IU-Link, a new service launched by the IUB Libraries that promises greater convenience for researchers at all levels, streamlines information retrieval by linking online article citations to full text.
 
Citations in 113 of the IUB Libraries’ largest and most popular databases now link seamlessly to full-text articles in more than 20,000 online journals. In instances when the full text is not available, researchers can link directly to IUCAT, the online catalog, to see if the university owns the journal or book, or can request delivery of the item through interlibrary loan.  

“Central to our expansive collection of databases is a system that directs researchers to where they need to go,” reference librarian Jian Liu says of the software he helped implement at IU. “It’s a locally managed service that knows our collections. Interconnectivity is the key to its success.”
 
IU-Link eliminates the cumbersome online research process in which users must exit from a citation or index database, log in to IUCAT, and conduct individual searches to determine if IU owns the book or journal.  

By providing information such as page and volume numbers, citations are the standard formats researchers use to track down a source of information, whether it is an electronic book or an article from a scholarly journal.

Librarians say the increasing availability of full-text articles online has changed how students approach the research process. “People are no longer satisfied with indexes and abstracts,” says Liu, who, through his work at the reference desk, sees a growing number of students who expect access to full-text resources. “This system opens up a lot of possibilities,” he says. “We can now direct students to the best, most specialized databases available to them with the confidence they will find the online articles.”

At a research institution like Indiana University in-depth research is essential to faculty productivity and success.  Many scholars rely on citation and index databases—such as the premier Web of Science—to point them to articles they need.  

“Linking to full text can be like finding gold,” says Julie Bobay, associate director of collection development and digital scholarship. “For advanced researchers, IU-Link provides the quickest means to find articles. It removes the tedious work and makes the best use of their time.”

To satisfy student and faculty expectations, the IUB Libraries have been increasing the number and scope of electronic resources in recent years. “If it’s available electronically, chances are we have it,” Bobay says.
 
During the past five years, librarians have reallocated resources, primarily from print to electronic, in support of desktop access to reliable scholarly materials in digital form.  Between 1999 and 2003, the Libraries increased their allocation for electronic resources from roughly $387,000 to more than $2 million, representing an increase of more than 500 percent.

IU Link was initially implemented at IUPUI in 2002. The service will be available to all IU campuses by the fall.

To Learn More

For further details, go to: http://www.indiana.edu/~libsfx/sfxfaq.html

To view a list of more than 100 databases that include IU-Link, go to: http://www.indiana.edu/~libsfx/sfxsources.html