Literature Search

Google Scholar is a search engine which can be used to look up references from scientific literature of multiple disciplines.
Its advantages are its large database and an algorithm leading to a useful hit list.

The disadvantages are a poor filtering functionality and a lack of quality assessment regarding the listed items. It is difficult to narrow down search results to a specific academic discipline.

The hit list is generated automatically, using formal criteria only.

The academic search engine Google Scholar presents you articles from e-journals and printed media, both with and without a need to pay for access.
Through the linking service SFX, search results from Google Scholar are linked with licensed electronically available media from the University Library Erlangen-Nürnberg (UB), as well as printed media.

Google Scholar has to be set up and personalized for your use:
Access the subpoint „Settings“ via the menu symbol.
There, click on „Library links“.
Enter „Erlangen“ into the textbox.
Select „Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen-Nürnberg SFX@UB_FAU“, then „save“ the selection.

• With articles from journals that the library has a license for, clicking the SFX button leads directly to the full text. This also works from home if you’ve identified yourself as a member of FAU via VPN.
• With books, clicking the SFX button (which can be hard to find at first) will lead directly to the catalogue of the UB.

The catalog usually provides links that lead directly to the publishers’ webpages. Whether or not you are allowed to view the text is determined by your IP address. This means that you must be on the university network to access e-books.
As a member of Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), you can access the network using a VPN client. After logging in to the VPN, you can access the full text by clicking the link from the catalog.

As an alternative, you can use the Database Information System (DBIS) to search for e-books. With DBIS, you can access e-books from outside the university network by clicking the link next to “Remote access for all library users “. Log in using your UB-ID or library card number and password.

The catalog lists the media available at the University Library of Erlangen-Nürnberg (UB).

Primo Discovery

• offers a way to look for scientific papers, monographies, and other scientific resources, at times with access to electronic full texts.
• contains different sources of data besides UB-licensed databases and electronic media.

Primo Discovery is suited for searching publications that are offered at the UB with full-text access to.

For a specific and thematic literature research, we recommend researching the catalog, databases, and bibliographies.

If you know the title and/or the author of a work, enter these key words into their respective fields (Title Words and/or Author).

Hint: If you don’t need a specific edition, leave out the year of publication when entering your key words. By doing this, you will increase the probability to find suitable hits.

The catalog allows you to conduct specific literature research using a title and/or keyword search.

With the Free Search field, you can search for titles and subject headings simultaneously, regardless of whether you mean the title of the work or the topic it concerns (Subject Heading).

• A title word is a word that must be included in the book’s title. It is written in the correct grammatical form of its respective language. Abbreviations can also be used and are marked with a truncation mark (). For example, automat can be used to find hits such as automat, automatic, oder automatisch.

• A subject heading is a standardized term (usually in German and singular) that describes the content of a medium, regardless of its title. For example: Using the subject heading “Tropischer Regenwald,” you will find the book Brazil and Climate Change.

Each result in the catalog shows the options available for borrowing and ordering. The most important options are:

• Available for loan: These are items that you can pick up from the shelves yourself. After picking them up, you can check them out at a circulation desk.

• For order: These are items that are stored in stacks or at other locations. To obtain these items, you must first order them. After a certain amount of time, which will be displayed during the ordering process, they will be ready for you to pick up at the location you chose. Please see the notes regarding interlibrary loan.
• Not for loan: These are materials that must be present at the library at all times and cannot be borrowed. These materials can only be read in the reading room. You may be able to copy some pages out of them if you would like to.
• Available for loan: See which branch has it via “Copies” in the detailed view. This applies to media that is neither available at your chosen location nor possible to order to your location. Therefore, you must visit the location of the media yourself.

A shelfmark indicates the exact location of a book within a library’s collection. It consists of letters and/or numbers and is usually generated according to this rule:
Location (separated from the rest by a slash) + book-specific part.
The first “location” part shows which library the medium is located in.

Examples of shelf marks at the University Library Erlangen-Nürnberg (UB) include

• H00/2007 A 1236 (location: main library, stack).
• T35/2000-54 (Location: Science and Technology Branch Library, Dissertations)
• 10GB/WT 1004 B959 (Location: Biology Departmental Library)

For information on all the locations at the UB and where to find them, please refer to Locations & Opening Hours.

The shelfmark is typically placed on the back of the book.

If searching our catalog did not offer a satisfactory result to you, you have the possibility of expanding your search to supraregional catalogs, such as Gateway Bayern, the union catalog of the Bavarian Library Network. If looking there gives you a good result, you can request a interlibrary loan. A detailed manual on this can be found on the help pages of Gateway Bayern.
You can expand your search via these regional and national catalogs.

If you are looking for subject-specific information on a particular topic, we recommend using the database information system DBIS.

• In the catalog, you will find articles from many electronic resources licensed by the library, as well as others. After entering search terms into the catalog, access the Primo Discovery tab.
• If you are looking for articles on a specific topic, we recommend to first start looking in databases and bibliographies.
  If you have not searched a database that provides full texts, you can then check if an article from a specific journal is available in the catalog, or in the Electronic Journals Library (EZB). If the University Library (UB) owns a license to the respective journal, you should be able to access it from there.
• Are you looking for a specific article from a particular journal and want to know if it is available at the UB?
  Start by searching the catalog or the Electronic Journals Library (EZB) using the journal’s title to see if the UB owns or has licensed the volume in question.

Use the following link: Database Information System (DBIS)
There, you can find descriptions and annotations for using and accessing all the databases.

Often, databases do not provide full texts. Therefore, look for the respective medium in our catalog afterwards or in the Electronic Journal Library (EZB).
Many databases are directly connected to the catalogue through the SFX button.

SFX is a linking service that connects literature research databases to those offering full texts, tables of contents, bibliographic data, and more.

SFX provides additional literature research possibilities, such as links to other search engines, research services from other catalogs, and links to fee-based document delivery services like Subito.
For more information, please visit the SFX page. If you have any questions, please contact the SFX-team.

E-journals are listed in the University Library (UB) catalog and the Electronic Journals Library (EZB).

Searching the catalog has the added benefit of finding printed editions available at the UB. The UB catalog only lists e-journals that are fully available, while the EZB also lists journals that are only partially or not accessible. Often, you can find a table of contents or an abstract.
Please note that more than one URL may be listed in the catalog. For ease of use, simply click the Full Text button to access a journal.

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The Electronic Journals Library (EZB) provides quick, structured, and uniform access to full-text scientific journals. The degree to which you have access to the journals is indicated by a system of traffic light symbols.
Titles that the UB has licensed are marked yellow. In such a case, please also consult the respective readme. It will inform you how to access the electronic full texts.
Most licensed journals are only available within the network of the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg.

If you have questions or are having trouble accessing a specific journal, please ask a librarian.

The University Library reserves and compiles a set of media for lecturers for seminars, lectures, and similar events. This is called a Semesterapparat. These are usually available at the departmental library of the lecturer’s department. For example, a lecturer of pedagogy would order a Semesterapparat from the Departmental Library of Educational Science, Philosophy, and Psychology.
Semesterapparate are usually available for the duration of a semester. The books in them are not for loan and are marked as such in the catalog.
For more information, please consult a librarian.