app, read in your browser, or download an EPUB eBook.
Overdrive eBooks can be opened in Overdrive's Libby app.
Once you have download the Libby app to your device and set up your account, select Oregon College of Oriental Medicine for the library. If you are already using the Libby app for another library (Multnomah County Library uses this app), you can add the OCOM library to your account by clicking on the icon in the upper left corner to view your account. Click on Add A Library and Search for Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (searching OCOM will not work). Now you can easily switch back and forth between your libraries to view your loans!
Once you have download the Libby app to your device and set up your account, select Oregon College of Oriental Medicine for the library. If you are already using the Libby app for another library (Multnomah County Library uses this app), you can add the OCOM library to your account by clicking on the icon in the upper left corner to view your account. Click on Add A Library and Search for Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (searching OCOM will not work). Now you can easily switch back and forth between your libraries to view your loans!
One resource that the library highly recommends is using Google Books. The great thing about Google Books is that many of the titles are fully scanned, so you can search within a text by keyword. Copyright restrictions might prevent you from being able to see the entire book, but you can at least read portions of the text to see if the book is applicable to your research.
If you find a book you'd like to borrow, check our catalog to see if we have access to it. If we do not, you can request that we purchase an ebook version by using the Suggest a Purchase form. We cannot guarantee that we can find an ebook version of the book, but we will do our best!
If you find a book you'd like to borrow, check our catalog to see if we have access to it. If we do not, you can request that we purchase an ebook version by using the Suggest a Purchase form. We cannot guarantee that we can find an ebook version of the book, but we will do our best!
If you need to find a journal article and would like to use the databases from off-campus, then you will first need to go to the Databases page. From there, simply click on the database you would like to access. You will then be prompted to log in -- students log in using your OCOM Gmail username; your password will be a combination of your Lastname (first letter capitalized) and library barcode number. Staff and faculty login using their regular OCOM computer credentials.
If you are on a desktop computer, you will see a list of clinical resources, as well as the most commonly used scholarly resources on the right side of the page. For finding academic journal articles, the library recommends Pubmed and the suite of EBSCO databases (such as Academic Search Premier or MEDLINE).
If you are on a desktop computer, you will see a list of clinical resources, as well as the most commonly used scholarly resources on the right side of the page. For finding academic journal articles, the library recommends Pubmed and the suite of EBSCO databases (such as Academic Search Premier or MEDLINE).
You can also search for journal articles using Primo Library Search (our catalog). To search journals, you need to change the scope to include "OCOM + PAHL + Selected Articles." This search scope includes not only physical items in OCOM's collection or in one of the PAHL libraries, or electronic items that are either available in OCOM's e-journal subscriptions or freely available on the web. Many (but not all) of the journals in our collection are searchable via Primo Library Search. Learn more about using Primo to find journal articles by checking out our Primo: Finding Articles Guide.
Primo Search
Learn how to use Primo to find and access journal articles.
PubMed Basics
A quick intro to using this free medical journal database.
PubMed Advanced
Advanced module on using the massive medical journal database.If you have a citation and just need to find the full-text, the easiest method for finding and accessing full-text is to use the Full Text Finder. You can enter the complete citation details (or if you have a DOI or PMID number, just enter that); the Full Text Finder will then give you a link out to the full text if it is available! Watch the video below to see this in action!
If you need to find out if we have access to a particular journal title, check the Publication Finder. Search for the journal title (for example, American Journal of Chinese Medicine) -- this will directly link you to any full-text access we might have.
The Publication Finder does not recognize abbreviations, so make sure you type out full words. If no resources come up, it means we do not subscribe to that particular journal. If you are looking for a particular volume or issue number, make sure to check the available year the resource -- if you need an article from last month but there is a 1 year embargo*, then this resource will not have full-text access!
*An embargo is when the publisher has designated a window of time where full-text is not available in the usual databases. If a resource has an embargo period and there are no other resources that have the issue number you are looking for, you will need to request the article via Interlibrary Loan.
*An embargo is when the publisher has designated a window of time where full-text is not available in the usual databases. If a resource has an embargo period and there are no other resources that have the issue number you are looking for, you will need to request the article via Interlibrary Loan.
If you find a citation and use the Full Text Finder but we do not have access to the full-text, you may request the article for free by using our Interlibrary Loan request form. This service is free to current students, staff and faculty. Alumni Association Members should use the Document Delivery for Alumni (DDA) service for requesting journal articles.
Our Interlibrary Loan request form also ties in to the Full Text Finder. If you use the FTF and the article is not available, you can quickly submit an Interlibrary Loan request by clicking on the ILL Link that pops up and entering your contact information.
Our Interlibrary Loan request form also ties in to the Full Text Finder. If you use the FTF and the article is not available, you can quickly submit an Interlibrary Loan request by clicking on the ILL Link that pops up and entering your contact information.