You can now get links to IIT Library services from within Scirus, the scientific-information internet search engine. Scirus is different from other search engines in that it focuses only on Web pages and sites containing scientific content, such as preprint servers, digital archives, repositories and patent and journal databases.

To set up IIT Library Partner Links, click on the “Search Preferences” link on the Scirus home page. Click “Enable” under the “Library Partner Links” section, then select “Illinois Institute of Technology – Galvin Library” from the drop-down list under “I”. (See the screenshot below).

When you conduct your search, you’ll see IIT’s Get Article icon in the search results for journal articles and other scholarly literature. Follow this link to the SFX menu, which will show you options for getting the full text of the article. Most journal articles aren’t available for free online, so you need to go through the library’s links to access the full article. Also, if you’re trying to access the article from off-campus, you’ll be prompted to log in to the library proxy network.

Remember, even if the GetArticle menu says that “No full text is currently available online for this item,” you can still get a copy of the article via MyILL, the library’s new online system for requesting materials via interlibrary loan. MyILL is fast, convenient, and free to all IIT students and faculty!

To watch a brief video tutorial on how to use Scirus, click here.

Disclaimer: Users should note that Scirus is not considered a viable replacement for a search using library-provided bibliographic databases and indexes, the majority of which do not allow search engines to access their content. If you experience problems getting the full text of an article via the GetArticle link, use the Journal A-Z List or Article Finder on our web site to see if full-text access is available.

Thomas Mann, author of The Oxford Guide to Library Research, has a new essay posted online in which he exposes the deficiencies of using the internet for scholarly research. While a search engine can generate lists, Mann argues that it is a classification system controlled by librarians that provides the necessary guidance through deep and relevant research. While he is accepting of the web’s ability for quick and inexpensive indexing, according to Mann, librarians must continue to “promote scholarship of the highest possible quality–and that is a goal very different from striving to provide something quickly.” Read responses to Mann’s essay at the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Searching the library catalog for books, e-books, videos, government documents, and print journals at IIT just got a whole lot easier! We’ve created a search plugin for Mozilla/Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 browsers that allows you to search the catalog directly from the search box at the top right of the toolbar. The incredibly simple installation process only takes a few seconds—click here to learn more. After installing the plugin, you’ll be able to do a keyword search of our catalog from anywhere in the World Wide Web, no matter what page you’re currently viewing.

Get the IIT Library Catalog search plugin

Search plugins are a great way to make one of the most common web activities—searching—faster and more efficient. Plugins are available for many popular sites such as Google, Wikipedia, Amazon, Dictionary.com, and now Galvin Library. Want to learn more about search plugins? Check out this page from Mozdev.org.