WebBridge FAQ

What is WebBridge?
How do I use WebBridge?
Who may use WebBridge?
What are origins and resources?
Why don't I see a WebBridge button?
Why is there no option for full text?
Why is there more than one option for full text?
Why does the full text link not take me to the full text?
I know the Library subscribes to a particular journal, yet there is no link to it from WebBridge. Why is this?
I'm being asked for payment to view an article. Do I have to pay?
I've clicked the WebBridge link, but no WebBridge menu window appears. What do I do?
How does WebBridge know when to offer links?
What is OpenURL?
What are Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)?
What is CrossRef?
How do I configure EndNote to work with WebBridge?
Why is WebBridge offering links via Google?
I'm off-campus. Why can't I view a direct link to the full text?
I'm having a problem with WebBridge. Whom do I contact?

What is WebBridge?

WebBridge provides context-sensitive links to other online resources that may be of interest. Resources may include full text databases, indexing and abstracting services, other library catalogues, search engines or web sites.

How do I use WebBridge?

Click the button

or the Connect to WebBridge text link. A new window will open offering a menu of options. Clicking an option will open the resource in a new browser window.

Who may use WebBridge?

If you are authorized to use a Deakin University database in which the WebBridge link appears, you will be able to use WebBridge. However, some of the options presented may be restricted to authorized users. If you normally have access to a specific database, you should be able to access this database via WebBridge.

What are origins and resources?

Origins are databases which support linking to WebBridge. In such databases, the WebBridge link (either button or text link) will most commonly be found within a search results or citation screen. On some full text databases the WebBridge link may be located among the references of an article.

Resources are Web sites that WebBridge is able to present in a pop-up WebBridge results window. Most resources are available at both article- and journal-level.

Why don't I see a WebBridge button?

This may be due to several reasons:

You may need to enable JavaScript in your browser
The database you are using may not yet be configured for WebBridge
The WebBridge button may be available at a different level (e.g. at the full record or at the citation level)
The button may be a text link, Connect to WebBridge

Why is there no option for full text?

This may be due to several reasons:

Full text is not available in any of the databases to which the library subscribes. If this is the case, you may be eligible to request the article via Inter-Library Loan.
Full text is available, but direct links to the article are not possible from WebBridge. If this is the case, there will be a link to it via Possible leads to full text. You will need to navigate directly to the full text from this link.
The journal may be embargoed, i.e. full text may be available online only after a time delay.

Why is there more than one option for full text?

Some journals are available from more than one vendor, and some may be accessed through a variety of ways from a single vendor. In either case, multiple links will appear. This also provides a backup if one link fails for some reason.

Why does the full text link not take me to the full text?

This could be for one of several reasons:

The journal may be embargoed, i.e. full text may be available online only after a time delay.
The Library may not actually subscribe to the full text. This most commonly happens when WebBridge attempts to link through Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs).
In the case of links to some EBSCOHost journals, there are some problems linking directly to the full text. If you receive an "article not found" error in EBSCOHost, the probability is that this message is incorrect, and the article is indeed available, although not necessarily in full text. In such cases, it is worthwhile performing a search for the article within the EBSCOHost database.
In the case of some CrossRef links, there may be a "window" period in which a Digital Object Identifier has been allocated to an article, but the DOI has not yet been registered. In such cases, the link will fail when clicked - "DOI not found".
In theory, Digital Object Identifiers are permanent pointers to a specific article; in practice, journals sometimes change publisher, and when this happens, sometimes the DOIs also get changed, leading to broken links for the "old" DOI.
As far as possible, WebBridge is configured to go directly to the full text, when full text is available. However, some publishers make this difficult by requiring the user to choose from a variety of formats in which to view the relevant article - abstract, HTML full text, PDF full text, for example. Unfortunately, the format in which an article is displayed is not part of the official OpenURL standard, so publishers have taken a very large and wide variety of approaches in this area.

I know the Library subscribes to a particular journal, yet there is no link to it from WebBridge. Why is this?

This may be due to several reasons:

The journal may only be available in print format.
For WebBridge to link successfully to a journal, it needs to have an ISSN. If a journal lacks an ISSN, WebBridge cannot link to it.
The journal may have undergone a title change, along with a change in ISSN.
The database in which the journal is contained does not support OpenURL, Digital Object Identifiers or predictable URL syntax.
The journal may be embargoed, i.e. it may not be available online until a time delay.
The issue you require may be outside the coverage range held by the Library.

I'm being asked for payment to view an article. Do I have to pay?

Eligible borrowers may choose to request the article via Interlibrary Loan.

I've clicked the WebBridge link, but no WebBridge menu window appears. What do I do?

If you use a "pop-up" blocker utility, it may block the WebBridge menu window. In this case, temporarily disable your pop-up blocker, or add the site you're searching (where you found the WebBridge link) to your blocker's list of sites from which pop-ups are allowed.

It may also be the case that the WebBridge menu window is not appearing because it is already there! Check the icons on your task bar, or alt-tab through the list of open tasks until you find the right window.

