LibX: WPI Edition

v. 1.5 or higher
2003 or 7x (beta version, known issues with myWPI/Blackboard, use at your own risk)

What is LibX?

LibX is a browser plugin for libraries created by Annette Bailey and Godmar Back at Virginia Tech and adapted for WPI.

FireFox or Internet Explorer (beta) Toolbar: allows you to quickly search the Library catalog, Journal list, Google Scholar, the FullText Finder and other search tools
Right-click menu: when you have installed LibX you can highlight text on a web page or PDF and right-click for a menu of search options, including our FullTextFinder for ISSN (which is like an ISBN for a journal)
Embedded links with cue : LibX will also embed links on search results in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Scholar, New York Times Book Reviews, and other sites that will lead you to WPI resources

Browser Toolbar - FireFox or Internet Explorer (beta)

Enter words in the search box on the LibX toolbar (the Library Catalog is the default) or use the drop down to search WPI Journals List, or search Google Scholar. You can search by multiple terms in different fields (author, title, ISBN/ISSN, etc.) and by clicking on the down arrow next to "keyword" you can add additional search boxes.

Right-click Menu

Highlight text on a web page or PDF document and right-click to get the following menu: Right-click context menu.

From this menu you can:

directly search the Library Catalog or Google Scholar. Try this with a citation you need.
get off-campus access to WPI-only resources while connected to the WPI proxy server. Highlight text and choose "Search ..." as options which add your highlighted text to the toolbar search.

Instead of right-clicking, try to drag and drop the selected text into the search box on the toolbar, or directly onto the Scholar button to run a search in Google Scholar.

The context menu changes depending on the type of information you highlight. If an ISBN is selected, you can search by this book number. LibX recognizes DOIs, ISBNs, ISSNs, and PubMed IDs (PMIDs).

Embedded links

LibX places the little W icon cue in web pages such as:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Google
Google Scholar (you must select WPI as your library in Google Scholar Preferences)
New York Times Book Reviews
Yahoo! Search, and more...

Click on the little W icon to get online access to the article or to see if WPI owns the item.

Questions & Answers

If you're having trouble installing, or have questions or suggestions, contact lib-webmaster@wpi.edu.

Installing IE toolbar off campus? Be sure to "uncheck" WPI proxy server and install without access to proxy. You will need to "recheck" the proxy option once its installed.

IE toolbar - Blackboard conflict: Be aware that we have noticed problems downloading files from the myWPI (Blackboard) gradebook when the toolbar is installed.

Q:Firefox displays a message below the toolbars "To protect your computer, Firefox prevented this site... from installing software on your computer" what should I do?
A: Click "Edit Options..." and click "Allow" then add libx.org to the list of websites from which extensions may be installed. Then click "OK" and visit the "Install" link again.

Q: A new version of LibX browser plug in seemed to install but I don’t see any changes from the old one.
A: Sometimes the Firefox cache is full or there is a conflict with a previous version of LibX or other extensions. If this happens, from the Firefox menu, click Tools, then Clear Private Data, then check only the "cache" option, Click the Clear Now button. Try the .xpi install link again.

For more information

Visit the LibX WPI Edition and see their FAQ.
See Firefox Extensions.

LibX is distributed under the Mozilla Public License.

Maintained by lib-webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: Feb 08, 2008, 15:31 EST