University of Guelph Library
What is Get it!?
Get it! is a library service that provides a seamless link from a journal database citation to a full-text article or to other ways of obtaining an article when full text is not available. The Get it! button appears in many of our journal databases. When clicked it will show a menu of options such as:
- Access the full-text of the article if the library has a subscription.
- Search the library catalogue to see if the library has a print subscription.
- Search the RACER catalogue to see if you can borrow the item from another library outside Guelph, Waterloo and Laurier.
- Ask us for online help with your journal database search.
Why can't I see the Get it! button in a journal database?
- Some journal databases are not capable of providing the "OpenURL" technology required to use Get it!
- The Get it! button will not appear if the JavaScript function in your browser is disabled. Simply re-enable JavaScript to make the button visible.
- If you are searching Web of Science you must allow the first page to load completely so that the Get it! button is visible in your browser.
The Get it! button
Why don't I get the full-text of the article all the time?
The most likely reasons are:
- There is no electronic full-text version available from the publisher, or
- The library does not have a license for the full-text from the publisher.
Even if you can't get the electronic full text through Get it!, you can still get what you are looking for:
- Click on the Primo library catalogue link in the Get it! menu to find out whether the library has a print subscription.
- Log on to RACER from the Get it! menu to request the item through interlibrary loan if it's not in the Primo library catalogue.
Why is there sometimes more than one link for full-text?
Generally, the library only subscribes to a journal once, so only one link to full-text should appear. However, some of the companies we deal with do not offer flexible packages of journal titles,leaving us with 2 or more access points to some titles. If we have access to an item through more than one company, we provide the alternate link(s) so that if one link becomes inaccessible, you still have access to the title.
What should I do if I click a full-text link and get an error message, such as "Item could not be found", "bad URL", "Error 404", etc?
There may be several causes and solutions:
- If you clicked a full-text link, there may be an error in the information from the journal database index. Go back to the Get it! menu. If there is a box showing a page number, delete the number, then try the full-text link again. This should deliver you to the table of contents of the journal; from there you'll have to navigate to the specific article.
- In rare cases, the Get it! link to full-text is incorrect, and the library does not have a subscription to the journal. To confirm the library's subscription, search for the journal title in the Primo library catalogue.
- The article may be very recent, which means Get it! cannot retrieve it until the library's supplier publishes it online. Check back in a few days, if time permits.
Please use the comments link at the bottom of each of our Web pages to report any problems; we will fix them as soon as possible.
Sometimes I only get to the journal or the publisher site instead of the article itself, even though I clicked "full-text". Why?
Unfortunately, we can't always make the full-text link go directly to the article. Some publishers only allow linking to their journal's site or table of contents; from there you'll have to navigate to the specific article.
What if nothing happens when I click on the Get it! button?
A pop-up disabler will prevent Get it! from functioning properly. Simply disable this pop-up feature to enable Get it!.
Why are there several windows opened when I use Get it!?
Clicking on the button opens a menu window, and selecting a link from the menu opens another window. Remember to close the windows once your search is completed.
How can I find out more about Get it! or get help using it?
For assistance using Get it!, please use our Ask Us! service.