Nipissing University / Canadore College Libraries

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
Home

get it! - FAQ


What is get it!

Who has access to get it! ?

Why can't I see the get it! button?

Why don't I get fulltext for some items?

Why are there several windows when I use get it! ?

Why is there more than one link for full-text?

What does "item not found" mean?

Sometimes I only get to the journal or the publisher site instead of fulltext.
Why does this happen?

Why does nothing appear after I've clicked on the button?

What do I do when I get a "bad URL" or "Error 404," or some other
"not found" message?

What is get it! ?

get it! by SFX is a new Library service which links database citations to full-text articles or books and to other related web services provided by the Education Centre Library.
When you see the get it! button in an online database, simply click on that button to see a menu of options. You can:

  • View the full-text of the article if the library has a subscription to the full-text.

    Note: In some instances, you will be taken only to the journal main page or table of contents, rather than directly to the specific article. The "linking results" will vary depending on the journal publisher/vendor.
  • Search the Library's catalogue to see if the Library has a copy of the journal or book.


Return to Top

Who has access to get it! ?

All Nipissing and Canadore students, faculty and staff can use the get it! service, from both on or off campus.
Note: Please click on the Off-campus Access link for more information.

get it! is a project of the Ontario Scholars Portal, developed by the Ontario Council of University Libraries using software known as SFX, developed by the Ex Libris Group.

Return to Top

Why can't I see the get it! button?

There can be several reasons for the button not displaying in a database:

  • Not all database vendors have designed their systems so that they can "talk" to the get it! service.
  • The get it! button will not appear if the JavaScript function in your browser is disabled.
    • Simply re-enable JavaScipt to make the button visible.
  • If you are searching the Web of Science database, you must allow the first page to load completely so that the get it! button will be visible in your browser.
Return to Top

Why don't I get full-text for some items?

The most likely reasons are:


  • There is no electronic full-text version of the article available.
  • Our Library does not have a subscription for accessing the full-text of the journal in question.
  • In the case of a very recent article, the text may not yet be loaded on the publisher's website.
*** Click on the Catalogue link in get it! to see whether the Library has an alternate copy (print, electronic or microform) of the relevant journal or book.
Return to Top

Why are there several windows when I use get it! ?

get it! opens up 3 windows for each article:
  • clicking on the get it! button opens a menu screen
  • selecting a service associated with that article opens a second window
  • the 3rd window appears for all get it! generated activities (i.e. for the resource that you choose).
Depending on your web browser settings:

  • one or more of these windows may be "hiding" behind other open browser windows
  • or the get it! menu may be a tiny window (in the upper left-corner of your screen) which you then need to enlarge (by "stretching" on a window corner) in order to view the menu contents.

    *** Remember to close all the windows once your search is completed ***
Return to Top

Why is there more than one link for fulltext?

Generally, the Library only subscribes to a journal once and thus only one link to fulltext should appear. There are occasions, however, where the Library subscribes to a collection of journals which overlaps content with another journal, or journal collection subscription. In these instances, get it! will provide you will all available links.


One benefit of this multiple listing is that, should one of the access points become temporarily unavailable, you still will have an alternate source for obtaining the fulltext of the article.
Our library avoids duplicating resources wherever possible but ejournal "aggregator" packages and journal publisher collections do not always offer flexibility regarding the content of the package/collection.

Return to Top

What does "Item not found mean"?


Most often, this means that the Library does not have a subscription for the journal.
However, it may also mean that there is an error in a field in the source database (e.g. an error in the volume numbering or the article date). Unfortunately, if there is an error in the citation, get it! will be unable to retrieve the article.

*** Try adjusting the date or volume and issue information if these show as options on the get it! menu. If the article still remains unfound, request the article via InterLibrary Loan.

Return to Top

Sometimes I only get to the journal or the publisher site instead of the full-text. Why does this happen?


Unfortunately, it's not always possible to configure the link to go directly to the fulltext article or to an abstract with a fulltext link. Some publishers only allow linking to their journals rather than to the articles within their journals. Other times, get it! can only take you to the table of contents for a journal issue; from there you'll have to navigate to the full-text article.

Return to Top

Why does nothing appear after I've clicked the get it! button?

A pop-up disabler will prevent get it! from working properly.
Simply disable this pop-up feature to enable get it! .

*** If you still have problems, send us a help request .

Return to Top

What do I do when I get a "bad URL" or "Error 404", or some other "not found" message?


This message indicates one of two things:

  • The article is recent and has yet to be loaded on the site, which means get it! cannot retrieve it until the publisher places it on its site.>
  • The get it! links are incorrect and need to be updated.
*** Send us a quick *** Send us a quick email to let us know about the problem.

Return to Top
Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 July 2009 13:33  
Search