IMF eLibrary Startup Guide
Welcome to the new IMF eLibrary! The site’s new look was designed to help users get to content more easily. Although the site looks different, IMF eLibrary continues to provide access to more than 20,000 publications as well as gateways to other IMF databases and sites. This startup guide gives an overview of the new platform and how to use the features and content on the IMF eLibrary.
IMF eLibrary provides multiple ways to easily find content. The eLibrary homepage is at www.elibrary.imf.org .
1. The homepage shows a) major new publications; b) the most recent four publications released: clicking View All will take you to all publications sorted by most recent; c) search filter by IMF Region; d) the four most popular documents on the database; e) recent updates to curated or highlighted topical content.
2. The top pull-down menus allow you to browse chronologically or by country, topic or publication series.
3. Resources and About menus provide access to support materials.
a. Downloadable metadata in MARC and Excel formats can be found in Resources.
b. Curated content lists on topics such as capital flows, taxation, inclusion, ASEAN and more can be found in Recommended Reading in Resources.
4. IMF Sites, at the top right of any page, provide links to statistical data, IMF.org, AREAER Online, Macroprudential Policy Survey and the IMF Bookstore.
a. AREAER Online is a database of currency regimes and exchange policies. Users can compare content since 1999 by report section, country and years and export to Word and Excel. The full reports from the first year of publication in 1950 can be found on eLibrary in Periodicals.
b. Macroprudential Policy Survey is a database of member policies and actions to control systemic risk.
c. IMF Data provides updated content for International Financial Statistics, Balance of Payments, Direction of Trade and Government Finance Statistics, and more.
5. Keyword search is always available at the top right of each page, with an option for Advanced Search using additional criteria.
When you click on a title, you are taken to the publication landing page, where you will see a description of the content and have access to a variety of tools to help you use the content.
1. Read an abstract or full text online, as available.
2. Access Supplementary Materials such as online annexes and statistical appendixes.
3. Cited By lets you see if another author has cited the IMF publication you are reading.
4. Get basic information about the publication, such as ISBN, authors, publication date, number of pages and abstract.
5. Download full text in PDF or ePub formats, as available. All publications are available in PDF. Online reading and ePub options are not always available, depending upon character set and document age.
6. Find versions of the publication in other languages, if available.
7. Search within a publication or navigate the series, if journal content.
8. Clicking on the cover image will take you one level up; for journals, to the Series parent page.
If you are reading online, there are some additional features that can be helpful:
1. Move forward or backward in the publication by article or chapter.
2. Download the pdf of the article or chapter.
3. The DOI is specific to the article or chapter.
4. If you highlight online text (hold left mouse button and drag over the section of interest and then release), an ANNOTATE button will appear. Click on the button and a pop-up window will show you the content selected with an option to add comments and save. Annotations are saved in your personal account and, when signed in, a saved annotation will take you back to that specific section of the document.
5. The vertical blue bar lets you use content easily.
a) Printing is unrestricted.
b) You can save (bookmark) the publication to access quickly in the future (sign-in to personal account required).
c) All major citation engines are supported for easy attribution.
d) You can set an alert to be notified if this publication is cited by another author (sign-in to personal account required).
e) Share content using social media or e-mail.
6. View the publication information. Clicking on the cover image will take you one level up to the publication landing page.
7. Headings lets you navigate the sections of the article or chapter. References are included in Headings and are integrated with Google Scholar and have citation support.
8. Figures provide a listing of all images and graphics in the article or chapter. These can be exported in bulk or downloaded by figure as images or Powerpoint slides.
9. Metrics let you see the impact of the article or chapter.
On IMF eLibrary, you can read or download without a personal account, but if you want to save searches, bookmark publications or set alerts, you will need to set one up. If you want to download data from the statistical data portal, you will need to have a personal account and be signed in. You only need to set up one personal account to use functionality on any IMF site and your sign-in stays with you as you move to various IMF sites.
You can set up an account by clicking on Sign In on the upper right corner of the home page. Then click on Register User Name at the bottom right of the next page. Fill in your information on the IMF eLibrary Signup form and click Submit. The system will send a message to your e-mail with a link for you verify the account.
When you have signed in successfully, you will see your name and My eLibrary at the top right of all pages. Click on My eLibrary and you will be able to see and edit your personal content selections. You can bookmark publications, save searches, create annotations and set alerts from any content page using the icons in the vertical blue bar. In My eLibrary you can see everything you’ve set up and edit your preferences. Simply click on any saved selection and you will be taken to the content that you saved.
Library and Administrator Support
IMF eLibrary updates metadata on a monthly basis. Metadata is provided in Excel and a variety of MARC formats and can be downloaded directly from the Metadata page in the Resources section. IMF eLibrary is also integrated with most discovery and management tools from third parties, including Ebsco, OCLC and Proquest.