360 Link: Frequently Asked Questions

What is 360 Link?

How do I use it?

Why is a link to the article I want not always available?

Does it matter which link I select?

If 360 Link sends me to the journal or database, but not the full-text article itself, how do I go about accessing it?

Why is a link to the full-text article provided when the BU library does not have access to it?

A link resolver connecting all of Bastyr University (BU) Library’s resources. When you search an online database and locate a citation, 360 Link will provide you with the most efficient path to your desired content.

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When you have found the citation or article you are looking for, click on either the direct link (1), or the 360 link button (2). This will provide you with:

1. The full-text of the article, OR
2. The table of contents of the journal in which the full-text can be found, OR
3. A database homepage from which you must search for the full-text, OR
4. The BU Library Catalog, OR
5. A pre-filled BU Library Interlibrary Loan form in which you can request access to the full-text.

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You may not be able to access a full-text link to an article for the following reasons:

• BU Library does not subscribe to the journal in which the full-text is located;
• The journal in question does not provide online access to the full-text;
• There is not enough data in the search criteria to trigger an article-level link;
• The provider of the journal does not support OpenURL.

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You may notice that a number of full-text links are provided.  This is usually due to the fact that the article is available in a number of databases that the BU Library subscribes to, and 360 Link will provide you with all full-text links available. 

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When this occurs, you have 2 options:

1. Check the volume and issue in which the desired full-text article is available and locate it on the journal’s contents page;
2. In the database search field, enter the title of the full-text article and click on search.

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• Full-text articles are withheld from the online versions of the database by the publisher or author.
• Metadata appears in a database before the publisher has made the full-text available.
• Sometimes the coverage dates are not supplied in the library's data, and 360 Link will provide an article link with the hope that your library has access to that date range.

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