Home > Administrative Offices > Odum Library > Library Help > How to Research, Evaluate Sources, and Cite > GALILEO Find It Overview >
GALILEO Find It Frequently Asked Questions
GALILEO Find It Frequently Asked Questions
- What does Find It do?
- Who can use Find It?
- How can Find It help me?
- How is Find It accessed?
- What are the access options provided by Find It?
- Why does the number of options in the Find It Services window vary?
- Why is the full text not always available?
- Will Find It get me to all the electronic journals that Valdosta subscribes to?
- What is the technology behind Find It?
- Why is the full text option not available via a Find It button when the library catalog has al ink to electronic access?
- Why do I get only the "View Table of Contents" or "View Abstract" options - and not a 'full text' option - for some titles?
- Why are there multiple options for full text for some journals?
- Why do some 'full text' links take one to the journal web site (or journal Table of Contents or article abstract) and not the full text?
- Why did I get 'no hits' when I selected the GIL Catalog link(s)?
- Can I use Find It from off campus?
- Why don't I see Find It links in the GALILEO database I selected?
- What does a "bad URL", an "Error 404", or some other "not found" message mean?
- Why is an error message displayed after the Find It button to full text opens the journal publisher's site?
- Why didn't the full text link lead me to my article?
- Why are there multiple windows?
- Why doesn't anything happen - or any windows open - when I select the Find It button?
- Why did my session 'time-out' while using Find It?
- When doesn't anything happen when I make a second selection from the Find It service menu?
- How can I learn more about Find It?
- Where can I get help using Find It?
- Where can I get more research help?
- How can I make a comment about Find It or report a Find it problem?
In reviewing a GALILIEO database search result list of bibliographic records, selecting the Find It button will display the Find It Services window that may include online full text links to immediately accesible electronic journals, GIL@VSU and Universal Catalog links to check for print library holdings, and the ILL-Odum Express ILLiad logon link to request (InterLibrary Loan / Document Delivery) for items not owned by the library.
Since Find It is integrated into the GALILEO@VSU databases, all Valdosta State University users (faculty, staff, and students) have access. GALILEO Off-campus Tip: Use Anywhere Access or log on with Valdosta's GALILEO password when not on campus.
When you find an article citation in the GALILEO database you are searching, you can select the Find It button 
or in some databases, the Find It text link to see if the full text is immediately available online. You don't have to initiate additional searches yourself, Find It does the work for you!
Find It is accessed through GALILEO databases that are "Find It-enabled." Within these databases, after entering a search term or phrase, the Find It button appears by the bibliographic records in the search results list. Selecting the Find It button will open a service window with a menu of links to available full text online and/or other library service options, such as checking the GIL Catalog for print library holdings or placing an ILL - Odum Express ILLiad request for items not owned by the library.
5. What are the access options provided by Find It?
The options vary from citation to citation. When available, Find It will link to one or more of the following:
- Online full text of the article, if available
- In lieu of full text, the table of contents of the issue of the journal in which that article appears or an article abstract may appear online
- Automated search of the GIL@VSU Catalog, to see if the item is owned by Valdosta State University
- Automated search of the GIL Universal Library Catalog, appropriate for book titles that may be eligible for GIL Express Request delivery
- Interlibrary Loan (ILL) ILL - Odum Express logon to request the article or book, if the library does not have access to a print or electronic copy
6. Why does the number of options in the Find It Service 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 library options and services which are available for the identified citation. Thus from citation to citation, the Find It service window links may vary.
7. Why is the full text not always available?
The option to link to online 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 online 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 online. (Older issues are often not available in electronic format; very recent issues may not yet be loaded on the publisher's site.) If an online full text link is not shown, be sure to select the GIL catalog link to determine whether the library has available print holdings, before placing an ILL - Odum Express ILLiad InterLibrary Loan request.
8. Will Find It get me to most, but not all the electronic journals that Valdosta subscribes to?
Yes, most electronic journals are Open URL compliant and contain the metadata necessary for Find It to work. However a few electronic journals aren't Open URL compliant yet and thus can't be entered into the Find It knowledge base list of titles. When a library electronic journal subscription becomes Open URL compliant, it is added to the Find It knowledge base list.
9. What is the technology behind Find It?
Find It is powered by the SFX scholarly linking product from Ex Libris, a Software as a Service (SassS) company.
The following is a descriptive quote from the Ex Libris company web site, "SFX provides users with context-sensitive links to article full text and other library-defined resources including the online public access catalog (OPAC) local holdings, preferred document-delivery suppliers, related Web-based resources and services, local information repositories, and a range of other service."
The SFX system requires a resource to generate an Open URL. An Open URL consists of an HTTP link request and delivery of metadata about a bibliographic citation to a third party target. SFX works as a link server, sitting between the GALILEO database resource and the target. The GALILEO SFX Find It server accepts the metadata from the Open URL, parses (or analyzes) it, and dynamically creates a link to the target library services available for that particular citation. If the library has a subscription to online full text for the citation, that target link will be created in a Find It Service window. 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 database resource being searched needs to be able to create an Open URL link and the target needs to be able to accept an Open URL link.
Since Open URLis a standard, resources are often described as compliant or non-compliant. Those abstracting and indexing databases and online journals which are not Open URL compliant will not work with SFX Find It. There's more information about SFX on Ex Libris’s web site: http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/category/SFXOverview.
Find It Troubleshooting / Access Issues:1. Why is the full text option not available via a Find It button when the library catalog has a link to electronic access?
Find It draws upon a knowledge base title list that tells the link server when a journal is available electronically. It is possible that a title still needs to be added to the knowledge base list. When in doubt, do not hesitate to use the alternative Electronic Journals Title List or GIL@VSU Catalog links. Please let us know if you discover there is full text online access, but it does not show up in the Find It-enabled database.
