Electronic journals

Other useful links

What electronic journals are available?

We subscribe to over 10,000 full text electronic journals which are available to University of York staff and students.

There are two main routes to finding the electronic journal title you need: Find e-Journal and YorSearch.

You can also link to the full text of specific articles from many of the databases which index the content of journals.

Find e-Journal

To find out what electronic journals are available, look at our Find e-Journal service.

Find e-Journal includes:

  • Information on the years for which full text articles are available for each title
  • Links to the full text articles in each journal
  • Information on how to access the title, including any usernames and passwords you will need
  • Links to the Classic Catalogue so that you can check whether we have the title in print

When you follow SFX Roundal the link an SFX menu appears in a new window.

YorSearch

You can also link to all our electronic journals from YorSearch.

If a journal is available electronically, you can follow the View Electronic Resource link from the Details screen or the Results List.

When you follow the link an SFX menu appears in a new window.

Link to journal articles from databases

When you get your results from a search of a database, you will see a SFX Find it icon link or SFX Roundal link to the full text of articles which are published in journals which we subscribe to.

When you follow the link an SFX menu appears in a new window.

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What is SFX?

The SFX menu provides links to all the sites where an electronic journal is available. A specific title can be available through more than one site, for example JSTOR, Ingenta or ScienceDirect. The SFX menu lists all the relevant sites and gives the dates available at each one.

Follow the SFX Go icon link next to the site which provides access to the year(s) you need.

You can also check whether we have the journal in print by following the SFX Go icon link to the Library Catalogue.

If you want to embed the link in a course reading list or web page follow the SFX Go icon link to save citation information, including the URL. These links are maintained by us and will remain stable.

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What is a DOI (digital object identifier)?

A DOI is a unique and persistent alphanumeric label, (a NISO standard), created to identify a piece of intellectual property; mostly used for articles in e-journals, but also for e-books and chapters within them. As it will not change it can be used to create a stable URL for embedding links to e-resources in web pages, etc.

See our DOI briefing note for more information.

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Does an e-Journal include the same information as the print version?

An electronic journal may:

  • be an exact full text copy of a print version
  • include only some of the print articles
  • leave out some types of content such as adverts, notices and letters to the editor
  • include all the print material plus extra information only available in the electronic version
  • be electronic only
  • have tables of content only, with or without abstracts (summaries) of the article

The electronic journals in Find e-Journal all contain full text articles.

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How do I look at e-Journal content?

There are two formats which are commonly used for e-Journals.

HTML format

You can view these pages via your web browser.

PDF format

You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. This is available on all University network PCs, including classrooms.

For other machines, for example your home PC, Macs and Unix workstations, you can download the Adobe Acrobat Reader free from the Adobe website.

If you need help you can contact your Departmental Computing Officer, or the IT Support Office.

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Do I need a username and password to access electronic journals?

On campus

Nearly all our electronic journals can be accessed from University network computers without the need for a special username and password.  If you use SFX links or our Find e-Journal service you will need to login using your York IT Services username and password.

Off campus

All titles are also available off campus.  You should use SFX links or our Find e-Journal service where you will be asked to login using your York IT Services username and password.

What if I'm not a member of the University of York?

If you are not a University of York member of staff or student, you will only have access to the full text of the small number of journals which are freely available to anyone.

If you are able to visit the Library in person you can access a wider range of eletronic journals using our Walk-in Access service.  Publishers' licence conditions restrict off campus access to electronic journals to University of York staff and students only.

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Printing articles

You can use the Print option in your browser to print the full text and graphics of an article.

Copyright legislation restrictions

Remember that copyright legislation applies when you print from an electronic journal. The "fair dealing" provision in copyright law permits individuals engaged in research or private study to print or photocopy only one complete article from a single issue of a journal.

It is your responsibility to ensure you are not breaking copyright law.

For more information about copyright please see our Copyright guidance notes.

Reduce your printing costs

Remember that you can change your print options to reduce your printing costs:

  • Print two pages side by side on one sheet of paper
  • Use double-sided (duplex) printing where available

Saving and downloading articles

You can use the Save option in your browser to save the article to a file.

Copyright legislation restrictions

Remember that copyright legislation applies when you print from an electronic journal. The "fair dealing" provision in copyright law permits individuals engaged in research or private study to print or photocopy only one complete article from a single issue of a journal.

It is your responsibility to ensure you are not breaking copyright law.

For more information about copyright please see our Copyright guidance notes.

Publisher licence restrictions

The electronic journals we subscribe to are also subject to licence agreements with the publishers who produce them. The conditions of licences with individual publishers and information providers vary, but they always prohibit downloading a substantial part of a database or the entire contents of a publication, for example an entire issue of an electronic journal.

