OpenURL Link Resolvers 101

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OpenURL Link Resolvers 101

• Or, what the heck is the difference between
• a link resolver,
• a federated search engine,
• a full-text aggregator,
• and a discovery services platform?

Bill Topritzhofer Coordinator SWITCH Library
Consortium btopritz_at_switchinc.org
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Overview

• Today's presentation will focus on
• Defining what a link resolver is (and isn't)?
• The ingredients needed to implement a link
  resolver
• An overview of how link resolvers are configured
  (WebBridge)?
• Consortium considerations

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Definitions

• OpenURL link resolver
• Federated search interface
• Full-text aggregator
• Discovery services platform

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Open URL Link Resolver
Defined by Wikipedia as OpenURL is a type of
URL that contains resource metadata for use
primarily in libraries. The OpenURL standard is
designed to support mediated linking from
information resources (sources/targets) to
library services (origins/sources). A "link
resolver", or "link-server", parses the elements
of an OpenURL and provides links to appropriate
services as identified by a library. A source is
generally a bibliographic citation or
bibliographic record used to generate an OpenURL.
A target is a resource or service that helps
satisfy user's information needs. Examples
include full-text repositories abstracting,
indexing, and citation databases online library
catalogs and other Web resources and services.
OpenURL allows the same information resource to
be used at different targets, without needing to
customize the link for each target.
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Open URL Link Example
An OpenURL consists of a base URL, which
addresses the user's institutional link-server,
and a query-string, which contains the
bibliographic data, typically in the form of
key-value pairs. For example
http//resolver.example.edu/cgi?genrebookisbn08
36218310titleTheFarSideGallery3 is a
version 0.1 OpenURL describing a book.
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2 distinct uses for link resolvers
Origin/Source
Target/Resource
Database with Full-text of article
Link Resolver
Database with citation only
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2 distinct uses for link resolvers
Origin/Source
Target/Resource
Related resources based on information in catalog
record. (Google, Amazon, IMDB, databases, other
catalogs...)?
Link Resolver
OPAC display
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Federated Search
Defined by Wikipedia as Federated Search is an
emerging feature of automated, web based library
and information retrieval systems. It is also
often referred to as a portal, as opposed to
simply a web-based search engine. Federated
searching consists of (1) transforming a query
and broadcasting it to a group of disparate
databases with the appropriate syntax, (2)
merging the results collected from the databases,
(3) presenting them in a succinct and unified
format with minimal duplication, and (4)
providing a means, performed either automatically
or by the portal user, to sort the merged result
set. In traditional search engines, such as
Google, only sources that have been indexed by
the search engines crawler technology can be
searched, retrieved and accessed. The large
volume of documents housed in databases is not
open to traditional Internet search engines
because of limitations in crawler technology.
Federated searching resolves this issue by the
technique described above and makes these Deep
Web documents searchable without having to visit
each database individually.
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Diagram
Federated Search Engine
CUW Central Search example
Full-text DB
Google
Other OPAC
Amazon
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Full-text aggregator

• Defined by Me as
• A full-text aggregator, such as Serials
  Solutions, provides customers with an interface
  for identifying their full-text subscription
  content. With the full-text subscriptions defined
  the aggregator provides services such as
• A-Z List of electronic full-text holdings
• Periodic updates of holdings (new titles, dropped
  titles, coverage changes)?
• E-Journal Portal for searching
• Subject browsing
• Data file of full-text holdings for use in a link
  resolver
• Overlap analysis
• Usage stats
• Additional providers of this service include
  Innovative (CASE), EBSCO (A-Z Service), TDNet
  (Journal Manager), and others.

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Serials Solutions Client Center
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Discovery services platform (Encore)?

• Defined by Innovative as
• The Encore discovery services platform brings
  together library content, community
  participation, and simple discovery to make the
  library the preferred destination for finding
  information.
• In other words, Encore is a presentation
  interface that sits above all your other
  resources (OPAC, databases, link resolver,
  federated search tool, community information) and
  using an improved search algorithm (RightResult)
  provides search results in a faceted manner
  allowing the user to more easily find pertinent
  information.

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Necessary Ingredients

• File(s) containing your full-text holdings by
  vendor and database.
• This file will serve as your coverage database
  against which full-text cross vendor searches
  will be run.
• The most time-consuming part of maintenance as it
  requires regular updates and is only as good as
  data provided by the aggregator.

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Necessary Ingredients cont.

• Access to the database vendor administration
  module(s).
• This is where you configure the databases so they
  know where to look for other coverage information
  when a non-full text link is provided in a search
  result.
• EBSCOadmin

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Link resolver configuration in WebBridge

• Conventional wisdom seems to advocate configuring
  Resources first and then Origins. This way, the
  Origins will begin working as soon as
  configuration is complete.
• WebBridge configuration is done through a web
  browser

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More definitions

• A Category, such as Full Text, Indexes and
  Abstracts, or Search Engines, is a group of
  Target Resources (which you can specify) that
  will be available as WebBridge links.
• A Data Test is a library-defined criterion that
  determines whether to display a Resource link.
  Data Tests instruct WebBridge whether to display
  a resource based on the content from the
  originating source record or search.
• Filters can be used to block Resources from being
  offered based on the origin from which the user
  begins the search.
• A look at configuration...

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Consortium Considerations

• Authentication different levels of access
  between members?
• Aggregation different databases between
  members?
• How can this work using a single coverage
  database?
• Individual coverage databases new III product,
  beta-testing this summer

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Resources

• WebBridge Listserv
• WebBridge Wiki
• CSDirect Tutorials, FAQ

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Questions?