Chapter 2: On the Road to the OpenURL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5860/ltr.42n1Abstract
“Imagine a world where library users never reach a dead end, never fail to find the electronic resources they have the need—and the right—to access. This is the ultimate potential of the OpenURL: to link, seamlessly, among a multitude of information providers—proprietary and open access alike. In a world where libraries must acquire, manage, and provide access to a host of search tools and information sources from a variegated group of content providers, the promise of the OpenURL is tantalizing indeed.” —
The latest issue of LTR tackles the “appropriate copy problem,” an important issue many libraries deal with when it comes to helping their users link to the “appropriate copies” in their collections‘ electronic resources. Authored by University of Alabama (UA) Libraries electronic-resources librarian and adjunct instructor at UA's School of Library & Information Studies Jill Grogg, the report also serves as a general survey of the OpenURL and context-sensitive linking.
Explains Grogg, “Exploiting the OpenURL, particularly v. 1.0, means linking to more than just the full text of scholary journals.” In one of the chapters, “Innovative Uses of the OpenURL,” Grogg canvasses the efforts of many librarians and “other linking gurus” that are using OpenURL in innovative ways. Additionally, the report examines many other context-sensitive linking issues and includes discussion about Google Scholar and other freely available scholarly search engines, linking for open-access materials and digital objects, and OCLC's linking initiatives.
References
Priscilla Caplan and William Y. Arms, “Reference Linking for Journal Articles,” D-Lib Magazine 5, no. 78 (July/August 1999), www.dlib.org/dlib/july99/caplan/07caplan.htmlnSteve Hitchcock, ., “Linking Electronic Journals: Lessons from the Open Journal Project,” D-Lib Maga-zine (December 1998), www.dlib.org/dlib/december98/12hitchcock.htmlnHerbert Van de Sompel and Patrick Hochstenbach, “Reference Linking in a Hybrid Library Environment, Part 2: SFX, a Generic Linking Solution,” D-Lib Magazine 5, no. 4 (April 1999), www.dlib.org/dlib/april99/van_de_sompel/04van_de_sompel-pt2.htmlnOren Beit-Arie, contributor, “In Brief: Ex Libris Acquires Rights to SFX Reference Linking Software,” D-Lib Magazine 6, no. 2 (February 2000), www.dlib.org/dlib/february00/02inbrief.html#BEIT-ARIEnCaplan and Arms, “Reference Linking for Journal Articles.”nVan de Sompel and Hochstenbach, “Part 1” (see chap. 1, n. 1)nHerbert Van de Sompel, Oren Beit-Arie, '“Open Linking in the Scholarly Information Environment Using the OpenURL Framework,”' D-Lib Magazine 7 3 (2001): (accessed November 28, 2005).www.dlib.org/dlib/march01/vandesompel/03vandesompel.htmlnScienceDirect Info: Content – Journals – Participating Publishers, http://info.sciencedirect.com/content/journals/participating_publishersnScienceDirect Info: Content – Abstract Databases, http://info.sciencedirect.com/content/databasesnVan de Sompel and Hochstenbach, “Part 1” (see chap. 1, n. 1)nWilliam A Britten, 'Access to Periodicals Holdings Information: Creating Links between Databases and the Library Catalog,” Library Collections, Acquisitions' Technical Services 24 (2000): 8nVan de Sompel and Hochstenbach, “Part 1.”nCaplan and Arms, “Reference Linking for Journal Articles.”nVan de Sompel and Hochstenbach, “Part 1.”nCaplan and Arms, “Reference Linking for Journal Articles.”nGale's InfoMark Technology (Overview of), “What's an InfoMark?”, www.gale.com/infomarks/about.htmn
