LibX @ EMU Library

LibX@EMU Library is a Firefox extension that helps you discover and connect to Eastern Michigan University Library resources.

Click here to install LibX Eastern Michigan University Library edition. [This extension works with the Firefox browser only (versions 1.5 or higher).]

LibX features:

Toolbar: The search window in the toolbar allows you to search

• the EMU Library catalog,
• the EMU Periodicals Locator (to identify if the EMU library has access to a specific magazine, journal, or newspaper), and
• Google Scholar.

The default is to search the EMU Library catalog (see above). The default search type is 'Keyword' but by clicking 'Keyword' you are offered alternate choices for searching the catalog: Title, Journal Title, Author, Subject, ISBN/ISSN, and Call Number.

More than one field can be searched at a time. Clicking the button following the LibX search window, i.e., , adds another search box. Each box can be set to search a different field, as demonstrated in the example below, i.e., Author - shakespeare & Title word - juliet.

You can choose to search either the EMU Periodicals Locator or Google Scholar by clicking the small black triangle following the 'Search EMU Library Catalog' button and selecting your search tool choice from the drop-down menu (see below).

Alternatively, you can highlight a word or phrase on a web page and then drag-and-drop the selected text into the search box on the toolbar, or directly onto the Google Scholar button on the right end of the toolbar (which will immediately run a Google Scholar search).

Search tip regarding Phrases: If you highlight a phrase, e.g., restaurant management, and right click to search it or drag-and-drop it into the LibX search box, the words in the phrase are searched as single words joined by "and" (restaurant and management).

To search an exact phrase, type or drag-and-drop selected text into the search box on the LibX toolbar and type quotes around the phrase, e.g., "restaurant management".

Right-click context menu: If you highlight text you want to search on a web page, clicking the right mouse button brings up a context menu that includes, among other things, a number of search choices.

Google Scholar support: LibX uses Google Scholar to search for books and articles. How do you initiate such a search? Highlight a citation or relevant text on any web page (including pdf-formatted documents open in Firefox), and then either drag-and-drop the text onto the Scholar button on the right end of the LibX toolbar or, click the right mouse button and then choose 'Search Google Scholar for ...' from the right-click context menu.

For the following BOOK, I highlighted the citation information 'Lewis, M. & Haviland, J. M. (1993). Handbook of Emotions. New York, NY: Guilford Press', right-clicked to open the context menu, and clicked on 'Search Google Scholar for Lewis, M. & Haviland, J...'.

The Google Scholar results screen (below) offered a link ()...

...to the EMU FindText+ menu (below), which displays: 1) a link that can open up a new window containing the Library catalog, to see if EMU owns the book, and 2) a link that can open up a new window containing the login screen for the EMU Interlibrary Loan service, to request that the Library borrow a copy of the book from another library if we do not own it.

For the following ARTICLE, I highlighted the citation, Aspinwall, L. G. (1998). Rethinking the role of positive affect in self-regulation. Motivation and Emotion, 22, 1-32, right-clicked to open the context menu, and clicked on 'Search Google Scholar for Aspinwall, L.G. (1998)...'.

This action generated a search for the text in Google Scholar. Two new tabs opened (below) in Firefox: 1) the EMU FindText+ menu, and 2) the Google Scholar results screen.

The good news is that the FindText+ menu reveals that the article is available online. Clicking the GO button in the Electronic Full Text banner should open a window that displays either the text of the article or an abstract which includes a link to the text.

If the article was not available to the EMU Library online, the Electronic Full Text banner would not display in the FindText+ menu. If the journal containing the article is available in the EMU Library in a print or microfilm format, the Library Print and Microform Holdings banner would be seen on the FindText+ menu. Clicking the GO button following Check the EMU Library Catalog would open a window displaying the Library catalog page showing where the journal could be found in the building. If the article was not owned by the Library in any format, clicking the GO button in the Request from another library banner would open up a window where you could login to the EMU Interlibrary Loan system and request that we obtain for you a copy of the article from another library.

In this case there was no need to even click on the Google Scholar results tab [see image below] to seek out the icon (or the EMU FindText+ link) because the FindText+ menu opened automatically in a separate Firefox tab.

NOTE: If you are off-campus, you will first need to activate EMU Library Google Scholar support in your Firefox profile. Go to Google Scholar Preferences. On the line that starts Library Links, type Eastern Michigan University and press the 'Find Library' button. Place a check next to the box Eastern Michigan University Library (EMU FindText+ eJournal). Click the 'Save Preferences' button toward the bottom of the screen.

Support for embedded cues: LibX places the LibX EMU Library icon, , in pages from a number of web sites. For instance, book pages at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Alibris, and Powell's Books will contain cues that link to the EMU Library catalog. Cues are displayed at Google, Yahoo! Search, the NY Times Book Review, and other sites. Whenever you see the cue, click on the link to see what the Library has to offer.

Autolinks: The LibX toolbar recognizes ISSNs, ISBNs, PubMed IDs and DOIs and turns them into autolinks that you may use to search for specific books and journals. ISBNs & ISSNs display the EMU Library catalog. Examples: 006073132X, 0-06-073132-X, 9780060731328, 978-0-06-073132-8, 0098-7484

DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) and Pubmed IDs, if present in a document, should turn into links to the EMU FindText+ menu to help you determine if the EMU Library has access to the sources. Examples: PMID: 16646082, 10.1063/1.2735301

Note: the above ISBN, and DOIs will be presented as links only if you are running Firefox with the LibX extension installed.

Support for off-campus access to EMU subscription services: While working off-campus, should you happen upon a web site where documents are available only to subscribers, you can use the right-click context menu to determine if the EMU Library paid for access to at least some of the documents on the site, and if the Library has, LibX will enable you to enter your My.Emich identification so you can access the subscription content without leaving the web site. How does this work?

When on a web site with subscription content, click the right mouse button. If you see No access to [web page] via My Emich it means the Library has probably not subscribed the the content on the site.

When on a web site with subscription content, if you see on the context menu Reload [web page] via My Emich you will be prompted to enter your My.Emich username and password, and then you will be returned to the subscription resource where you often will have access to the full-text content.

NOTE 1: This feature requires that you have a valid My.Emich username and password.

NOTE 2: The EMU Library does not often subscribe to ALL full-text content on a publisher's web site. This means that even though you logged into My Emich as a member of the EMU community, you still might not have access to specific full-text content because the Library did not subscribe to it.

Installation:

Click here to install LibX Eastern Michigan University Library Edition.

If Firefox displays a message "Firefox prevented this site (www.emich.edu) from asking you to install software on your computer.", press the button labeled "Edit Options..." and click "Allow" add www.emich.edu to the list of web sites from which extensions may be installed. Then click "Close" and visit the "Install" link again.

This extension works with Firefox only (versions 1.5 or higher). It does not work with other browsers such as Internet Explorer or Safari.

To uninstall the LibX Eastern Michigan University Library Edition go to the main Firefox menu and select "Tools," select "Add-ons," select "LibX Eastern Michigan University" and click the "Uninstall" button. You will have to restart Firefox to complete the uninstall.

LibX is distributed under the Mozilla Public License. LibX was created by Annette Bailey and Godmar Back. The copyright is held jointly by Annette Bailey and Virginia Tech.

For more information about LibX, visit the LibX Homepage. LibX is available for customization by other libraries.