Open Access Resources

Open Access Button: Find free, legal, full-text articles! 

"Legally crushing paywalls since 2013. Instantly find and request research articles and data with the Open Access Button"

The OA Button finds free, legal research articles instantly by searching thousands of sources with millions of articles in order to link to the full-text.  Their sources include all of the aggregated repositories in the world - such as Unpaywall Data, BASE, and CORE.

The added advantage of this service is that if the OA Button can't access the article you're looking for, they will request it from the authors, and guide them on making their work openly available.

• Click the Open Access Button browser extension on any webpage, or search using the Open Access Button homepage search box.

• OA Button browser extension is available for all major browsers. From the homepage you'll see a one-click download option for the browser you're currently using (where available) - no need to sign up for an account.

• Get the Chrome browser extension here 

• Or, go to https://openaccessbutton.org/ and start searching.

You can search for articles using all kinds of information including: title, article URL, citation, DOI, Pubmed ID (PMID), or Pubmed Central ID (PMC ID)  And if there's a free, legal version available from any of the sources, OA Button will instantly find it for you!

The OA search box widget above this page is powered by the Open Access Button so you can try it out there too!

Helpful hints:

Examples of what a DOI looks like: 10.1007/s10964-013-9913-9 or 10.1126/science.196.4287.293. or 10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.060

Example of what a PMCID (Pubmed Central ID) looks like: PMC4167664

Examples of what a PMID (Pubmed ID) look like: 17756097 or 19514818 Version:1 

Please read the OA Button Terms of Service - By using this service, you are agreeing to be bound by these Terms and to accept their Privacy Policy.  If you don't agree to anything then please do not use or install.

Unpaywall: an open database of over 25 million free scholarly articles!    

Unlock free, legal scholarly PDFs as you browse.  Available for Chrome and Firefox, made by Impactstory.

Unpaywall finds free, legal full-text articles by harvesting content directly from over 50,000 journals in open access repositories all over the world.  They also use open data from Pubmed Central, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Crossref, and Datacite.  Unpaywall harvests content from legal sources including repositories run by universities, governments, and scholarly societies, as well as open content hosted by publishers themselves.  They do not harvest from ResearchGate or Sci-Hub.

It is also worth noting that Web of Science has Unpaywall data integrated into its databases. 

Unpaywall is available as a browser extension for both Chrome and Firefox. 

• Go to https://unpaywall.org/ and click on 'Get the Extension' - you will then be guided through installing the plugin into your browser of choice.  
• Once the plugin is downloaded, you'll see the Unpaywall padlock icon display in your browser toolbar
• After Unpaywall is downloaded to your browser you'll see the padlock will appear about halfway down your screen when viewing journal articles.  If the padlock is green this means there's a free version available.  If the padlock is grey there is no OA version available.
• Clicking on the green padlock icon will take you immediately to the free version of the article - this is really useful as sometimes you'll land on an article page asking you to pay for access but there are also OA versions available.  In those cases you'll see the green padlock and can click through to the free full-text.

If you click on the Unpaywall icon in your browser toolbar you will see links to instructions, settings and an FAQ.

If you click on settings you can switch on the 'Opean Access Nerd Mode' - this will colour code the padlock for different types of OA: Green, Gold, or Bronze

Please read the Unpaywall Terms of Service - these terms apply when you browse use the Unpaywall website. If you don't agree with any of the conditions, don't install the extension or use the service.

Google Scholar Button: Look up scholarly articles as you browse the web 

The Google Scholar Button is an official Chrome extension by Google that adds a button to your browser toolbar and gives easy access to Google Scholar from any webpage.  Like other browser based plugins, the Google Scholar Button will indicate whether an article is available online from one click.

Click the button to:

• Find full-text freely available on the web or available via Library subscription using our link resolver 'View it @ Abertay'
• Transfer your query from a web search to Google Scholar. Press the Google Scholar Button in your toolbar to see top three results; click "full screen" in the lower left of the popup to see them all.
• Format references in widely used citation styles. Press the quote button in the popup window to see a formatted reference of the selected article.

