SFX is a link resolver and knowledge base that links journal and book holdings to full text. It generates an A-Z list of e-journals and allows linking out from databases. Behind the scenes, SFX links sources like the catalog and databases to targets like journal providers. It uses terminology like object, target service, and parse parameter to direct links to full text. Library staff can search, add, and edit journal holdings and access in SFX.
2. What is ‘SFX’
• Link resolver and knowledge base for e-
journals and e-books, from ExLibris
• Links into iCat through regular harvesting of
basic metadata
• Generates A-Z list of e-journals and SFX menu
• Allows linking out from databases to full-text
• Doesn’t stand for anything now but was
originally ‘special effects’ and originated at
Ghent University in the late 1990s
3. What does this mean in practice?
• One-stop list of e-journals (and eventually, e-
books) from every provider, in one place
• As this is the oldest link resolver on the
market, it is very technical compared to
competitors such as SerialsSolutions
• Allows a range of linking (to full text, abstract,
TOC) if we wished to set this up
• From databases and iCat full-text articles can
be accessed within two clicks
6. First, what about that terminology?!
• Source = where the search process begins
• Target = database or provider
• Object = journal or book
• Object portfolio = journal or book within a
target
• Linking parameters = authentication
• Institutes = different sites (not used)
7. Sources include …
• iCat
• Databases with the ‘Find it!’ button
• COPAC
• Google Scholar
• SFX Citation List and A-Z list of e-journals
• Zetoc
8. Targets include …
• All the usual databases – but at the moment
with standard system generated names so
‘Science Direct’ is ‘NESLI2 Elsevier Science
Direct Freedom Collection’
• Some miscellaneous groups such as ‘Free e-
journals’ which are lists from different
providers, brought together
• Services such as Amazon (for book reviews)
16. Terminology again!
• Target Service Parser – system generated,
otherwise we use BULK:BULK and link to
journal homepage URL only
• Parser – only used if a target service one does
not exist
• Parse Param – identifying code for the journal,
usually taken from the URL
• Threshold – dates the journal is available to us
17. An example …
• We would like to activate the journal “Test for
SFX” in the database “ADISONLINE”
• First, we need to search the knowledge base
to see if this journal (object) already exists –
we can search by title and/or ISSN
28. Harvesting into A-Z list/iCat
• Usually takes 24 hours after setting up a new
object portfolio, or making any changes, for it
to appear in the A-Z list or iCat
• Titles can be searched in various ways and we
have tried to add all previous titles where they
are available to us
• E-books are available in iCat only, by title and
author
Knowledge base harvested to iCat every night; and A-Z list also updated every 24 hours
E-books are currently being developed; we can activate them in SFX and harvest them into iCat, but there is no provision yet to include in an A-Z listing, also the records are title/author only
Basic admin interface. What people see depends on their permission sets.