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@switchinc.org

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

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

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.

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?genre=book&isbn=0836218310&title=The+Far+Side+Gallery+3 is a version 0.1 OpenURL describing a book.

2 distinct uses for link resolvers Origin/Source Target/Resource Database with Full-text of article Link Resolver Database with citation only

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

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 engine’s 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.

Federated Search Engine Diagram Federated Search Engine CUW Central Search example Full-text DB Google Other OPAC Amazon

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.

Serials Solutions Client Center

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.

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.

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

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

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...

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

Resources WebBridge Listserv WebBridge Wiki CSDirect – Tutorials, FAQ

Questions?