Information about SFX

Learn more about SFX

What is SFX?

SFX is a link server providing users with access to full text and/or other useful services directly from the database/portal the search is being performed. When you see an SFX-button   in a database, it leads you to an SFX-menu in a new window where you are presented to different linking possibilities and other services. The buttons and links may differ in design depending on which organization's resources the link leads to and on what the database that SFX cooperates with admits. 

SFX offers:

• Direct linking to full text (of an article or an e-book), if you are authorized to have access to it
• Searching in your library catalogue (but also other major library catalogues) to find out if there is a print version
• A direct link to an order form where you can order the article/book through your library (only to be used if you do not have access to the electronic full text or if the library does not have a print version)
• Further searching in different search engines on the internet
• A contact link straight to your library to report errors or problems that appear while using SFX
• More services depending on where you are performing your searches or the reference you start out from
• For instance downloading of the reference to a reference software tool such as EndNote or RefWorks
• Citations in e. g. Web of Science

Why are there sometimes more than one link to the full text?

Sometimes an article is available from more than one vendor's platform. In those cases SFX links to all the available platforms. Often the different links give access to varying years. Sometimes a platform does not function properly and then you can use the others as alternatives. In that way you have a better guarantee for obtaining the full text you are searching for.

How do I order an article or a book if the full text is not available?

In the SFX-menu you will find the possibility to order interlibrary loans via an order form. The form is connected to each respective library's interlibrary loan system, and may vary in design. Always search your library catalogue before sending your interlibrary loan order, since the article/book may be available at your library in print form.

Why are so many windows opened?

When you click the SFX-button from a database, the menu is always opened in a new window. Then, further windows are opened for each new link you click. Note that the windows sometimes are hidden behind each other. It might be easier to get an overall view of the windows if you close them when you are done searching.

Can I search from home?

If you click a link in the SFX-window when searching from home, you will first be presented with a log-in page where you log in using your usual HB-user-ID.