It is your responsibility to ensure you are not breaking the licence agreement.

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Creating links to electronic journals and electronic journal articles

The Library currently subscribes to over 10,000 electronic journals and electronic books all of which can be linked to.

The exact linking method varies depending upon the Publisher site but there are two main alternatives:

  • SFX linking: provides stable URLs though not all publishers allow linking via this method to article level in journals
  • Direct linking: URLs can link to article level but may be unstable, use this method when a publisher does not provide linking via SFX to article level in journals

SFX linking

Use SFX linking to capture a stable URL. SFX URLs are stable because the Library maintains a 'knowledgebase' for all of its electronic journals which means that URLs are maintained to take account of any changes a publisher may make. As a result, SFX URLs always remain intact and do not produce broken links. Additionally, SFX checks for all full text providers for the article automatically and where appropriate offers multiple routes. Finally, SFX linking provides the user with a consistent initial interface which matches what they will find in YorSearch and databases.

To create a stable SFX URL use one of the following procedures:

Link to a specific journal article using the SFX Citation Linker

  • The Citation Linker allows you to enter the details of a specific journal article into a form and then generate a link to the SFX menu from where the user can link to the article (or in some cases to the issue of a journal where the publisher does not allow article-level linking)
  • Go to the Citation Linker and complete as many fields as possible.

In addition to the SFX URL the Citation Linker will also produce a citation in a number of styles. The minimum amount of information needed for a workable URL is:

  • Journal title or ISSN
  • Year
  • Volume
  • Issue (part)
  • Article start page

The fuller the information you enter into the Citation linker, the more complete will be the resultant citation.

Once the details are entered select 'Go' at the bottom of the form. A new window will open which is the same as the window your URL will subsequently generate. Click on the 'Go' button next to 'Save citation information' to open another window which contains the stable URL and the citation. Use the citation drop-down menu to select the citation style you require. Copy and paste the citation and URL into your desired location.

The link will then open the SFX menu with the specific article details completed and allow the user to link to the article directly once the 'GO' button next to the details is selected.

Other routes to generate SFX links

The OpenURL generator is not the only route to creating stable SFX links. SFX appears in various Library resources including YorSearch and some bibliographic databases. The method is very similar to the one used above.

  • After locating the journal or article you wish to link to via YorSearch or a database and after locating and selecting one of the various SFX buttons the SFX menu window will open
  • In the new window click on 'GO' in to open a new window in which you will see the stable URL, copy and paste this URL into to create your stable link

Some publishers do not provide the ability to link to article level and may only link to the journal title level, therefore each link needs to be considered on its merits. If you find that this is the case you may wish to use direct linking.

Direct linking

Where direct linking to an article is appropriate please use the following method.

  • Access the full text of a journal article via YorSearch, a database or other route, display the article and then copy and paste the URL

Beware: this method may be prone to the instability of publisher URLs, should a publisher change their URL the link will be broken and have to be mended if and when it comes to your attention.

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Electronic journal frequently asked questions

When should I use the Find e-Journal service and when should I use a database?

Use the Find e-Journal service when you know the journal title you need, for example if you are looking for a reference on your reading list.

Use a database when you need to find out what articles are available on your subject in a range of journal titles. See our E-resources Guide for information on the databases we provide and how they can help you.

Why do some links go directly to the journal title, but others go to a search page?

Some publishers don't allow us to link directly to the specific journal title. In these cases you will need to search for the journal title or for an article title if you have it.

Find e-Journal says that a journal is available in full text but the article I want is only an abstract. Why is this?

Some publishers don't give permission for the most recent issues of a journal to be made available in full text electronic format. This embargo can range from a couple of months up to a year, depending on the title. During this time you may still be able to access the table of contents and abstracts.

How much do electronic journals cost?

There are a variety of subscription arrangements for electronic journals.

  • Some electronic journals are free with our print subscription
  • In some cases our subscription covers either the print or electronic form, but not both
  • Sometimes we can pay a supplement to the standard subscription to get both formats
  • Journals in electronic format only are sometimes free, but usually there will be a subscription cost. Free trials are often available for a limited period

NESLi2 is the UK's national initiative for the licensing of electronic journals on behalf of the higher and further education and research communities. Since 1999 we have taken advantage of deals negotiated with leading scholarly publishers which have lessened the financial, legal and technical barriers to the widespread take-up of electronic journal provision. Unfortunately, many publishers are unwilling to offer deals and in these cases electronic journals can be an expensive option.

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Who can I contact if I still need help?

If you have any other questions about electronic journals, or are having problems accessing a particular title, you can contact the Library Serials Team.

Email: lib-journals@york.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1904 324515 or +44 (0)1904 323871

For help in finding the information resources you need, you can contact our Enquiry Service.