UW Libraries Search: LibKey Discovery (Direct Access Links)

LibKey Discovery is available starting on Monday, January 8, 2024.

First, you will need to log in with your UW NetID in UW Libraries Search if you have not already to use this service.

LibKey is a service that provides direct-to-resource linking to article PDFs, article HTML, and journal issue table of contents. These LibKey links remove the need to choose among multiple publisher links. In addition, LibKey links incorporate link curation technology that makes the links more accurate and less error-prone than traditional link resolver links.

LibKey links appear both in the search results and the details page for an article. The available LibKey links will vary depending on the article, but the LibKey links have consistent labeling as follows:

Download PDF - Indicates a link to a PDF version of the article. Typically, the PDF will be displayed in the browser for immediate viewing. But occasionally, depending on the publisher, the PDF will download without displaying in the browser. When this happens, you can navigate to your browser’s download folder to open the PDF.

Read Article - Indicates a link to the publisher or provider page where you can read the article in HTML form, and take other actions (download PDF, copy permalink, etc) provided within the publisher website.

View Issue Contents - Indicates a link to the table of contents of the journal issue containing the cited article. This is through a LibKey service called Browzine.

When you click on the “View Issue Contents” LibKey link for an article, a new browser tab opens into the Browzine service. The Browzine service, a part of LibKey, provides a Table of Contents view of the journal issue in which a given article appears.

No. LibKey covers a broad percentage of the electronic collections held by UW Libraries, but it does not cover everything. 

More specifically, LibKey covers a broad array of journals and Journal articles but does not currently provide links to eBooks or Newspaper Articles within UW Libraries Search.

If LibKey cannot find a direct link or if an online resource does not have an identifier, you will see the normal links in the catalog to check our access options.

This scenario can happen when we have multiple providers (ie, Ebsco, ProQuest, JSTOR) with differing date ranges for the same journal. In these cases, LibKey focuses on the provider with the most chronologically recent range of holdings.

If your article is not available in one of the issues displayed by LibKey, you can simply click “See All” in the list of journal issues displayed within LibKey.

This link will return you to UW Libraries Search. From there, you can simply select the journal title and then choose a specific provider from within the “View Online” section. Choose a listed provider that includes within its holdings range the journal issue and article for which you are searching.

Yes, all of the links you are accustomed to seeing within UW Libraries Search will continue to appear and work just as before.

Yes, the LibKey links within UW Libraries Search will appear both on your desktop and on your phone or tablet, and all browsers are supported.

The Libkey links simply point to content already described and subscribed by University of Washington Libraries. So, the copyright for an article as displayed in UW Libraries Search applies to the LibKey link as well.

If you need help or have questions about LibKey, please AskUs via chat or email.