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Michigan State University

Third Iron: BrowZine and LibKey

Information about using BrowZine and LibKey, tools available from Third Iron for reading and keeping up-to-date with scholarly literature. Last updated: 8/25/22.

What is BrowZine?

BrowZine is a free web or mobile application from Third Iron that allows users to browse, read, and monitor journals available through the MSU Libraries. With BrowZine you can:

  • Easily access full text of articles through the MSU Libraries
  • Create a bookshelf of your favorite journals for easy, fast access
  • Save articles in personalized collections
  • Get alerts when new journal issues are published
  • Send articles to citation management or note taking programs
  • Share links to articles with others by email, Facebook, or Twitter

By creating a free account in BrowZine you can easily sync your bookshelves and reading lists across devices.

Third Iron supports over 1,000 publishers and provides access to tens of thousands of journals, but you may find that not all journals are yet included. An updated list of supported publishers is available on the Third Iron website.

Accessing BrowZine

BrowZine is available as both a web-based version and a free mobile app.

Using BrowZine Web

BrowZine can be used in any internet browser and does not require a download or a mobile device.

Downloading the Mobile App

For those that prefer to use BrowZine on their mobile device, the app can be downloaded for free from the Apple or Android app stores.

Authentication

To access content from supported publishers available through the MSU Libraries subscriptions, you must sign in with your MSU NetID and password.

To sign in:

  1. When opening BrowZine for the first time, you will be asked to Choose a Library.
  2. Scroll down to, or type into the search bar, Michigan State University and select.
  3. Enter your MSU ID and Password in the appropriate fields, and login.

BrowZine Account

A free BrowZine account can be created to use personalization features, such as syncing your Bookshelf and Saved Articles across multiple devices. This account is different from using your MSU Net ID to access BrowZine, and you can use any email to sign up. A BrowZine account is not necessary for using BrowZine.

Selecting Journals

Journals can be searched for by title or browsed by subject area. To search for available journals in the mobile app, select BrowZine Library in the black bar at the bottom of the app window. Click on the title to be taken to the current issue of that title.

To save your favorite journals to the BrowZine Bookshelf, select the Add to My Bookshelf button when viewing the Table of Contents of a journal. Also in the Table of Contents view, selecting Browse Related Subjects will display the journal along with other titles in the same subject area.

To view the Table of Contents for older issues of a journal select Available Issues. Some journals also provide the ability to view Articles in Press.

 

Example of 'Table of Contents' View in BrowZine

Table of contents from volume 53, issue 10 of Medical Education in BrowZine. Articles in Press and icons for sharing/viewing are circled.

 

Example of 'Table of Contents' View in BrowZine Mobile App

Table of contents from volume 53, issue 10 of Medical Education in BrowZine. Options for saving to Bookshelf and viewing additional issues/journals are circled.

Saving Articles

To read an article select a title from the Table of Contents. Articles can be saved to My Articles in the Table of Contents view, or by selecting Save Article in the Send to... menu in the article view of the mobile app. Saved articles can be accessed by clicking on My Articles.

On a mobile device, articles can be read directly in the BrowZine app. Once an article is open, you can browse the issue by navigating to the previous or next article.

In BrowZine Web, you can choose to download the PDF or link to the article on the publisher's website. There are options to export the citation or share the link to the article.

 

Example of Article View in BrowZine Mobile App

Example of article in view in BrowZine mobile app with sharing options highlighted.