LibKey Nomad Technical FAQ

Modified on Tue, 13 Dec 2022 at 01:39 AM


What browsers does Third Iron support for LibKey Nomad?

LibKey Nomad supports Chrome (the world's most popular browser) as well as Firefox, SafariMicrosoft EdgeBrave and Vivaldi.


You may read more about specific LibKey system and browser version requirements here. Note that LibKey Nomad is compatible with desktop/laptop browsers only and is not compatible with mobile- or tablet-based browsers.

How do I install LibKey Nomad?

Installation in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Brave & Vivaldi is simple!  Just visit libkeynomad.com and click the icon for your browser.  Your browser will then ask you to confirm.  Choose your institution at the resulting LibKey interface and you are all set!

Do libraries need to do anything to activate Nomad?

Provided your library has a Third Iron Complete or LibKey Suite subscription, LibKey Nomad is turned on automatically. However, to make the most of the service, we highly recommend libraries register their link resolver (or configure an email option) so that the "Access Options" content type can be activated. This allows Nomad to connect the user to your link resolver/ILL/Document Delivery system when it comes across an article the user is interested in not in your holdings. You can fill out that form here:

Is a link resolver, A-Z system or Discovery system required to activate LibKey Nomad?

No! Any library that is eligible to use BrowZine is also eligible to use LibKey Nomad. At a minimum, it requires BrowZine Web to be activated. A link resolver is only necessary to activate the optional "Access Options" content type as explained above, but libraries without a link resolver can still use this optional feature by sending Document Delivery requests to a designated email address instead.

Do you need to create an account to use Nomad?

No!  Nomad, like all of Third Iron technologies, is very privacy minded.  There are no user accounts to create, the extension does not ask for or store your institutional user credentials and we do not run our scripts on any webpages other than those that are publisher pages as well as a few select domains such as PubMed and Wikipedia which have unique enhancements for each site.

How does Nomad function on publisher pages?

Nomad works similarly to other LibKey technologies and uses the lightning fast LibKey API to perform its magic.  When a scholarly publisher page loads, we quickly look for the DOI of the article, compare it to your institutions holdings data and determine if we you have a PDF available, a link to the article or if we don't think you have immediate access so may need request the article from your institution in which case a link resolver or similar link is created.  Additionally, we also check on the status of the article to see if it either from an Open Access journal or perhaps if the library does not subscribe to the title, if the article itself is open access within a hybrid journal from the publisher or even if an accepted manuscript is available in a repository.  We utilize the unpaywall data set to aid with this process.  

Ultimately, the best available is the one that is presented for the user and all of of this happens in a fraction of a second thus presenting new impedance to the researcher workflow.

Here is a detailed description of what each of these labels means:

Download PDF - In a single click, the user should either see a PDF on their screen or be prompted to download a PDF immediately.  If authentication is required for the user, they will be prompted to sign in, turn on their VPN, etc as required.  The PDF document is either coming directly from the publisher or is the publisher's version (according to unpaywall data) but held in a repository such as PubMed Central, EuroPMC or a university repository.

Article Link - The same as the above with the exception that the user will NOT see a PDF, they will see a web page which either has the full text in HTML or also has the PDF, but one more link is required to access 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 Document, etc. These documents never require authentication.

Manuscript LinkSame as the above, except one more click is required to get to the PDF, if the PDF is even available.  No authentication is required.

Access Options... - This is an optional feature which requires the completion of the Access Options form.  If the form is not complete for a library, this option is simply not shown for users (no button will appear at all).  Most commonly, the library's link resolver will be able to be linked here, but we can also support unmediated/mediated document delivery instead, generating a link with the metadata to a specific address, etc. to suit the local institutional preference.

Provided ByThis will appear as a non-clickable button on sites where Nomad is providing an Enhanced In-Line Integration (see link below for more information about these) as the download actions will appear within the context of the host service itself.

Enhanced In-line Integrations
LibKey also features some enhanced in-line integrations that are unique for certain platforms.  Read more about those here.

More questions?
Please drop us a line! We are happy to help!