By installing this extension, you agree to the Google Terms of Service and Privacy Policy - please read this carefully before installing the extension and if you don't agree to anything mentioned here, don't add the plugin or use the service.

Lean Library is a browser extension for all major browsers that makes it easier to access academic resources courtesy of Abertay Library subscriptions!

When you are off-campus, you can use Lean Library to access full-text journal articles and conference proceedings as well as ebooks, reviews and lots of other online content provided by the Library, without having to go to the Library website or LibrarySearch first.

How to install Lean Library 

Lean Library requires a very simple 'once only' installation process - just a couple of clicks and you're all set!

Just install the 'Lean Library - Library Access' extension in your browser of choice then select 'Abertay University' when prompted.  

Download Lean Library here

Available for: Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Safari (requires MacOS 10.15.0 or later), IE (upon request)

*Please ensure you have the latest version of your browser installed

How to use Lean Library 

The Lean Library extension seamlessly brings our Library resources into your research workflow - wherever you start searching.  It works with our Library systems to identify resources we subscribe to and a pop-up will direct you to the full-text via Abertay authentication.  No more hunting around for the correct institutional log-in option if you've not gone via LibrarySearch.

Whether you start searching via Google, Google Scholar or the Library itself, you can easily access our subscriptions in a click or two.  Lean Library will check our Library holdings in order to provide access in the first instance.  If you hit a paywall and we don't provide access via the Library, Lean Library will then search for an alternative legal open access option and direct you to that instead.  If no full-text can be found anywhere, the pop-up will provide you with the option to request it via interlibrary loan (ILL) or to contact the Library.  

As well as detecting article or book access, Lean Library can detect our Library databases too.  If you were to go direct to a third party website, the pop-up will alert you that we have a subscription and direct you to login using our authenticated link - ensuring you access to the content that the Library pays for.

**Please note that by installing this browser extension you are agreeing to the terms of use - you should always read these before installing.  Read the privacy policy here.

Libkey Nomad: single click access to Library content from publisher websites, PubMed, Wikipedia and more!

Libkey Nomad is a browser extension that automatically provides full-text access to content through our Abertay Library subscriptions from anywhere on the web.

Libkey Nomad checks the Library's holdings data in the first instance and then checks open access alternatives to ensure you are directed to the best available version of an article.  It also integrates directly with PubMed and Wikipedia allowing you to download articles directly from the search results and reference screens.

How to install Libkey Nomad

Libkey Nomad is now available on the following popular browsers:

Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Brave and Vivaldi.

Libkey Nomad supports Google Chrome version 76.x and newer.  It requires an 'only once' installation process:

Download Libkey Nomad from the Chrome Store now! 

Download Libkey Nomad for your preferred browser here!

Simply download and install the extension then choose 'Abertay University Library' from the drop-down list of institutions.

Once installed you'll see the Nomad icon (green flame) display next to the address bar in your Chrome browser.  

How to use Libkey Nomad

When you land on a page with an article that is available to download, Libkey Nomad will display an alert at the bottom left of your screen.  You can either click to download the PDF immediately where available or view Access Options to check via the LibrarySearch link resolver.  If you are off-campus you'll be prompted to login via the Abertay unified login screen with your University username and password.  Libkey Nomad does not store your credentials.

Several options may be presented to you depending what the best available option is.  They are as follows:

• Download PDF - in a single click you'll either see a PDF on screen or be prompted to download the PDF immediately.  The PDF is usually coming directly from a publisher (Library subscription) or is the publishers version (according to Unpaywall data) but held in a repository such as PubMed Central or an Institutional Repository.
• Article Link - same as above except you won't see a PDF.  Instead you'll see a web page which either has the full-text HTML or also has the PDF but an additional click is required to view it.
• Manuscript PDF - the article has been found in the form of an accepted manuscript in a repository.  While the content has been peer-reviewed it is unlikely to be formatted for publishing so may appear as an unformatted Word doc. etc.  These documents will never require authentication for access.
• Manuscript Link - same as above, except one more click will be required to get to the PDF (if available)
• Access Options - will make use of LibrarySearch's link resolver to show any additional access options available or direct you to make a request via interlibrary loan.

Do you need to create an account to use Nomad?

