Cindi Trainor - Rethinking Library Linking: Breathing New Life into OpenURL: A Library Technology Report

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In this issue of Library Technology Reports, authors Cindi Trainor and Jason Price revisit OpenURL and library linking. The OpenURL framework for context-sensitive linking has been in use for a decade, during which library collections and users behaviors have undergone radical change. This report examines how libraries can make use of web usability principles and data analysis to improve their local resolver installations and looks to the wider web for what the future of this integral library technology might hold.

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Abstract

This chapter of Rethinking Library Linking introduces the concepts and purposes of link resolver software and the OpenURL standard and how current user behavior and new tools worked in tandem to create change in what is required for an effective link resolver.

The January/February 2006 issue of Library Technology Reports An OpenURL link resolver is a software product that takes advantage of this standard to link a citation in one product to the items full text, even if that full text exists within a different product. This report builds on its predecessor by outlining issues common to OpenURL resolver products and suggests ways that libraries can address them. This report is not an introduction to link resolver products and assumes basic knowledge about library databases and the online research process.

Its important to note that the authors perspective is that of librarians passionate about enhancing the user experience by improving the tools that our libraries purchase, license, or build, not that of experts on link resolver software or on the OpenURL standard. The principles guiding this report include these:

The resolvers main purpose is to shorten the path between citation and item.

The relationship between the library and the open Web, especially Google, must be complementary, not competitive.

OpenURL and related or successive linking initiatives must be widely adopted inside and outside libraries to facilitate the best user access to scholarly content.

OpenURL and other linking technologies must be efficient, effective, and transparent to the user.

This report provides practicing librarians with real-world examples and strategies for improving resolver usability and functionality in their own institutions. To prepare this report, the authors tested and evaluated link resolver installations at their own libraries. The Claremont Colleges Library subscribes to Serials Solutions 360 Link, and EKU is a long-time customer of SFX, an Ex Libris product.