E-Resources @ USF Libraries

SFX problems resolved

The linking difficulty has been resolved. There should be no problems linking to your article from SFX. Please let a reference librarian know if you are having trouble. You can reach the Reference Librarians by email or chat, phone, or at the Information Commons Desk on the first floor. Check http://www.lib.usf.edu/public/index.cfm?Pg=AskaLibrarian for the options.

Welcome back!

Welcome to new and former students! We hope this will be an excellent semester for you. The E-resources blog was not updated over the holiday break, but as the Spring semester begins we will again bring you regular updates on new e-resources, and technical problems, should they occur.

The MetaLib portal will not change when the new library Web site becomes active. You will still access library databases as before. For new students, note the audiocast on using MetaLib under Tutorials in right-hand column of the page. We will bring you more tutorials as the semester progresses.

Please feel free to comment as the blog brings you new information about the e-resources available through USF Libraries. Good luck this Spring!

SFX links to Interlibrary Loan

SFX links you to the Full Text of an article. But what happens when there is no full text? First, you should check the catalog to see if we have the journal in print. If we don't, then there is another option: Interlibrary Loan through the ILLiad service.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) will get that article from another library. But you have to check that we don't have the print journal here. ILL won't get you an article if it is sitting on our shelves. Most of the time, the article will be obtained electronically and emailed to you within a few days. Sometimes, you may have to come to the library to pick up a photocopy.

SFX now contains a direct link to ILLiad that will populate the fields for you! First you should have an ILLiad account. Go ahead, sign up now so you will be ready when you need to get that article ASAP.

TO SIGN UP FOR ILLIAD:
Go to www.lib.usf.edu
Under Services, choose the "Interlibrary Loan" link.
Choose "First TIme User Log-on"
You will see a screen with a long list of regulations and FAQs. At the bottom is the link to continue. Once you agree, you will be asked to fill out a form with your contact information.
GREAT! Now you are ready to go!

Let's go back to SFX. When the full text is not available from USF, you will see the option to click into ILL. (Click the image to see it at full size.)

• When you click "go," this link will take you directly into ILLiad.
• You will need to log in with your account name and password.
  
• Then SFX will populate the fields for you.
• Just check it over and click "Submit."
• Your article should arrive in a couple of days to a week.

MetaLib Tutorial

Not user friendly! That was the comment most often used by those of you who participated in the MetaLib/SFX survey. So, we are working on ways to get our users better acquainted with the MetaLib and SFX services. In the right sidebar to this blog we have set up a list of tutorials for our e-resources. The first submission to this list is an audiocast explaining MetaLib. It is part of a series of audio files created to help you learn more about your library. Other tips can be found at http://www.lib.usf.edu/podcasts/. We plan to add other tutorials in the coming months. Let us know what you think!

SFX/MetaLib Survey Results

A few months back, we created a survey to get your opinions on proposed changes to the Find E-Journals (SFX) linking system. If you haven’t used SFX yet, SFX is the tool that allows you to link from a citation in one database to the full text in another.  This saves time because you don’t have to search in each and every one of our 500 subscription databases for your full text. One thing we learned is that you have a lot of ideas and suggestions about SFX and MetaLib. (MetaLib is the tool which allows you to find and enter a database). Not only do you have a lot of opinions, you want to talk about them. That’s why we have created the E-Resources @ USF Libraries blog, with the hope that you will comment and talk to us. To improve these tools, we need your help. Join us in the discussion of our electronic resources.

Survey Results

There were 207 respondents for this survey, with just over 50% of response coming from graduate students, followed by faculty, undergraduates, and other staff members.

Question 1 addressed the link to the State Universities of Florida within SFX. This link allows you to check if the materials can be found in another university in Florida. The response to Question 1 indicated that patrons are equally divided on the value of the State Universities link. To view the response in chart form, click here.

Question 2 asked whether the SFX link to WorldCat is useful. WorldCat is a catalog of items in libraries throughout the world. Response on this question was also divided equally between those who felt the link was helpful and those who did not. Click here for the response in chart form.

Question 3 asked about a proposed new button in SFX.  The switch to a new button was prompted by some confusion over the current SFX button.  We hoped to make the button more intuitive by adding the words, "Find It" and "USF". 

Of the choices presented, Option 1 was the winner. Sixty-one respondents marked Option 1 as their first choice.

Many respondents offered suggestions regarding improvement to SFX/Find E-journals and MetaLib/Find Databases. We hope to address and answer many of these suggestions in upcoming posts.