Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

This is a preview of updates coming to the Technical Bulletin's website in early December 2025. Return to current site.
Read more about the modernization release schedule in this announcement.
Comment via the yellow feedback button in the lower right hand corner of the page. Contact the NLM Help Desk with any questions or concerns.

This is archived content.

Links may have become inactive over time. Visit Archive-It   to find the original published layout.

Debut of a New Design for the NLM® Gateway

Demsey A. Debut of a New Design for the NLM Gateway. NLM Tech Bull. 2008 Jan-Feb; (360):e9.

February 19, 2008 [posted]
March 18, 2008 [Editor's note added]

[Editor's note: The redesigned NLM Gateway is the current production version as of March 10, 2008.]

NLM will soon unveil a redesigned Gateway with a new user interface (see Figure 1). The new interface, accessible through the link on the current homepage, will run in parallel with the current version. It will permanently replace the current version after several weeks.

Screen capture of link to new Gateway.
Figure 1: Link to new Gateway.

New Look and Improved Usability

The new homepage (see Figure 2) contains the search query box and links to search tips, Help, and additional information about the system.

Screen capture of the new Gateway homepage.
Figure 2: New Gateway homepage.

Enter a search in the search query box. When the search is completed, the Results Summary page displays (see Figure 3).

Screen capture of the new Gateway search results summary page.
Figure 3: Results Summary page.

The Results Summary lists individually the twenty-three collections that Gateway searches with the number of items retrieved in each. They are displayed by category in three columns: Bibliographic Resources, Consumer Health Resources, and Other Information Resources. Click on an Screen capture of the small information graphic in the form of the letter i. for information about the collections in a category.

To view the results for a collection, click on its name or on the number of items retrieved. On the collection Results Page (see Figure 4), items are displayed in the Brief format. Click on an item's title to display an Expanded or fuller view. At the top and bottom of the Results Page are links for each of the Gateway functions:

  • E-mail
  • Download
  • Put in locker
  • Order documents (for PubMed only)
  • Clear check marks
Screen capture of the new Gateway search results page.
Figure 4: Collection Results Page.

The search query box is available on every Gateway page. The user can enter a new search in the search box at the top of the page beneath the Features Bar. There is also a link back to the homepage on the Features Bar (see Figures 3 and 4). A new search can also be entered there.

The Sidebar on the left of each collection Results Page was also redesigned (see Figure 5).

Screen capture of the new Gateway sidebar with links to results of other collections.
Figure 5: Sidebar has links to results of other collections.

The Sidebar links enable the user to go directly to the results of any other collection. Through this sidebar, the user can also return to the Results Summary page, by clicking on Results, and can Bookmark the search.

Gateway Features

Located at the top of each page, beneath the Gateway banner, is the Features Bar (see Figures 3 and 4). It includes links to the homepage, Term Finder, Limits/Settings, Search Details, History, and My Locker.

  • Use Term Finder to search for and select search terms from Medical Subject Headings® (MeSH) and the Unified Medical Language System® (UMLS® ) Metathesaurus.
  • Use Limits/Settings to customize settings for searching and for displaying results (see Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10).
Screen capture of the new Gateway search limits.
Figure 6: Set Search Limits.
Screen capture of the page to set the display of your search results page.
Figure 7: Set display options for the collection Results pages.
Screen capture of the select fields page where you can customize the fields to display.
Figure 8: Select collection to customize its display.
Screen capture of the select fields page where you can customize the fields to display.
Figure 9: Choose fields to display. [Partial list view.]
Screen capture of the download/display page where you can customize the settings for download, display, and for sending results by e-mail.
Figure 10: Choose settings for Download/Display and E-mail.
Select Apply to save the setting for the current session or Save to permanently set the choices. To save the settings a User ID and Password are required. Current Gateway User IDs and Passwords will work in the redesigned system. When a user is logged in, a Sign Out button displays on the Features Bar to be used when ending the current session.
  • Search Details displays the search strategy as it was translated, using the Gateway automatic term mapping and search rules and syntax.
  • History displays the most recent twenty-five searches. Use History, to repeat, combine or build on past searches.
  • My Locker stores the user's selected search results. A user can access the items in their locker without losing the results of their current search.

Contact information

Please send your comments or questions to gateway@nlm.nih.gov. We always welcome user feedback.