No!  Nomad, like BrowZine, is very privacy minded so you don't have to create an account to use it.  The extension won't ask for or store institutional credentials and doesn't run scripts on any webpages other than publisher sites and a few selected domains such as PubMed or Wikipedia which have unique enhancements for each site.

Libkey Nomad and PubMed

Libkey Nomad brings improved usability to PubMed.  With Nomad installed, for the first time ever you are able to download articles directly from the search results screen in PubMed!  On the search results screen you'll see links to PDFs and articles, the cover images of the journals the article is published in, plus links to view all articles in a journal issue in context by linking to BrowZine.

Libkey Nomad and Wikipedia

Wikipedia can serve as a springboard to primary source content as many topics contain numerous links to scholarly sources.  Libkey Nomad intelligently picks these sources out and builds correct links and access options in a dynamic fashion.  When you view the list of references at the end of a Wikipedia article, you'll see in-line article links and PDFs when the Library has provided subscription access.

Libkey Nomad - a researcher tool, designed for libraries with privacy in mind

• Third Iron, the provider of BrowZine and Libkey Nomad takes user privacy seriously - please check the privacy policy and terms of use before installing the extension.
• Nomad does not require the creation of a personal account
• Nomad does not cache or hold credentials.  
• Nomad is active only when you are on the web page of a scholarly publisher or database, all other domains are ignored.
• Third iron collect analytics data only to provide us with (anonymised) usage reports.  No other third party analytics such as LinkedIn or Facebook are used and no data is ever shared or sold.

By installing this extension, you are agreeing to the terms of use - please read this carefully before instaling and if you don't agree to anything mentioned here, don't use the service.

Kopernio: stop clicking and start reading 

Kopernio is a free, easy-to-use browser plugin that helps bring full-text Library subscriptions and open access content into your workflows.  

Now available on Chrome, Firefox, and Opera browsers.  (For Opera, you'll need to add an extension called Chrome extensions for Opera first, then get Kopernio for Chrome)

Download Kopernio now!

After you've installed it, you'll need to find your institution in order to access our Library subscriptions.  Search for 'Abertay University' when prompted to search for institution.  You will then be asked to create an account.

Getting started with Kopernio in two minutes!

Kopernio supports over 20,000 platforms including: Web Of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus and PubMed.  When it detects that you are viewing an academic article, it activates and attempts to get one-click access to the PDF.

On-campus, Kopernio will authenticate using our IP range.  When you are off-campus, you'll be directed to our Abertay unified login when Kopernio is providing access to our Library subscriptions.  If you need to re-authenticate, Kopernio handles this automatically as credentials (encrypted) are stored in local browser cache only.  When no Library subscription is detected, Kopernio will check possible sources of OA alternatives - including institutional repositories and pre-print servers.  Kopernio uses the Unpaywall API in order to supplement with possible OA sources.

Kopernio automatically builds up a search history of articles you access in your personal Kopernio Locker.  This means that you can come back and read full-text articles you previously read, anytime and anywhere!  You can also:

• Organise articles with tags
• Download PDFs to your computer
• Share articles with colleagues

Kopernio also integrates with Web of Science data to help you make more informed reading decisions.  You can easily identify good quality academic articles from journals that have been selected to be in the Web of Science Core Collection.  You can also easily check an articles citation count.

Note: Kopernio works best when you are off-campus and are just searching via Google or haven't used our authenticated links when going to publisher websites.  If you are on-campus, our Library subscriptions will always show up via IP.  You can, of course use Kopernio on-campus if you want to keep all your articles in one place.

Core Discovery helps users to discovery freely accessible copies of research papers.  It is backed by CORE's dataset of millions of full-text open access papers and it was created by researchers for researchers.

The Core Discovery browser extension is available for Google Chrome, Firefox and Opera browsers.  See here for full details and to download the extension.

After installing, you'll see the padlock icon in your browser.  When you navigate to an article, you'll see one of the following 3 icons:

• Grey - when CORE can't identify an open access version of the article or similar articles
• Orange - when an open access version of the article is not available, CORE suggests other similar papers to the one the user is looking for or relevant to the topic
• Green - when an open access version of the article is discovered