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What
does SFX do?
SFX provides a direct
link from a database citation to the full text of a subscribed journal
article or other full text resource, if available. Simply click on the SFX button  to view the list of access options which currently include: direct full text access and library availability in print format. |
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Who
can use SFX?
Since SFX is integrated into
our databases, all University of Georgia users (faculty, staff, and students) have
access.
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How
can SFX help me?
When you find an
article citation in the database you are searching, you can click on
the SFX button to see if the full text is available. You don't
have to initiate additional searches yourself as SFX does the work for
you.
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How
is SFX accessed?
SFX is accessed through our databases that have been
'SFX-enabled'. Within these databases, individual records will have an SFX
button. In the few databases not able to display a button image, a text
SFX link appears instead.
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Can I use SFX services from off campus?
Yes. As a UGA cardholder, you can access the SFX-enabled databases when off-campus by selecting the GALILEO Databases link on the UGA Libraries' main webpage at http://www.libs.uga.edu . After you sign on with the GALILEO password, you can pick the resources needed, and the SFX buttons will work properly in the SFX-enabled databases.
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What
are the access options provided by SFX?
The options vary
from citation to citation, depending on the options we can provide for
that particular article or resource. Currently, SFX links to
the following:
As more options are activated, SFX will eventually link to:
- table of contents of the issue of the journal in which that article appears
- an Interlibrary Loan request form to request the article if we do not have access to a print or electronic copy
- a link to comment on SFX or to report a problem
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Will
SFX get me to all the electronic journals that the University of Georgia subscribes to?
No, some journals
are not yet openURL compliant and we cannot link to them with SFX. More
journals will become openURL compliant in the future and will then be
added to the SFX server. Also, our Electronic Journal Locator at
http://www.libs.uga.edu/ejournals provides a comprehensive list of e-journals that UGA patrons can access.
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What
is the technology behind SFX?
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 their web site: http://www.sfxit.com.
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Why
is the full text option not available via an SFX link when the library
catalog has a link to electronic access?
SFX draws
upon a database that tells the link server when a journal is available
electronically. It is possible that a title still needs to be added
to this database. Please use the GIL catalog link in the meantime to
access the journal. Please
let us know if you discover
there is full text access for a journal or article that does not show up on the SFX menu.
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Why
do I get only the "View Table of Contents" or "View Abstract" options for some titles?
The option to link
to full text is shown on the SFX menu when the Libraries have subscribed
to the full text of the particular journal. If the option to link to
full text is not on the menu, then the Libraries do not license the
full text for the particular title, or the title (or the particular
volume/issue you need) may not be available in full text. The Table
of Contents or abstract may, however, provide additional information
you can use. If the 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 UGA Libraries collection.
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Why
are there multiple options for full text for some journals?
For most journals,
we have full text access from the publisher site. Some publishers also
have agreements with intermediary full text providers (such as EBSCO
Online) that provide us with full text access. Sometimes the full text
is also available in an article database such as Proquest or Lexis/Nexis.
Therefore, for some titles, we have full text access through several
options. With SFX, we provide all the options available. This redundant
coverage is particularly useful as a 'back-up' when one access point
is temporarily unavailable.
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Why
do some full text links take you to the journal homepage (or Table of
Contents or article abstract) and not the full text of the specific article?
SFX is set-up to
navigate as 'close' to the full text as it can. This is dependent on
the structure of the publisher's site and their "link-to" syntax. Some
publishers only allow linking to the journal level, others to the Table
of Contents, others to the full text of the article itself. This varies
from site to site. The full text link in SFX means that full text is available
-- but you may have to navigate through the publisher's web site to
get to the article you are looking for.
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Why
did I get 'no matches' when I clicked on the GIL Catalog link?
The UGA
Libraries do not subscribe to all the titles indexed in our databases.
A second search in the GIL catalog, by title of the journal or book,
might find it. Because of differences in cataloging and/or indexing
processes, the SFX search will sometimes 'miss' materials that the University of Georgia
does own. For example, this may occur if we have a different edition
of a book.
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Why
can't I find SFX links in the database I'm using?
Not
all databases are currently SFX-enabled, but the UGA Libraries will
continue to enable new resources as we add new databases and as existing
databases become OpenURL compliant.
If the database is SFX-enabled,
then the SFX icon displays on each individual citation page. If the links
do not appear, it could be that you have JavaScript disabled in your
browser. If it's turned off, the buttons will not appear. Re-enable
JavaScript to correct the problem.
To reenable 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 OK again to close the INTERNET
OPTIONS window. Relaunch the browser to ensure the changes have taken
effect.
To reenable 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.
Another possibility is that
you need to clear your computer's cache. In IE, select Tools/Internet Options
and then under the General tab, select delete temporary Internet files.
In Netscape, go to Edit/Preferences/Advanced/Cache and clear the memory and disk cache.
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What
does a "bad URL," "Error 404," or other "not found" message
mean?
In SFX,
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. Please click here
to report problems.
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Why
is an error message given after the SFX 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 SFX
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 the SFX server doesn't
have this information - you will not be able to access full text in this
case because it no longer is available from this resource. Please let
us know about problems you encounter, so we can try to resolve them!
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Why
didn't the full text link lead me to my article?
There are
several possible reasons why the article is missing: (1) Sometimes the
article citation appears in a database before the publisher has made
the full text available. (2) The publisher or author is withholding
or placing an 'embargo' on the full text of this article within the
particular database. (3) SFX 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, SFX cannot find the
article.
Please
let us know about any missing articles. Then, search the GIL Catalog
from the SFX menu to see if the Libraries have the paper version or check our Electronic Journal Locator
at
http://www.libs.uga.edu/ejournals to see if we have online access to the journal.
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Why
are there multiple windows?
When you click
on the SFX link, an SFX window is generated to display the SFX menu.
This window displays all the services available for the article. When
you select one of those services, a third window is generated - this
is the window in which all activities generated from the SFX window
take place. Remember that 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 SFX windows and not your (original)
search window.
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Why did my session 'time-out' while using SFX?
The session will time out according to the parameters of the database. (For example, First Search databases time-out after 15 minutes of inactivity.) If you are viewing full text via an SFX 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.
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Why doesn't anything happen when I make a second selection from the SFX menu?
This problem is limited to Internet Explorer. When you first click on an option in the SFX 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 SFX menu, or you can use Netscape as your browser while accessing SFX.
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Why
doesn't anything happen when I click on the
SFX link?
If the Google toolbar or other pop-up blocking software is installed on the computer you are using, it will stop the browser from opening new windows. You will need to
disable this software to allow SFX to function, as the SFX system utilizes
pop-up windows.
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How
can I learn more about SFX?
SFX is a link server
that the University of Georgia Libraries 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 at http://www.sfxit.com/openurl/openurl.html |
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How
can I make a comment about SFX or report a problem?
Click here
to send an e-mail to library staff.
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SFX is a fairly new technology,
and therefore we can expect to encounter some problems as we initiate
this service. Please be sure to let us know when you encounter difficulty
with SFX. If you have other questions or concerns, please send them
via e-mail or call
the Main Library Reference Desk at 542-0633.
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