Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What are the library’s hours?
A. Fall, winter and spring terms, the library is open:
Monday through Friday- 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For term break or summer term hours, please see the library hours page.

Q. Can anybody use the library?
A. The library is open to anybody who wishes to use our resources on-site. Borrowing privileges are restricted to NUNM students, faculty, staff and alumni. Current students, faculty and staff from OCOM, OHSU, and UWS. Members of the general public who wish to borrow materials from NUNM are encouraged to request them via interlibrary loan at their local public library.

Q. What library services are available to NUNM alumni?
A. NUNM alumni can check out materials and use databases and other electronic resources on campus. NUNM alumni do not have off-campus access to databases or journals. Alumni cannot make interlibrary loan requests through the NUNM library. Alumni living outside the Portland area are encouraged to use their local library to interlibrary loan materials from the NUNM library.

Q. How do I renew the materials that I have checked out?
A. Borrowers may renew their items directly from the library homepage, by clicking Renew Your Books, just to the right of the main catalog search box. Log in with your library barcode number and password. Once you log in, your name will appear in the top right corner of the screen. Click on the ‘My Account’ link to the right of your name to pull up the items checked out on your account. Most items may be renewed three times.

Borrowers may also renew their library materials in person or by calling or emailing the Front Desk (phone 503.552.1542; e-mail library@nunm.edu). You may call after hours and leave a message with your name and barcode number.

Q. How do I check out books from OHSU, OCOM, and UWS?
A. Current NUNM students, faculty and staff may check out books directly from the OHSU, OCOM, and UWS libraries by presenting their NUNM ID card with a valid library barcode.

You can also request that library materials from OHSU, OCOM, and UWS be sent directly to NUNM (at this time, library materials cannot be sent from Pacific University). The default search box in the NUNM catalog only searches items that are held by NUNM. By clicking the down arrow between ‘NUNM Library’ and the search button, you can change the search to ‘NUNM + PAHL Libraries’ to also search the library holdings at OHSU, OCOM, and UWS. If you find an item at one of these libraries that you would like to use, click the ‘Library copies’ link underneath the book’s details, then click on the ‘Request from OHSU, OCOM or UWS’ link. A box will pop up. Select ‘NUNM Library’ as the pickup location, then click the orange request box to finish your request. You will receive an email when the book is ready for you to pick up.

Q. What is PAHL?
A. PAHL is short for the Portland Academic Health Libraries. It is an informal consortium of libraries who share resources, and includes NUNM, OHSU, UWS, and OCOM.

Q. Can I use OHSU’s databases and electronic journals?
A. Anybody can access OHSU’s electronic resources by going to an OHSU library and using one of their public use computers. However, online access to these resources from anywhere else is limited to OHSU students and staff.

Q. How can I access databases from home?
A. NUNM Library subscribes to various research databases and collections of electronic journals.  Most are accessible from home as well as on campus. If you are off campus, you must use the off-campus users links on our databases page.

Q. Where can I find full-text journal articles online?
A. There are several places to begin looking for journal articles.

  1. Start by searching PubMed. Our library has linked almost 2,000 full-text journals to the PubMed system. Use the abstract display option and click on the NUNM Full Text icon to retrieve full-text articles (when available) from within PubMed.
  2.  You can also directly search any of our separate full-text databases.

Remember that if you find an article citation for which there is no electronic full text available, you have options. You can:

  1. See if we own the journal in paper format.
  2. Search for the journal title in the catalog with an ‘NUNM + PAHL Libraries’search. If OHSU, UWS, or OCOM own the journal, you can access it by going directly to that library.
  3. Fill out an interlibrary loan request.

Q. How can faculty get CME credit for their research on UpToDate?
A. It is now possible for faculty to earn and redeem CME credit from their research using NUNM’s UpToDate account. Since NUNM has an institutional membership, you must register yourself first, then login whenever you use UpToDate so that the database will track your earned credits.
Here is what you need to do to get registered:

  1. You must register from a computer that is not on the NUNM campus. This is important; it will not work if you are on campus.
  2. From an off campus computer, go to the library databases page, scroll down to UpToDate, and click on the blue off-campus users link.
  3. Click on the register as a new user button, and fill out the registration form.

After you have registered, you can access UpToDate as you normally would on our campus, then click on the login link in the upper right corner. If you want to login to UpToDate from off campus, you will need to use the blue off-campus users link on the library’s databases list mentioned above.