OpenURL: Pointing a Loaded Resolver

1
OpenURLPointing a Loaded Resolver

• Kristina Long
• Simon Fraser University
• Access 2003

2
Outline

• Projects
• OpenURL 101
• Version 0.1
• Version 1.0
• Link Resolvers
• knowledgebase
• link resolving logic
• administrative interface

3
OpenURL and Link Server Projects

• GODOT
• Holdings, requesting and full text linking
  software used by COPPUL and ELN
• Parses incoming OpenURLs
• GODOTjake
• Full text link server used by GODOT and written
  by Todd Holbrook
• CUFTS
• Completely redesigned link server written by Todd
  Holbrook
• Parses incoming OpenURLs. Provides HTML output
  for links directly from citation or XML output
  for use by software like GODOT.

4
OpenURL version 0.1

• Syntax for a URL containing bibliographic
  information
• Version 0.1 is simple to understand and implement
• 28 data elements for describing seven different
  genre
• Bundles journal, book, conference
• Individual items article, preprint, proceeding,
  book item
• Includes field for local information (pid)

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OpenURL version 0.1

• Example (without escape encoding)
• http//godot.lib.sfu.ca7331/godot/hold_tab.cgi
• ?sidAMSMathSciNet
• genrearticle
• titlePhi Delta Kappan
• atitleA tale not widely told
• volume74
• date1992
• pages196-7
• issn0031-7217
• pidltangt743928749lt/angtltauthorsgtDoe, John Brown
  Peterlt/authorsgt

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OpenURL Version 1.0

• National Information Standards Organization
  (NISO) trial of 1.0 in progress - trial ends
  November 2003
• Framework has been generalized so it will be of
  use for more than bibliographic citations (eg.
  legal documents, genome sequences)

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OpenURL version 1.0

• new genres (eg. Journal issue, Dissertation,
  Patent)
• request can be sent by reference
• extensible
• richer metadata options
• Multiple formats Key-value pairs, XML, MARC
• Element sets for different types of items

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OpenURL version 1.0Metadata Formats

• CoreMetadata Formats
• orifmtkevmtxbook Key/Encoded-Value Metadata
  Format For Books
• orifmtkevmtxdissertation Key/Encoded-Value
  Metadata Format For Dissertations
• orifmtkevmtxjournal Key/Encoded-Value
  Metatdata Format For Journals
• orifmtkevmtxpatent Key/Encoded-Value Metadata
  Format For Patents
• orifmtxmlxsdbook XML Metadata Format for
  Books
• orifmtxmlxsddissertation XML Metadata Format
  for Dissertations
• orifmtxmlxsdjournal XML Metadata Format for
  Journals
• orifmtxmlxsdMARC21 Library of Congress MARC
  XML Metadata Format
• orifmtxmlxsdoai_dc Open Archives Initiative
  Unqualified Dublin Core
• orifmtxmlxsdpatent XML Metadata Format for
  Patents

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OpenURL version 1.0Matrix defining the KEV
Format to represent a dissertation
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OpenURL version 1.0By-Value

• http//resolver.mylib.ca/resolver
• ?url_verz39.88-2003
• url_ctx_fmtorifmtkevmtxctx
• url_val_fmtorifmtkevmtxjournal
• rfr_idorirfrmyid.commydb
• rft.genrearticle
• rft.titlePhi Delta Kappan
• rft.atitleA tale not widely told
• rft.volume74
• rft.date1992
• rft.pages196-7
• rft.issn0031-7217

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OpenURL version 1.0by Reference

• http//resolver.mylib.ca/resolver
• ?url_verz39.88-2003
• url_ctx_fmtorifmtkevmtxctx
• url_ctx_refurihttp//www.example.org/objects/12
  34.txt

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Implementing Incoming Version 0.1 OpenURL Links

• Minimal implementations (eg. ISSN only)
• Need parser for local information in pid field
• Quality of data in OpenURL varies among vendors
• Vendor documentation often minimal or
  non-existent
• Vendor OpenURL linking feature cant be
  customized (eg. link image or wording, window
  size, window name)

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Link Server Software

• Most common application of OpenURL
• Components
• Knowledgebase
• Link resolving logic
• Administrative interface

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Knowlegebase

• Essentially a title list database
• title
• ISSN
• e-ISSN
• full text coverage (date, volume and issue)
• embargo period (days or months)
• vendor specific ID/code
• base URL
• DOI
• Local configuration information may also be
  considered to be part of knowledgebase

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Knowledgebase Vendor Title List Problems

• Lack all the required fields
• Poor quality or only intended for humans to read
  (eg. coverage dates in inconsistent formats)
• No easily machine readable format provided (eg.
  tab-delimited)
• Not updated frequently
• Not easy to find on website or only available by
  email request

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Link resolving Storing Linking Information

• How to store linking information?
• Code (eg. Perl) using provided utility functions
• Link templates
• Need a way for libraries that want to add their
  own links to new resources to do so

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Link resolving logic Issues

• Do you pre-fetch the link?
• Pro minimizes bad links
• Cons
• extra logic for linking module
• if not a proper API, then wording changes on
  vendors end may break linking module logic
• increases vendor/publisher site hits
• increases time to return results

18
Link resolving logic Issues

• Do ISSN only lookup or do title as well?
• If doing title matching then
• do you use a title authority file? may be time
  consuming to maintain
• fuzzy matching vs. false positives

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Link Resolving Logic Issues

• How to handle multiple hits from the same
  provider (eg. article appears in multiple
  Ebscohost databases)?
• Need provider level de-duping.

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Administrative Interface Simplifying
Configuration

• Minimize the amount of information required
• Keep screen specific to resource
• Make details of the implementation of the links
  transparent
• Provide site groupings for multiple branches or
  for consortia

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Administrative Interface Data Merging Issues

• Which title list details need to be able to be
  overridden at the library level (eg. coverage,
  journal title)?
• Should the data displayed for a screen be the
  merged, the local or the global data?
• Consider how to clearly display the merged data
• SQL not good at handling overriding data, so must
  be done by application code

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Administrative Interface Minimizing Duplication
of Work

• Especially an issue with partial collections,
  eg. Springer, Highwire
• Allow integration with external subscription
  databases (eg. Custom e-journals databases,
  Serials Solutions)
• How to implement integration?
• Live lookup on remote database.
• Upload dump of data (manual or automated)
• Either way must maintain mapping of resource
  names

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References

• OpenURL Syntax Description(http//www.sfxit.com/o
  penurl/openurl.html)
• Implementing OpenURL 1.0, by Oliver Pesch
  (http//library.caltech.edu/openurl/Presentations.
  htm)