Migration Guide
If you are a user of the Asia Version, please see the Asia Migration Guide
In January 2010, LexisNexis released a new interface for LexisNexis Academic. This was done as a soft release, meaning that subscribers can move onto the new interface at their own pace provided they complete the process by the end of the migration period. At the end of the migration period, all URLs that point to the old interface will be automatically redirected to the new interface. This article provides a guide to help subscribing institutions make the transition to the new interface.
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Migration Period
UPDATE: Migration Date is August 7, 2010
The migration period is January-July, 2010. All subscribers will have access to the new interface beginning in January, and all subscribers should complete one of the migration options listed below by July 30, 2010.
What Happens to the URLs?
URLs for Other LexisNexis Products Are Not Affected
Do not make any changes to the following URLs for other LexisNexis products
LexisNexis Congressional http://www.lexisnexis.com/congcomp LexisNexis Statistical http://www.lexisnexis.com/statuniv LexisNexis State Capital http://www.lexisnexis.com/stcapuniv LexisNexis Government Periodicals Index http://www.lexisnexis.com/usgpi LexisNexis Primary Sources in U.S. History http://www.lexisnexis.com/histuniv
Old URLs Will Be Redirected
The URL for the old interface is http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic. At the end of the migration period, LexisNexis will redirect this URL and all URLs that currently point to the old interface so that they automatically point to the new interface. The redirect will apply to all URLs, including deep links to specific search forms, title-level links, and durable URLs for specific documents. These deep links will be redirected to the corresponding location in the new interface.
The New URL Will Continue To Work
The direct URL for the new interface is http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic and this will continue to be the direct URL after the migration period is over. If you switch to this URL now, you will not have to change it later.
Preferred URL
If you are a user of the Asia Version, please see the Asia Migration Guide
The preferred URL is the direct URL for the new interface: http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic.
Test Your Remote Authentication
All subscribers should test remote authentication to the new interface at http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic.
This is the only action that is absolutely required for the migration. See the sections below on Proxy Server and Remote Patron Authentication procedures.
Note: The home page of the interface is on the open web. To test authentication you must run a search in the new interface.
Proxy Server Authentication
To switch to the new interface, subscribers who rely on a proxy server to provide user authentication for LexisNexis Academic Please see the Proxy Server section of the article on Remote Access
RPA Script for Remote Patron Authentication
Subscribers that rely on LexisNexis RPA scripts to provide remote patron authentication should not need to take any action if they choose to wait until the current URL is redirected at the end of migration period. You can test or switch to the new interface by modifying the RPA script to replace the value of the "productURL" setting.
- productURL = "http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic"
- Do not change the other URLs that start with "http://web.lexisnexis.com/cis/us/lnacademic/"
Migration Options
Option 1: Do Nothing
Once you have tested your remote authentication method, no further action is required to make the switch. You can simply rely on the automatic redirect at the end of the migration period. You can continue using all of your existing links to LexisNexis Academic.
Option 2: Update All Links for Immediate Migration
You can switch to the new interface immediately by updating all links to LexisNexis Academic, including those on your library portal and in systems such as the library catalog and electronic resources systems. See the directions below for Accessing the New Interface.
Option 3: Update Library Portal Links Only for Phased Migration
As a compromise between Options 1 and 2, you can choose to update links to the general product interface but not the links in systems such as the library catalog and electronic resources systems. At the end of the migration period, the links you have not updated will be automatically redirected to the new interface and migration will be complete.
Accessing the New Interface
If you are a user of the Asia-Pacific Version, please see the Asia-Pacific Migration Guide
The URL for the new interface is http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/
Please note that the landing page for the new interface is on the open web. You should run a search to test your access.
Documentation
The Subscriber Tools site provides documentation for using the LexisNexis Academic URL to build links including durable URLs, title-level links, saved searches, and links to search forms. Please consult that site for documentation on
- LexisNexis Academic URL API Specification - http://www.amdev.net/lna_url_api.php
- A-Z Title List with title-level links - http://www.amdev.net/rpt_std_content.php
- A-Z Migration Spreadsheet showing old and new version of links for each source - http://www.amdev.net/rpt_std_content.php
- OpenURL Title List with linking syntax for document-level links - http://www.amdev.net/rpt_open_url.php
Cookbook for Converting URLs for Deep Links
If you are a user of the Asia-Pacific Version, please see the Asia-Pacific Migration Guide
It is not necessary to convert URLs for deep links. The automatic redirect that will be implemented at the end of the migration period will cause deep links to the old interface to point to the corresponding location or search result in the new interface.
Please note that the Find/Replace options described below look very similar but they are different for each type of link.
Search Form Links
To replace links to specific search forms, such as the US Federal & State Cases form, see the new links provided in the article on Academic URLs for Search Forms.
Source-Level Links
If possible, you should simply use the A-Z Migration Spreadsheet at http://www.amdev.net/rpt_std_content.php to replace the old version of the URL with the new version. If a batch update based on the spreadsheet is not a good option for you, follow the directions below to perform Find/Replace operations. For details see the URL API Specification at http://www.amdev.net/lna_url_api.php
Example of old URL - http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/api/version1/sf?shr=t&sfi=AC00NBGenSrch&csi=6742
Example of new URL - http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sf&csi=6742
Find/Replace to convert old URL to new URL:
- Find: /us/lnacademic/api/version1/sf?shr=t&sfi=AC00NBGenSrch&csi=
- Replace with: /hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sf&csi=
Document-Level Links
You can update durable links to specific documents using the steps listed below. For details see the URL API Specification at http://www.amdev.net/lna_url_api.php
Example of old URL - http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/api/version1/sr?shr=t&csi=6742&sr=BYLINE(Pogue)+AND+HLEAD(Books+Pop+Up)+AND+DATE+IS+November+22+2007
Example of new URL - http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=6742&sr=BYLINE(Pogue)+AND+HLEAD(Books+Pop+Up)+AND+DATE+IS+November+22+2007
Steps to convert old URL to new URL:
- Find: /us/lnacademic/api/version1/sr?shr=t&csi=
- Replace with: /hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=
Canned Queries
You can update URLs that run a canned query (saved search) using the steps listed below. For details see the URL API Specification at http://www.amdev.net/lna_url_api.php
Example of old URL - http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/api/version1/sr?shr=t&csi=8422&sr=HLEAD(congress+AND+vote)+AND+DATE>=%25CURRDATE-7%25
Example of new URL - http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=8422&sr=HLEAD(congress+AND+vote)+AND+DATE>=%25CURRDATE-7%25
Steps to convert old URL to new URL:
- Find: /us/lnacademic/api/version1/sr?shr=t&csi=
- Replace with: /hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=
Links to Other LexisNexis Products for Higher Education
The new LexisNexis Academic interface does not display links to other LexisNexis products to which your institution subscribes. If you have been relying on these links to provide access to products such as LexisNexis Congressional or LexisNexis Statistical, you must now add separate links to your your library portal to provide access to these products.
Please see the article on LexisNexis Product URLs
Third-Party Library Systems
To ensure a smooth transition to the new interface, LexisNexis is working closely with third-party vendors including EBSCO, Ex Libris, Innovative Interfaces, Serials Solutions, TDNet. If you have concerns about updating links to the new interface from a particular third-party system, please contact Alistair Morrison
Links in third-party systems such as federated search and article-linker systems will continue to point to the old interface until the end of the migration period. Given the typical research work-flow on such systems, the continued use of the old interface is not expected to cause significant confusion for users at institutions that have switched to the new interface.