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What happened to CLUES and the Discovery Search?

You clicked on a link to the CLUES Library Catalogue or the Discovery Search (Encore). Why isn't it working?

On July 15, 2020, the Concordia Library joined 17 other Quebec university libraries in migrating to a new shared catalogue: the Sofia Discovery tool.

The Library has officially retired the CLUES Library Catalogue, Discovery Search, and former E-Journals portal causing any links to these systems to break. We have done our best to update links on our websites, but it is inevitable that some old links remain. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

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How do I find what I want in Sofia based on CLUES/Encore links?

Depending on the type of link you have, there are some options:

Search by keyword or title

You can search for the title in Sofia in a general keyword search or use the title search index from the advanced search page.

If your link contains a "b-record" number

If your CLUES or Encore links looks like one of the following:

  • https://clues.concordia.ca/record=b3840850
  • https://mercury.concordia.ca/record=b3840850
  • https://encore.concordia.ca/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3840850?lang=eng

You can search for the "b" number in Sofia, which in this case is a keyword search for "b3840850?". Please include the question mark on the end for best results. If this search returns more than one result, please select your result according to title.

In the case of links to e-books, it is possible that a search for a "b" number will not return any results. Please search by keyword or title.

If the link contains search terms

If your link is not to specific record, but includes search terms, please search for the same terms in the Sofia Discovery tool.

Special Collections links

If your link is to a special collection, you will find new links on the Special Collections - Book Collections section of the website.

If your link was to a database

Search for the database.

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How do I replace my CLUES and Encore links with Sofia Discovery tool links?

Once you have found your title in Sofia, please use the "Share" feature and copy the new direct link to replace your current link.

finding a permalink in the Sofia Discovery tool sharing a permalink in the Sofia Discovery tool

E.g., the new link for https://clues.concordia.ca/record=b3840850 is https://concordiauniversity.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1122697357.

Alternatively, you can copy the link from your browser’s address bar. If you do this from the main search page, you will be copying a search and preserving any limits you have applied. If you have clicked into a result, you will be copying a link to the specific record.

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Where do I go for the E-Journals Portal?

E-Journals are also in the Sofia Discovery tool and can be found at https://concordiauniversity.on.worldcat.org/atoztitles#journal or from the E-Journals link in the Library Links dropdown menu in the top right corner of the search interface. From the Journals section it is possible to search by journal title and ISSN like in the previous E-Journals Portal, and you can search by DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or PMID (PubMed Identifier) from the Articles section. Please be sure to select the appropriate Identifier before launching your search.

searching for articles by digital object identifier (DOI)

Browsing for journals or subscribed packages is possible by title, however browsing journals by subject is best done using a subject search in the Advanced Search section of the Sofia Discovery tool.

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