Find It? (also known as SFX )

General Information

Access Issues

Why are there multiple options for full text for some journals?

Help

General Information

What does Find It do?

Find It provides direct links from a database citation to the full text of a subscribed journal article or other full-text resource, if available. Click on the Find It button to view the list of access options and services, including direct full-text access, availability of print format, and interlibrary loan options.

Who can use Find It?

Since Find It is integrated into our databases, all Georgia State University users (faculty, staff, and students) have access.

How can Find It help me?

When you find an article citation in the database you are searching, you can click on the Find It button to see if the full text is available. You don't have to initiate additional searches yourself—Find It does the work for you!

How is Find It accessed?

Find It is accessed through our databases that have been “Find It-enabled.” Within these databases, individual records will have an Find It button. Clicking on this button will open a window with a menu of links to available access and/or service options.

What are the links provided by Find It?
The links vary from citation to citation, depending on the options we can provide for that particular article or resource. When available, Find It will link to one or more of the following:

• full text of the article, if available
• an automatic search of GIL, the GSU online catalog, to see if the item is owned by the Library
• an ILLiad (interlibrary loan) request form, to request the article if we do not have access to a print or electronic copy
• a link to Ask a Librarian for help via chat or e-mail, or to find out how to get help via telephone or in person

Why does the number of links in the Find It window vary?

Find It is able to analyze a citation and determine which access options/services are available for it. The resulting Find It window displays links for only those options/services which are available for the citation supplied. There will be different links for every citation.

Why is the full text not always available?
The option to link to full text is shown on the Find It menu when the Library has subscribed to the electronic version of the particular journal. If the option to link to full text is not on the menu, then the Library does not offer the full text for the particular title, or the title (or the particular volume/issue you need) may not be available in full text. (Older issues are often not available in electronic format; very recent issues may not yet be loaded on the publisher's site.) If a full-text link is not shown, be sure to check the GIL catalog link to see if the journal title is available in print form in the University Library.

Will Find It get me to all the electronic journals that The University Library subscribes to?
No, some journals are not yet OpenURL compliant and we cannot link to them with Find It. More journals will become OpenURL compliant in the future and will then be added to the knowledge base that drives Find It.

What is the technology behind Find It?

Find It is powered by a product called SFX, from the company Ex Libris.

From the SFX website: SFX is a context-sensitive link server from Ex Libris that allows context-sensitive linking between Web resources in the scholarly information environment. SFX is OpenURL-compliant, in that it accepts an OpenURL as input from an Information Resource known as an SFX source. An SFX server facilitates the management of a library's interlinked electronic collection, by providing libraries with an independent means of enabling seamless interconnectivity among their ever-increasing collections of heterogeneous resources.

The SFX system requires a resource to generate an OpenURL. An OpenURL consists of an HTTP request and delivery of metadata about a reference to a third party target. SFX works as a link server, sitting between the resource and the target. The SFX server accepts the metadata from the OpenURL, parses (or analyzes) it, and dynamically creates a link to the target services available for that particular object. If the institution has a subscription to electronic full text (called a target) for the citation, that link will be created. The link will only be created if: an electronic version of the article exists somewhere AND the library has a subscription to that journal issue. Depending on the capabilities of the target, a link may be created to the actual article, issue, or journal level. For this to work the resource needs to be able to create an OpenURL, and the target needs to be able to accept one. Therefore, not all abstracting and indexing databases will work with SFX, nor will all full-text journals. There's more information about SFX on Ex Libris’s web site: http://www.sfxit.com/.

Access Issues

Why are there multiple options for full text for some journals?
Our holdings for electronic journals overlap at some points, so for some titles, Find It will provide you with links for multiple full-text options. When presented with multiple full-text links for the same citation, the content should be the same regardless of which link you select.

Why do some full-text links take me only to the journal homepage?

Find It is set-up to navigate as close to the full text as it can. Sometimes Find It does not have enough information to point directly to the full text, and sometimes the vendor does not enable Find It to link directly at the article level—only to the journal’s home page, or to the table of contents. When this occurs, you may have to navigate through the journal web site to find the article you are looking for.

Can I use Find It services from off campus?
Yes. As a GSU Panthercard holder, you can use the Find It-enabled databases when off-campus by selecting either the databases link or the e-journals link from the Library's main webpage at http://www.library.gsu.edu, then signing in with your Panther ID and last name. After you have signed in, you can choose the resources you need, and the Find It buttons will work properly.

Why can't I find Find It links in the database I'm using?

First, check to make sure the database is Find It-enabled (see the list of all Find It-enabled databases). Not all databases are currently Find It-enabled, but the University Library will continue to enable new resources as we add new databases and as existing databases become OpenURL compliant.

