New! HSLS Document Locator
The Health Science Library System (HSLS) has implemented a new service to make it easier to locate and connect to information. You will now see a link to “PITT- UPMC full text” in the citation information for search results from selected databases. Clicking on this link opens the HSLS Document Locator, which displays your options for obtaining a particular book or journal article of interest, whether in electronic or print format or through document delivery.
If electronic full text is available through HSLS, a direct link to the text will appear. If electronic full text is not available to HSLS users, links to PittCat, HSLS document delivery, and other options will appear to direct users how to obtain the content they need, either in print or electronic form.
How does this technology work? The HSLS Document Locator is a link resolver, relying on Open URL standard syntax to link to Web resources. The citation data is matched against local information on the library’s electronic holdings, verifying if full text in any format is available to the user. Users are only presented with links that will lead them successfully to the correct document. The new locator should eliminate links which lead users to believe that they have electronic full text access, only to be asked later for a login and password or to register for a subscription.
The HSLS Document Locator is currently functional in Scopus and facilitates linking behind the scenes in Ovid databases. As more resources adopt open URL connectivity, the locator will expand to other HSLS resources.
--Deb Silverman