How does WebBridge know when to offer links?

WebBridge links are created dynamically and are context-sensitive. The resources offered will depend on the metadata available in the record you started with, as well as what information resources have been configured to match that metadata.

When you click the WebBridge button, WebBridge analyses the metadata available for the current record or search, and then checks its database to determine which pre-defined conditions are met. For instance, a record may have an ISSN or ISBN, hence meeting the HasISSN or HasISBN criteria. WebBridge will then present any links based on the HasISSN or HasISBN criteria (e.g. Find This title at Deakin University Library).

Most full text links require WebBridge to further check the Library's journal holdings to determine whether the Library holds not just the journal itself (MatchISSN) but also the appropriate date range (MatchDATE).

What is OpenURL?

OpenURL is a standard by which bibliographic information, such as the ISSN and title of a journal, author, year of publication and other information is passed in a URL format to an OpenURL resolution server, such as WebBridge. Based on the information passed in the OpenURL, resolution servers ("link resolvers") can offer context-sensitive links.

The databases in which a WebBridge link is available must be OpenURL-compliant to work with WebBridge. The databases which supply the links offered by WebBridge don't necessarily have to be OpenURL-compliant, although OpenURL is the main method WebBridge uses to create the links it offers. Other methods are Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and predictable URL syntax. Sometimes, when it is not possible to create links through more standard methods, WebBridge makes use of Google domain-specific searches to offer full text links.

For more information about the OpenURL standard, see the NISO OpenURL Web page.

What are Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)?

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique, permanent, alphanumeric string assigned to digital objects, most commonly journal articles. If an object has a DOI, it can be immediately located electronically by pointing your browser to a DOI database, e.g. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2567.2003.0002.x, where http://dx.doi.org is the DOI database, and 10.1111/j.1365-2567.2003.0002.x is the DOI.

If a DOI is passed with the metadata sent through OpenURL, WebBridge is able to use the DOI to link to the article.

For more information about DOIs, see CrossRef.

What is CrossRef?

Publishers register their DOIs and article-level metadata (e.g. Journal title, volume, issue, date, start page) at CrossRef. CrossRef then stores this metadata in its own, OpenURL-compliant, system. Libraries can then look up either specific DOIs or article metadata to locate the full text of articles.

Intermediaries, such as journal aggregators and abstracting and indexing services (e.g. EBSCOhost, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts) may also participate in CrossRef so they can link their own records to the publisher's full text.

How do I configure EndNote to work with WebBridge?

If you have EndNote version 7or later, you can link to WebBridge from an open reference within EndNote.

First, configure EndNote to use WebBridge -

Within EndNote, choose Edit - Preferences from the menu.
In the EndNote Preferences dialog, highlight "OpenURL" in the left panel.
Click the Enable OpenURL check box.
Enter the following in the OpenURL Path box -
http://library.deakin.edu.au:4550/resserv
In the Arguments box, enter the following, all on one line-

?sid=END&aufirst=AUFIRST&aulast=AULAST&issn=ISSN&atitle=ATITLE
& title=TITLE&volume=VOLUME&issue=ISSUE&date=DATE&spage=SPAGE
Click OK.

You may now link to WebBridge from open references. To do this, select References - OpenURL Link from EndNote's menu bar.

If the OpenURL Link on the references menu is greyed out, ensure that you have opened a reference and that this reference is the front most window in EndNote.

Why is WebBridge offering links via Google?

WebBridge uses a variety of methods to access full text and other resources. The most common methods are OpenURL, Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and predictable URL syntax. However, sometimes none of these methods are supported by a particular database. In such cases, it may still be possible to link to the full text by a Google domain-specific search. These searches work best with unique article titles, and are usually very effective in such cases. Short, "common" article titles may sometimes result in more than one search result being offered.

WebBridge also offers a generic Google search based upon the article title. Again, this search works best for unique titles. Such searches frequently lead to the full text, including the final, published version. There may also be links to preprints and early drafts, but it needs to be kept in mind that unless you are viewing an official, published version, the copy that you are looking at may have undergone significant revision before publication. Access to the final, published version may or may not be available, depending on whether the Library subscribes to a particular service.

I'm off-campus. Why can't I view a direct link to the full text?

In the vast majority of cases, off-campus users will have full access to all resources to which the Library subscribes. There are a very few resources, however, where direct access to the full text is unable to be given via WebBridge. Specifically, for Triangle Journals and a few isolated single e-journals. These do not support article-level access through the standard methods, such as OpenURL or predictable URL syntax. The only way to achieve article-level access to these journals is via a Google domain-specific search. And unfortunately, it is not possible to EZproxy Google as this would increase the Library's costs substantially.

To obtain off-campus access to the full text for such journals, you will need to navigate there via the Possible leads to full text link.

I'm having a problem with WebBridge. Whom do I contact?

Fill out the Ask a Question form, and a member of the library staff will get back to you.