If the database is Find It-enabled, then the Find It button should appear. If you do not see the Find Itbutton in an Find It-enabled database, it could be that you have JavaScript disabled in your browser. Re-enable JavaScript to correct the problem.

• To re-enable JavaScript in Netscape, select EDIT, then PREFERENCES from the menu bar. Under ADVANCED, select ENABLE JAVASCRIPT. Click OK. Click on RELOAD to see the changed results.
• To re-enable JavaScript in Internet Explorer 5, select INTERNET OPTIONS from the TOOLS menu. Within the INTERNET OPTIONS window, select the SECURITY tab, then click on CUSTOM LEVEL. Scroll to JAVA PERMISSIONS and click to select HIGH SAFETY. Click OK to close the SECURITY SETTINGS window, then click OK again to close the INTERNET OPTIONS window.
• To re-enable JavaScript in Firefox, select TOOLS, then OPTIONS, from the menu bar. Within the WEB FEATURES window, select ENABLE JAVASCRIPT. Then click OK to close the window.

Relaunch the browser to ensure the changes have taken effect.

Another possibility is that you need to clear your computer's cache. In Netscape, go to Edit/Preferences/Advanced/Cache and clear the memory and disk cache. In IE, select Tools/Internet Options and then under the General tab, select delete temporary Internet files. In Firefox, select Tools/Options and then under the Privacy menu, click the Clear button beside the Cache option.

What does a "bad URL,” an "Error 404," or other "not found" message mean?
In Find It, links are generated according to algorithms that represent our best knowledge of how to link to the resources in question. It is possible that a link may be wrong, or it may be out-of-date because a publisher has made changes to its site. We'd like to know about any problems you encounter so that we can correct them. Click here to report problems.

Why is an error message given after the Find It link to full text opens the publisher's site?
These error messages can mean that full text exists at the publisher's site, but the Find It-generated URL wasn't accepted. (In this case you may be able to navigate through the publisher's site to your article.) In some cases, the full text you need is no longer available at the site, but Find It doesn't have this information. If this is the case, you will not be able to access full text because it no longer is available from this resource. Please let us know about problems you encounter, so we can try to resolve them!

Why didn't the full text link lead me to my article?
There are several possible reasons why the article is missing:

• Sometimes the article citation appears in a database before the publisher has made the full text available.
• The publisher or author is withholding or placing an “embargo” on the full text of this article within the particular database.
• Find It uses the citation information (volume, issue, and page number) to attempt to link directly to the article. If there is a typographical error in the citation, Find It cannot find the article.

Please let us know about any missing full-text articles. Then, check to see if Find It displays at link to the GIL Catalog for the paper version, or check the E-Journal Locator at http://www.library.gsu.edu/ejournals/ to see if we have online access to the journal.

Why are there multiple windows?
When you click on the Find It link, a window is generated to display the Find It menu. This window displays all the options/services available for the article. When you select one of those services, a third window is generated—the window in which all activities generated from the Find It window take place. You can resize the windows to suit your viewing preferences. Sometimes windows are hidden behind other windows. Use "Alt+Tab" to easily navigate among the windows. Each window will stay open until you close it. Close only your Find It windows and not your (original) search window.

Why doesn't anything happen when I click on the Find It link?
If you are using the Google toolbar or other pop-up blocker, it will stop the browser from opening pop-up windows. You will need to disable this software to allow Find It to function.

Why did my session “time-out” while using Find It?
The session will time-out according to the parameters of the database (For example, FirstSearch databases time-out after 15 minutes of inactivity). If you are viewing full text via an Find It window, the database will consider this inactivity. You need to stay aware of the time, or the database session may close and you will lose your search.

Why doesn't anything happen when I make a second selection from
This problem is limited to Internet Explorer. When you first click on an option in the Find It menu, IE opens a secondary browser window on top of your open windows. For your next selection, the secondary browser window may appear below or behind the current window. You can drag the secondary browser window to another portion of your screen so it's not blocked by the Find It menu, or you can use Firefox or Netscape as your browser while accessing Find It. the Find It menu?

Help

How can I learn more about Find It?
Find It is another name for the SFX link server that the University Library has licensed from Ex Libris (USA) Inc. There is more information about SFX on their web site: http://www.sfxit.com/. Also, Cal Tech has produced an Executive Summary on SFX. Information on the Open URL system is available here from Ex Libris.

Where can I get research help?
Use the "Ask a Librarian" link on the Find It menu to ask for help with choosing a database or searching for information/resources . If you are in the library, you can also ask for assistance at the Information Desk.

How can I make a comment about Find It or report a problem?
Click here to send an email to library staff.

Please be sure to let us know when you encounter difficulty with Find It. If you have other questions or concerns, please send them via email to libref@langate.gsu.edu or call the Research Support Desk at 404-413-2800.