FAQ LILACS Database
The LILACS database, which stands for Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences, is a specialized bibliographic index with scientific and technical production in Health Sciences published by institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
It is a free-access database, without the need for a subscription, coordinated by BIREME/PAHO/WHO and maintained by a network of national and thematic coordinators, journal editors, and cooperating centers that make up the LILACS Network.
It contains more than one million documents from 30 countries, with about 70% linked to full texts. The types of documents accepted include:
- Books and book chapters
- Papers published in conference or symposium proceedings
- Technical-scientific reports
- Government documents
- Doctoral theses or highest degree theses in all areas of Health Sciences
- Master’s dissertations in Public Health and Nursing
- Articles from journals indexed in LILACS;
- Other documents in accordance with the Document Selection Guide for the LILACS Database.
Category: LILACS Database
LILACS is the main and most comprehensive database specializing in scientific and technical health literature published in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The Regional Portal of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) is a portal that integrates over 50 databases available for research, so LILACS is one of the databases included in the Portal.
Category: LILACS Database
LILACS is a cooperative database of the BIREME System that comprises literature related to Health Sciences published in Latin American and Caribbean countries. SciELO is an electronic library that includes a selected collection of Brazilian scientific journals.
LILACS and the Latin American and Caribbean System of Information on Health Sciences (LILACS Network) are the methodology and system of origin for SciELO. Therefore, there is compatibility in the criteria for journal selection, data format, and technologies between both initiatives. Consequently, health and psychology journals and documentation from Latin American and Caribbean countries included in SciELO are accepted in the LILACS collection and are automatically harvested by BIREME when data is available via OAI-PMH or FTP (LILACS-Express Initiative).
Category: LILACS Database
No, the LILACS dhttps://lilacs.bvsalud.org/en/atabase is free to access. Simply go to LILACS and search using the search box.
Category: LILACS Database
The LILACS database is freely accessible online through its official portal: https://lilacs.bvsalud.org
Category: LILACS Database
The operation of the LILACS database involves:
- LILACS Methodology: This includes a set of policies, systems, and workflows that ensure the consistency and quality of bibliographic records. This encompasses everything from data collection to thematic indexing and publication of literature in a search interface.
- LILACS Network: Health institutions in the region collaborate to collect, describe, and index documents using the LILACS Methodology. Additionally, recognized institutions lead the identification of priority topics, coordination of assessment and selection of journals, management, and training of the cooperation network. BIREME/PAHO/WHO acts as the regional coordinating center.
- Access: The database is accessible for free through the LILACS portal, allowing searches for documents such as journal articles, theses, monographs, technical reports, and more.
Category: LILACS Database
The LILACS thematic areas are fields of knowledge considered priorities for the health of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean and have had their collections developed prominently within the LILACS database.
The coordinators of LILACS thematic areas are responsible for the leadership, development, and management of the collection and the collaborative network for the LILACS database and their own thematic databases. They are responsible for forming specific committees for the evaluation and selection of scientific journals and managing the collaborative network.
Coordination of Nursing
- Dr. Francisco Félix Lana
- Coordinator of the VHL Nursing
- Federal University of Minas Gerais
- Contact: BR21.2
Coordination of Dentistry
- Lúcia Maria Sebastiana Verônica da Costa Ramos
- Coordinator of the VHL Dentistry
- University of São Paulo
- Contact: BR97.1
The field of Psychology was previously a thematic area of LILACS. However, currently, the coordination of the Brazilian network and BIREME/PAHO/WHO have assumed the coordination and perform the bibliographic control, network management, and journal evaluation for this area.
For questions about the evaluation and selection of journals for LILACS, please contact us.
Category: LILACS Database
Most of the documentation recorded in the LILACS database already has a link to the full text directly in the detailed record of the search interface.
For older or printed documentation, you should contact the library indicated in the document’s location in the record.
If the document you want to access is a journal article, contact us and request support.
If you cannot identify the library by the Cooperating Center (CC) code, search for the code in the VHL Network Directory.
Category: LILACS Database
No. Only articles published after the journal has been accepted for indexing in the database are available. LILACS includes only articles that contain scientific and technical discussion. Editorials that merely present the journal’s content, news, and non-scientific content are not included.
In the case of journals with selective indexing, only health-related articles are indexed.
Category: LILACS Database
No. Starting in 2013, it was established that all journals indexed in LILACS must provide free and open access to all articles included in the database. However, articles from journals indexed before 2013 may not have full-text links available.
Category: LILACS Database
The LILACS database is updated daily by members of the LILACS Network, and BIREME/PAHO/WHO performs automated data collections and uploads monthly.
Category: LILACS Database
Processing and publication of references take two days to complete.
Category: LILACS Database
BIREME/PAHO/WHO no longer maintains a physical collection of journal issues. The previous collection was donated to the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp).
Category: LILACS Database
