If part of your finding information strategy is to go beyond the key Library databases for your subject and use the wider internet, it is likely that you will find details of a book or journal article that looks useful to your studies but isn't available in full text via the web site you found it on.
To help you check if the Library has access to the item online, you can use the LibKey Nomad browser extension. Once installed, whenever you are on a web site that is linked to the Nomad system, it will automatically tell you if the item is available through the Library's online subscriptions or was published as Open Access. It will even give you a link directly to the full text!
Nomad is available for all major browsers including Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox. It works with many of the key academic journal publisher web sites, Amazon books and also the PubMed search engine.
Please note: Nomad checks for online access so if none is immediately available, it is always advisable to search for any physical copies of the item on the Library catalogue - LibrarySearch. Our Inter-Library Loan service can be used to request items we don't have access to at all, but cannot be used in cases where we already have a print copy.
How do I install LibKey Nomad?
- Go to www.LibKeyNomad.com and select your browser from the list at the bottom of the page.
- This will take you to the correct installation page for your browser.
- Follow the prompts on the screen to install.
- Nomad will then ask you to select your institution: find University of Wolverhampton in the drop-down list and select it.
- That's it. You are set up and ready to go.
What do the different Nomad buttons mean? How do I know which ones will give me the full text or not?
- The wording will vary depending on the type of item and its availability.
- On some sites you will always see Nomad appear even if there is no access via the Library so pay close attention to the button text. On others you will only see Nomad if full online access has been detected.
- If you don't see a Nomad button appear at all it means the site is either not linked to Nomad or it has not detected any online access to the item you are looking at.
At the time of writing, these are the Nomad buttons you can expect to see:
| What it means | What will happen when you click the button | |
| Download PDF |
The journal article is available in full |
The article will automatically open as a pdf. |
| Article Link |
The journal article is available in full |
The article will open as text on a web page for you to read. There might be a pdf version available, look on the page for any prompts to open/download. |
| View E-Book |
The book is available online, either as an eBook or eTextbook |
You will be linked to the Library database where the full text is stored. Reading online and download options will vary as each database is different. |
| Access Options |
The full text of the item is NOT available online |
You will be connected to the Library catalogue where it will automatically search for the item. Pay close attention to the details of print Journals held by the Library as they may not match exactly with what you are looking for! If no results are located at all, you may see an 'Inter Library Loan' prompt. |
Can I see some examples?
Yes of course! Here are examples from three different web sites.
1. PubMed - Nomad appears on all PubMed results regardless of whether there is full access or not. In this image, two of the example articles are available online (Download PDF and Article Link), but one is not (Access Options).
2. Amazon books - when you are viewing the details of a book on Amazon.co.uk, if the Library has it as an eBook/eTextbook the Nomad button will appear in the bottom left corner of the page. If the Library does not have the book online, you will not see Nomad at all:
3. Journal publishers website, e.g. Nature.com - when you are viewing the details of a specific article, the Nomad button will appear in the bottom left corner of the page:
