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LibX UCSC

LibX UCSC is a Firefox extension that provides direct access to UCSC Library resources. Installation help.

Click here to install the LibX UCSC Edition Firefox Extension.

LibX Features

Toolbar menu: Direct access to Cruzcat, the UCSC Library Catalog via a toolbar menu. Search by entering terms without having to navigate to the UCSC Library page. Change catalogs and search Melvyl (the UC-wide library catalog), the UCSC Online Journals List, UC-eLinks, or Google Scholar.

Right-click context menu: Select any text on any web page and right-click to search for that text in Cruzcat, or search for the online full text of an article using the "Search via Scholar" option.

Try it! Select each item below, one at a time and then right-click (control-click on a 1-button mouse) to search Cruzcat or Google Scholar for the text:

Adaptive context menus: The context menu changes automatically depending on what is selected. For instance, if you select an ISBN, the context menu will offer the option to search directly using that specific identifier. Currently CrossRef DOIs, ISBNs, ISSNs, and PubMed IDs are all recognized.

Try it! Select each item below, and then right-click (control-click on a 1-button mouse) to search Cruzcat or UCeLinks:

Integration with the Off-Campus Access Proxy Server: The right click menu also has an option to reload any page through the OCA server. If you find yourself being asked for a password to a site and you know the library has a licensed subscription, simply right-click (or control-click) anywhere on the page and choose the last option in the menu: Reload [url] via UCSC Off Campus Access.

Try it! Follow the links below to a licensed database, then reload them through the OCA server. Note, this won't work on campus because all campus internet connections bypass the proxy server. You'll also need your library card number to get to the proxied sites.

Support for linking: UC-eLinks keeps track of the electronic journals UCSC subscribes to and points you to the appropriate publisher site - most of the time linking you directly to the fulltext article. UC-eLinks is based on the OpenURL standard, and works well in connection with Google Scholar.

Try it! Follow the link below for a Google Scholar search, notice the UC-eLinks buttons lead you to the full text for journal articles. Search the catalogs for books, or place an interlibrary loan request for items not owned by UCSC.

Google Scholar search w/ UC-eLinks

Support for Google Scholar: Select text and right-click to search for the selected text on Google Scholar. In addition, LibX will direct you to an electronic copy owned by the UCSC Library via UC-eLinks should you not have access to the copy to which Google Scholar links. You can use this feature even from inside a PDF on a Windows PC, which makes retrieving papers referenced in a PDF file a snap. If you are off campus, you'll need to set your Google Scholar preferences for "Library Links" to include "University of California, Santa Cruz (UC-eLinks)". Click here, then check the box next to Open WorldCat and Save Preferences and to automatically set your Google Scholar preferences to take advantage of this feature. You can do this before or after you install LibX. More information about Google Scholar preferences can be found in the LibX FAQ.

Try it! Select the following text and right click (or control click on a 1-button mouse) and choose "search Google Scholar for Analog of Photon..."

Support for embedded cues: LibX places cues in web pages you visit if the library has resources related to that page. Whenever you see the cue, click on the UL link to see what the library has to offer. For instance, book pages at Amazon or Barnes & Noble contain cues that can check whether the UCSC Library has the book you are looking to buy. Other pages that contain cues are Google, Google Scholar, Powells, Books in Print, the NY Times Book Review, and more.

Try it! Follow these links. You should see the symbol. click it to search Cruzcat for the book.

Autolinking ISBN's and Support for xISBN: Support for OCLC's xISBN: Whenever an ISBN or ISSN is diplayed on a webpage, it's automatically linked to a search in Cruzcat. If the library holds a different edition under a different ISBN. xISBN lists all of the different editions, printings and bindings of a given book and lists them in order, most popularly held in libraries to least popularly held. This feature can be turned off by unchecking the "autolink pages" option in the LibX pull-down menu (far left on the LibX toolbar.)

Try it! Follow these links to see what the library holds:

 

Installation

The LibX extension works with Firefox only. It does not work with browsers such as Internet Explorer or Safari, though IE support is in development. Browser requirements: 2.0 or higher. If Firefox displays a message "To protect your computer, Firefox prevented this site... from installing software on your computer", press the button labeled "Edit Options..." and click "Allow" add library.ucsc.edu to the list of websites from which extensions may be installed. Then click "Ok" and visit the "Install" link again.

Copyright

LibX is distributed under the Mozilla Public License. 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.


Contact Sue Perry (chesley@ucsc.edu). Updated 30 August 2007.

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