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Note: Sakai properties

All referenced Sakai properties can be set anywhere in your sakai.properties file. You do not need to set properties if you will use their default value.

If you do not have a sakai.properties file, you can create one in a folder named "sakai" in your Tomcat instance's root directory (i.e. /opt/apache-tomcat-5.5.23/sakai/sakai.properties).

1 Enabling the Citations Helper

In Sakai 2.4, the Citations Helper is disabled by default. There are two Sakai properties that can be used to control whether or not the Citations Helper is enabled and how visible it is throughout your Sakai instance:

  • citationsEnabledByDefault@org.sakaiproject.citation.api.ConfigurationService=
    • true: enables the Citations Helper across your entire Sakai instance by default. This means all users, with the proper permissions, will be able to add, revise and remove Citation Lists within the Resources of all sites. Each site's Resources tool will, however, have the option to disable Citation Lists for that particular site.

      TODO: link to help on how to do that...

    • false: disables the Citations Helper across your entire Sakai instance by default. This is the "out-of-the-box" setting for this property. It is still possible to enable the Citations Helper on a site by site basis - please see the following allowSiteBySiteOverride property.
  • allowSiteBySiteOverride@org.sakaiproject.citation.api.ConfigurationService=
    • true: allows individual sites to turn on the ability to work with Citation Lists within their Resources Tool.

      TODO: link to help on how to do that...

      This functionality is really only useful if citationsEnabledByDefault is set to false.
    • false: has no effect. This is the "out-of-the-box" setting for this property.

2 Enabling Citations Helper Features

2.1 Create Custom Citations

The ability to create custom citations by entering form data comes with the Citations Helper. If the Citations Helper is enabled within a site, users will always have at least the ability to create custom citations.

Note: OpenURL Resolver

If you use an OpenURL resolver at your institution, you can configure the Citations Helper to use it by setting one Sakai property:

  • googleSearchEnabled@org.sakaiproject.citation.api.ConfigurationService=<base URL of OpenURL resolver>
    • The default value for this property is: 
      http://worldcatlibraries.org/registry/gateway
      This is a freely available service offered by WorldCat that determines if the user has access to any registered OpenURL resolvers based on the user's IP address. If the user is accessing an article while at a library, for example, the library may provide OpenURL services for all patrons within the library.

2.2 Import Citations from Google Scholar

The ability to import citations from Google Scholar is controlled by the following Sakai property:

  • googleSearchEnabled@org.sakaiproject.citation.api.ConfigurationService=
    • true: enables the ability to import citations from Google Scholar.
    • false: disables the ability to import citations from Google Scholar. This is the "out-of-the-box" setting for this property.

If you are interested in enabling import from Google Scholar, there is a simple registration process that you need to go through in addition to setting the above property to true. Google Scholar presents a link within its search results labeled, "Import to <your Sakai instance name here>." Your Sakai instance name needs to be registered along with a unique id to identify your Sakai instance (usually, this id is your Sakai instance's base URL - i.e. coursemanagement.school.edu).

For Sakai 2.4, this process is not yet automated. Please contact Gaurav to register your Sakai instance for use with Google Scholar.

2.3 Search Library Resources

Searching library resources means configuring the Citations Helper to work with one or more metasearch engines. For Sakai 2.4, the Citations Helper supports the SIRSI SingleSearch and Ex Libris MetaLib metasearch engines.

There are two ways to configure the Citations Helper to work with one or more metasearch engines: Static Configuration or Dynamic Configuration. The following table of differences between Static and Dynamic Configuration should help you decide which option to continue with.

Static Configuration

Dynamic Configuration

All configuration is defined at startup time using XML files and Sakai properties set in the sakai.properties file.

Configuration can be determined at runtime. Dynamic configuration values can vary at runtime based on the user, campus affiliations, etc. If there is a conflict between a statically and dynamically set Sakai property, the dynamic value will take precedence.

All Citations Helper users require the same login information for only one metasearch engine and all Citations Helper users have access to the same set of search categories and databases.

Various groups of Citations Helper users will use different login information for your metasearch engine or various groups of Sakai users will have access to different search categories and databases.

Example: I have created a set of commonly used search categories and databases at my library that I would like all Citations Helper users to use. This set consists of General Interest, Science, Literature, Arts and Engineering categories and their related databases. My institution only uses Ex Libris MetaLib and there is a single username and password that the Citations Helper will use to access MetaLib.

Example: I have created multiple different sets of search categories and databases that I would like different groups of Citations Helper users to use. One set is specifically for a European History course and consists of World War I, World War II and Economics categories and their related databases. Another set is specifically for Engineering students and consists of just one category and databases such as ACM Digital Library, Applied Science and Technology Abstracts and Engineering Index (Compendex). My institution uses SIRSI SingleSearch but there are different usernames and passwords for different groups that the Citations Helper will use to access SingleSearch.

Note: If you do not use a metasearch engine, you can still enable the Citations Helper and take advantage of the Custom Citations and Google Scholar Import features.

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