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FindIt! Frequently Asked Questions

What is FindIt!

  • FindIt! (a service powered by SFX) rovides direct links from a database citation to the full text of the article if available or other options for obtaining that article. Possible other options are:
    • link to Snoopy Library Catalog to see if SSU owns the item
    • table of contents of the issue of the journal in which that
    • article appears
    • link to request the item through Interlibrary Services
    • link to search for related information in Google Scholar
  • Not all options will appear at all times in the FindIt! menu. FindIt! listings are determined by the availability of that particular item.

Why is the full text not always available?

  • The full text of the article is retrieved by FindIt! when the Library subscribes to or owns that particular item.
  • If other options appear on a FindIt! menu, then the Library does not own the full text for that particular title.
  • The option to check Snoopy always appears on the menu, as an extra way to verify whether SSU owns the item of interest.

Who can use FindIt!?

  • Current SSU faculty, staff, and students may use FindIt!, both on-campus and remotely.
  • When you click on the FindIt! icon, you will be automatically prompted to enter your library barcode and PIN.
  • Other library users have access to selective FindIt! resources from workstations in the library.

How do I access FindIt!?

  • Most databases to which the library subscribes are FindIt!-enabled.
  • When you are in the database and you find a record, click on the word FindIt! or the FindIt! Icon. This will open a window with a menu of service options.
  • When working off-campus using FindIt!, you will be automatically prompted to enter your library barcode and PIN.

Why don't I see any FindIt! icons?

  • One likely cause is that you have JavaScript disabled in your browser. If it's turned off, the buttons will not appear. Re-enable JavaScript and everything should be fine.
  • Not all databases have the capability to use FindIt!. If you see the icon in some databases but not others, the problem is not your JavaScript preferences, but that this database cannot use FindIt!.

Why don't I see any FindIt! menus?

You may have pop-up blockers enabled on your browser. Turn this setting off and you should see a menu of options for items SSU doesn’t own.

  • If you use shareware programs to block pop-ups, you must turn them off in order to use FindIt!.
  • Instructions are located on the following web sites:
  • If this is not the problem, use the "Ask Us" link on the FindIt! menu to report the problem.

When I click on "Get full-text", I only get to the journal's home page (or the table of contents for the journal issue, or the abstract). Why?

  • FindIt! will get you as close to the full text as it can.
  • Sometimes you'll go straight to the full-text; sometimes the best FindIt! can do is to take you to the table of contents or the journal's home page, and you'll have to navigate the site yourself to get to the full-text.

When I click to get the full text, my article isn't there. Why not?

  • Sometimes the article citation appears in a database before the
  • publisher has made the full text available. Use "Ask Us" on the FindIt! menu or on the library web pages for assistance.
  • The publisher or author withheld the full text of this article. Please let us know about missing articles by using the "Ask Us" link on the FindIt! menu or on the library web pages.
  • If either of these situations occurs, be sure to check Snoopy Library Catalog to verify that we own the journal in which the article appears.

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

  • FindIt! is a work in progress. Links are generated on the fly based on our best knowledge of how to link to the resources in question. Sometimes the links may be wrong, or they may be out-of-date because a publisher has made changes to its site.
  • We'd like to know about any problems you encounter so that we can correct them. Please use "Ask Us" on the FindIt!menu or the library web pages for assistance.

Why did I get no hits when I clicked on "Check holdings in Snoopy"?

  • SSU does not subscribe to that particular title. You may request such titles through Interlibrary Services.

When I go back to make a second selection from the FindIt! menu, nothing seems to happen. Why is that?

  • This problem is limited to Internet Explorer.
  • When you first click on an option in the FindIt! menu, IE opens a secondary browser window on top of your open windows. However, when you make another selection, that secondary browser window may appear below or behind the current window.
  • One solution is to drag the secondary browser window to another portion of your screen so it's not blocked by the FindIt! menu.
  • Another solution is to use Firefox, Netscape or some other browser.

Why are there multiple windows?

  • When you click on an option within an FindIt! menu, a new window is always generated.
  • Each window will remain open until you close it.
  • Make sure to close only your FindIt! menu windows, not your search window.

Why does the number of options in the FindIt! menu vary?

  • When a FindIt! menu displays, it offers only those services which are available for that particular citation.
  • We try not to offer you service options that aren't available.

Where can I get research help?

  • Use "Ask Us" on the FindIt! menu or on the library web pages for assistance
  • Visit the Reference desk, 2nd floor North.