In many databases, you will see our SFX button next to your search results and references:

If you click the SFX link, a new window will open, in which we will offer a menu with several selectable options. This will include a link to the full text version, provided that the item is electronically available to Göttingen University.

The structure of the SFX menu is context-sensitive. You will be offered a selection of matching options depending on the research database from which the query was made, and our own holdings and licenses. The menu may contain the following links:

• Go to full text version - where available
• Go to catalogue entry via the Electronic Journals Library - EZB
• Go to catalogue entry via the local catalogue
• Go to inter-library loan requests
• Go to additional information about the requested title
• Copy citation to Endnote
• Go to Feedback Form for your questions and suggestions

For many databases, SFX links have already been included, and the service is continuously being expanded.

The Citation Linker offers quick access to the SFX menu, if you have the exact catalogue reference at hand.

Please read the answers provided in the FAQ on the SFX link service if you have any other questions, or send an email to sfx@sub.uni-goettingen.de if your questions are not answered there.

What is SFX?

SFX (acronym for "Special Effects") is a link resolver from ExLibris. It provides references to specific text excerpts from full text versions of titles stored in databases and periodicals, provided these are electronically available to Göttingen University.

Where no full text access is possible, other services are provided for finding or ordering the required document (e.g. local catalogue search or inter-library loan).

A number of databases offered by the Göttingen State and University Library are SFX-capable, and their scope is continuously being expanded.

Once you have found a literature reference in your search, click on the SFX button provided. A new window will open with several service options.

If you have the exact catalogue reference at hand, you may alternatively enter the information into the Citation Linker, and access the SFX menu from there.

The list of databases for which SFX has been activated is growing continuously.

Your search may have led you to a database that is not yet SFX-compatible. There may also be some databases in which you will see the SFX button only when displaying the full text of the citation.

The structure of the SFX menu is context-sensitive. You will be offered a selection of matching options depending on the research database, from which the call originated, the requested title, and our own holdings and licenses. The menu may contain the following links:

• Go to the full text version - where available
• Go to the catalogue entry via the Electronic Periodicals Library - EZB
• Go to the catalogue entry via the local catalogue
• Go to inter-library loan requests
• Go to additional information about the requested title
• Copy citation to Endnote
• Go to Feedback Form for your questions and suggestions

The menu is generated dynamically after each request. SFX is context-sensitive, and recognises automatically which Göttingen State and University Library access options are available for your specific request. Where available, links to electronic full text versions are displayed. Where no electronic full text version of the text is available, a search of the local OPAC, or an inter-library loan request can be initiated.

A deciding factor for the quality of the SFX menu displayed is the data transmitted from the source database (Open URL). In order for SFX to offer you optimised options for accessing a periodical, for example, a ISSN reference is required; if you are looking for a specific article in a periodical, additional information will be needed. If only some of the required information can be provided, then SFX may present you with far more limited selections.

As a rule, links to electronic documents can be offered only if full text access has been licensed for Göttingen University, or if it is in the public domain.

Electronic periodical subscriptions may sometimes overlap. If the same title is available from several providers, then you can choose your preferred access medium to the full text version. The access periods provided by way of a DFG national license are listed separately in the SFX menu.

If SFX is unable to offer a link to a full text version for the Göttingen State and University Library, it will offer you other options from which you may be able to access your required title. For periodicals, for example, you should try accessing the text via the link provided in the Electronic Periodicals Library - EZB. There may also be a printed version available via the local catalogue, or a link to the electronic full text version. Your other options are to use a document delivery service or an inter-library loan.

Staff and students of Göttingen University can access SFX-capable databases from PCs outside the university campus.

You will need a valid library card for the Göttingen State and University Library for online authentication.

If you have the exact catalogue reference at hand, you may alternatively enter the information into the Citation Linker, and access the SFX menu from there.

The more detailed the information you enter into the Citation Linker, the more precise the links provided in the SFX menu will be. You may even be able to find a full text link to a specific article in a periodical.

A digital object identifier is a unique and permanent ID for digital objects. The object can be a book, or an individual article in a periodical. The DOI is registered centrally, and the full text version should always be accessible by way of its unique DOI.

Access to this particular full text version may not have been licensed for Göttingen University. In individual cases, you may still be able to access the full text version - though not via this provider's DOI link.

We have put together directions on how to activate SFX (OpenURL) in EndNote in an instructions document.

Please read the SFX FAQs provided by ExLibris for additional technical information.

Please send an email to sfx@sub.uni-goettingen.de, or simply fill out the Feedback Form provided in the SFX menu.