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Find it! FAQ Article Linking

What is Find it?

Find It! is a database management tool. Find It provides links from a citation in a database to the full text of that article, when it is available, and to other helpful resources and services -- such as the catalog. It is a quick way to find out whether the Stout Library has the online full text of an article.

Find it! enabled resources will display a Find it! button or the words SFX. Sometimes the vendor who supplies the database will allow us to use a customized button and it will look like this:

Sometimes the vendor who supplies the database isn't set up to handle customized buttons and will use a default button that looks like this:

When you see Find it! or SFX in an electronic resource, you will simply click on the button or the text to see a menu of options for the citation. These options include:

• Links that will lead you to the full text of an article, or to a screen where you can search for the full text of the article regardless of the content provider

• Automated searching of the library catalog for our print or electronic holdings

• Links to an Interlibrary Loan Request Form (ILLiad) for items that are not full text or available in the Stout Library

• Find it! works very much like the "linking to full text" features we currently have set up for our indexing and abstracting databases. However, it will be better because it will provide many of the possibilities on one screen so that you don't have to jump from database to database searching for the links to full text. On that same menu it will also provide links to the Stout Library Catalog and Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad) to request articles that we don't have.

SFX stands for special effects and is a linking technology licensed by Ex Libris.

Who can use Find it?

Members of the UW-Stout Community can currently use Find it!.

Why don't I see any buttons?

The most likely cause is that you have JavaScript disabled in your browser. If it's turned off, the buttons will not appear. Re-enable JavaScript and everything should be fine. Also some databases do not display the Find it! button if an article is full text within the database that is searched.

Why do the Find it! buttons look different in each database?

Unfortunately, the Library does not always have control over the final look of the SFX logo. We work with SFX and specific database vendors to make things appear as clearly as possible for our users.

Why do I sometimes get a "bad URL", a"Error 404", or some other "not found" message?

A number of problems may have occurred. Find it! is a work in progress. Links are generated on the fly according to algorithms that represent the best knowledge available of how to link to the resources in question. Sometimes the links may be wrong, or they may be out-of-date because a publisher has made changes to its site.

Why didn't I get a full-text link for my article?

There are three likely reasons: (1) there is no full-text version available (either for that journal or for specific [usually older] volumes of it), (2) the Stout Library does not have a license for access to full-text for that journal, or (3) very recent articles may not yet be loaded on the publisher's web site.

Why are there two options for full-text for some journals?

Normally, we subscribe to full-text access from the publisher, and that's the only link you'll find. However, some publishers have signed contracts with intermediary full-text providers, and that's the access we offer. When both cases apply, you'll find that you have both options for access. If one of these services happens to be down when you're working, the other service is likely to be available.

I clicked on the database link in the Find it! menu, and it appears that Find it! has all the information that's needed, but I only got to the journal's home page (or the table of contents for the journal issue, or the abstract). Why?

Find it! will get you as close to the full-text as it can, given the structure of the publisher's site and how predictable the "link-to" syntax for the resource is. Sometimes you'll go straight to the full-text; sometimes the best Find it! can do is to take you to the table of contents or the journal's home page, and you'll have to navigate the publisher's site yourself after that to get to the full-text. Essentially, a full-text link in Find it! means that full-text is available -- but you may have to do some of the work of getting to it yourself.

When I go back to make a second selection from the Find it! window, nothing seems to happen. What gives?

This problem is limited to Internet Explorer. When you first click on an option in the Find it! window, IE opens a secondary browser window on top of your open windows. However, when you make another selection, that secondary browser window does not get promoted to the top again. One solution is to drag the secondary browser window to another portion of your screen so it's not blocked by the Find it! window. However, it could still be blocked by any other window (including the original search window, if you've moved it to the top), so you may occasionally have to go looking for it.

Another solution, of course, is to use Netscape or some other browser.

Why are there multiple windows?

When you click on the Find it! button, a window is generated, listing all the services available for that article. When you select one of those services, a third window is generated, and it remains the window in which all activities generated from the Find it! window take place. Unless the Target service also spawns additional windows, there will only be three windows open for any article you're looking at.

Why does the number of options in the Find it! window vary?

When you click on the Find it! button, the system runs through the UW-Stout Library SFX database to see what services are available for the volume of the journal in which you found the article. What displays, then, are only those services which are available for that volume of that title.

Can I use Find it! services from off campus?

Yes. You can connect to Find it! via the Proxy Server. If you go to "Remote Access Instructions" http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/remote/ and follow the directions for remote access you will be able to use the Find it! service.

I am having trouble finding what I need. Where can I get some research help?

Just click on the Ask-A-Librarian button for help. You can send an email message to Stout librarians and we will try to answer your questions. Librarians check Reference Email during scheduled reference hours.

• UW-Stout University Library
• 315 Tenth Ave.
• Menomonie, WI 54751

• 715-232-1215
• Fax: 715-232-1783
• Toll-Free: 1-800-787-8688

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