Libraries

The Library Toolbar is a customizable browser plugin for Firefox that provides direct access to Penn State's library resources.

(Be sure to start in a Firefox browser window.)

Step 1. Install the Library Toolbar Browser Plugin.

Step 2. Set Google Scholar preferences to Penn State. (For off-campus users.)

Firefox may display the message "To protect your computer, Firefox prevented this site from installing software on your computer." To complete the installation click the "Edit Options..." button and then "Allow." Add libx.org and www.libraries.psu.edu to the list of websites, then click "Ok" and visit the install link again.

This extension works with the Firefox web browser; it does not work with other browsers such as Safari or Internet Explorer. It has been tested with Firefox version 3 on Windows and Macintosh OS X.

Penn State's Library Toolbar is a version of LibX; information about the original plugin can be found here.

Toolbar and Right-Click Menu: The toolbar and right-click menu allow users to search the CAT from Firefox. Search by keyword, title, author, subject, journal title and ISBN/ISSN, as well as combine these types of searches (similar to the CAT's advanced search function). From the toolbar, users can also search Google Scholar, WorldCat (a catalog of worldwide library holdings), and Digitized Collections at Penn State.

The toolbar can be hidden to conserve screen space (see customization section below).

Video: Library Toolbar Features

Support for off-campus access: Some websites, such as sciencedirect.com, require Penn State authentication before users can access certain materials. This may happen when using an off-campus computer. However, remote users can use the "Reload... via EZProxy" option in the right-click context menu to gain remote access to such materials.

Full text access to journal articles: The Library Toolbar Browser Plugin uses Google Scholar and SFX (Get it!) to search for articles and directs the  user to the electronic copy subscribed to by Penn State. Select a citation (even from within a PDF), then either right click the selection and choose "Search Google Scholar for "XYZ", or select the text then drag-and-drop it onto the Scholar button on the toolbar.

The "Get it @ Penn State" button appears in websites like Google Scholar and Wikipedia to guide you to the complete article. To ensure these links appear in Google Scholar from off-campus, follow the simple directions. You can also highlight a journal title or ISSN, right click, and select "Search PSU's resolver for ..." to use this feature.

PSU logo (an embedded cue): The library toolbar places cues in web pages if Penn State has resources related to that page. Whenever you see the Penn State shield icon, click on the logo to look at what the Library has to offer. For instance, book pages at Amazon and Barnes & Noble will contain logos that link to the book's entry in the CAT. Logos are also displayed in Google, Yahoo! Search, the NY Times Book Review, etc. To see an example of how an embedded cue works, watch this brief Flash video.

Support for xISBN: A book title can have different ISBNs for a paperback, hardcover, or for a different edition. The library toolbar supports OCLC's xISBN service: Given an ISBN, you can find a book, even if the library holds this book under a different ISBN. There are currently some technical limitations to searching by xISBN.

Users can choose to hide the toolbar to conserve screen space.  The right-click context menus will still be available when the toolbar is hidden. To hide the toolbar, do one of the following:

• Select "disable toolbar" when you install LibX.
• In Windows, press F9 to toggle back and forth between showing/hiding the toolbar.
• Choose View --> Toolbars --> LibX PSUL to toggle back and forth between displaying/hiding the toolbar.

You can also fine-tune the toolbar and context menu by tweaking the plugin's preferences. (Recommended only for advanced users.) After installing the plugin for your browser, click on the toolbar's Penn State icon and select "LibX Preferences" to manually configure the plugin.

• Autolinking (or process of linking ISBNs, DOIs etc. to the CAT) functionality can be problematic on some pages (for example, in Gmail) or may erroneously link text because it fits the format of a standard number (such as an ISBN) when, in fact, it is not a standard number.
• The toolbar may generate "Get It!" buttons in databases (such as NewsBank) in which the full text is already available.
• When searching by ISBN the toolbar may report that Penn State does not have a copy of a book when, in reality, it does. If you suspect this may be the case, try searching by a different identifier, such as the title of the book.