2. Why do I get only the "View Table of Contents" or "View Abstract" options - and not a 'full text' option - for some titles?
The option to link to full text is shown on the Find It menu when the Library has subscribed to the full text of the particular journal. If the option to link to full text is not on the menu, then the Library does 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 select the GIL@VSU Catalog link to see if the library has print holdings, before proceeding to the ILL - Odum Express ILLiad logon link to place an Interlibrary Loan request.
3. Why are there multiple options for full text for some journals?
Library holdings for electronic journals overlap at some points. So for some titles, the Find It service window will contain multiple full text links. As due to licensing agreements, the specific year you desire may be available from one provider, but not another. When presented with multiple full text links for the same citation, the content should be the same regardless of which link you select. This redundant coverage is also particularly useful as a 'back-up' when one access point is temporarily unavailable.
4. Why do some 'full text' links take one to the journal web site (or journal Table of Contents or article abstract) and not the full text?
Find It 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 Find It 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.
5. Why did I get 'no hits' when I selected the GIL Catalog link(s)?
The Valdosta State University Library does not subscribe to all the titles indexed in our databases. While the library subscribes to many online journals, some journal subscriptions are for the print format only. A search in the GIL@VSU Catalog, by title for the journal or book, might yield results in the library's print collection. However because of differences in cataloging and/or indexing processes, the Find It search will sometimes 'miss' materials that Valdosta State does own. For example, this may occur if the library has a different edition of a book. Once a GIL@VSU Catalog title is unsuccessful, remember your next option is to select the Interlibrary Loan ILL - Odum Express ILLiad logon link to generate a request for the item. Tip: Book titles found in the GIL Universal Library Catalog can be obtained faster through GIL Express than InterLibrary Loan.
6. Can I use Find It from off campus?
Yes, if you belong to the Valdosta State University community of students, staff, and faculty. You can use the Find It-enabled databases when off-campus by accessing GALILEO from Anywhere Access or logging in with Valdosta's GALILEO password. At that point, you can pick the resources needed, and the Find It buttons will work properly in the Find It-enabled databases.
7. Why don't I see Find It links in the GALILEO database I selected?
There are several possible reasons:
- If you are using a database that is Find It-enabled, the most likely cause is that JavaScript is disabled in the browser. If JavaScript is turned off, thebutton will not appear. Re-enable JavaScript by following the instructions found on the Internet Web Browsers Tutorial by the VSU IT Helpdesk.
- Some databases use something other than the familiar button to indicate Find It linking. For example, to locate the full text of an article when using Chemical Abstracts SciFinder Scholar, selecting the Full Text link may result in a Find It services window.
- In some cases, the database isn't Open URL compliant and thus the Find It link isn't present.
8. What does a "bad URL", an "Error 404", or some 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. Please use the Web Site Comment/Broken Link Form to report encountered Find It problems. Library staff would like to be alerted to any problems you encounter so that the problem can be corrected.
9. Why is an error message displayed after the Find It button to full text opens the journal 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 the Find It 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. So Please use the Web Site Comment/Broken Link Form to report encountered Find It problems. Library staff would like to be alerted to any problems you encounter so that the problem can be corrected.
10. 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 (bibliographic record) 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 specified article.
Please let us know about any missing articles. Then, search the VSU GIL Catalog from the Find It Services window to see if the library has print holdings. Once a GIL@VSU Catalog title is unsuccessful, remember your next option is to select the Interlibrary Loan ILL - Odum Express ILLiad logon link to generate a request for the item.
11. Why are there multiple windows?
When you select the Find It button link, a Find It service window is generated to display the Find It menu. When you select one of those menu links, a third target window is generated leading to the online full text, executing a GIL@VSU catalog title search, or leading to the ILL - Odum Express ILLiad log in for placing an InterLibrary Loan (ILL) request. 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 Find It windows and not your (original) database search window.
12. Why doesn't anything happen - or any windows open - when I select the Find It button?
If you are using a program such as Pop-up Zapper for Mac OS X or Pop-up Stopper they will stop the browser from opening pop-up windows. You will need to disable this software to allow Find It to function, as the Find It system utilizes pop-up windows. Pop-up window instructions are available in the Internet Web Browers Tutorial by the VSU IT Helpdesk.
13. Why did my session 'time-out' while using Find It?
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 a 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.
14. Why doesn't anything happen when I make a second selection from the Find It service menu?
This problem is limited to Internet Explorer. When you first select on an option in the Find It menu, Internet Explorer, IE, opens a secondary browser window on top of the open browser 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 Fire Fox as your browser when accessing GALILEO and Find It.
Find It Further Help:1. How can I learn more about Find It?
Find It was a part of the most recent GALILEO Upgrade as placed in production in March, 2008. There's more information about SFX on Ex Libris’s web site: http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/category/SFXOverview. Also, Cal Tech has produced an Executive Summary on Find It. The GALILEO Find It FAQ contains an Open URL definition and explanation.
2. Where can I get help using Find It?
Come by or call the Reference Desk (229-333-7149). You may also communicate with Live Chat.
3. Where can I get more research help?
Come by or call the Reference Desk (229-333-7149). You may also communicate with Live Chat or try Library Help for suggestions and aids.
4. How can I make a comment about Find It or report a Find it problem?
Please use the Web Site Comment/Broken Link Form to report encountered Find It problems. Library staff would like to be alerted to any Find It problems, so that the problem can be corrected.
Ask Us (Chat Now), Tell Us about the Library web site. This document last modified Tuesday, 10-Feb-2009 12:57:27 EST Staff