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OpenURL and LinkFinderPlus

OpenURL and LinkFinderPlus. John Miller jsmiller@ku.edu Univ. of Kansas SCVUGM 2004. Why, What, and How?. Outline. the problems & opportunities behind OpenURL and LFP definitions & the basic process maintenance activities and goals why things don’t always work

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OpenURL and LinkFinderPlus

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  1. OpenURL and LinkFinderPlus John Miller jsmiller@ku.edu Univ. of Kansas SCVUGM 2004 Why, What, and How?

  2. Outline • the problems & opportunities behind OpenURL and LFP • definitions & the basic process • maintenance activities and goals • why things don’t always work • a look at LinkFinderPlus (LFP) 4.0 • admin client • in action

  3. The problems: #1 • It is too complicated -- and requires too much redundant work -- to find a citation and then ALSO find the item it cites • this was true in print, and is perhaps even more so with electronic journals

  4. The problems: #2 • User expectations for speed and convenience of access are higher than previously • perhaps unreasonably so, but nevertheless they are • true for faculty and staff, but especially so for students

  5. The problems: #3 • Repositories of electronic journals have widely varying, proprietary ways of linking to individual issues and articles • there is no adopted standard for how to ask a site for a specific article

  6. The problems: #4 • E-Journal numbers and uses are growing far faster than most libraries’ ability to deal with them via normal library tech services processes • you can’t just all of a sudden catalog an extra 1,000 journals when you license a new journal package, let along keep track of exactly what issues you have access to

  7. The Opportunities: • To deliver everything to the desktop, wherever that desktop is --“I love not having to come to the library” • To offer a linear sequence of services from full text online to interlibrary loan of text that automatically offers the user less-good choices whenever the best choices are not available -- never leave them without positive options

  8. A Possible Solution: • Combine the following: • a standard for passing citation data via a URL • support of that standard and creation of links based on it by A&I and other citation services • software that translates data in the standard’s syntax into each site’s proprietary syntax for retrieving an issue or article and creates links based on it • software to manage local electronic journal access information (i.e, what titles, what years, etc.) • a frequently-updated source of library-specific access information, including that for large e-journal aggregators

  9. + Link Resolver: Knowledge Base + Parsing Rules + E-serials service Link standard 9

  10. OpenURL LinkFinderPlus SerialsSolutions KU’s path: + + 10

  11. Definitions ... • Source: • item info + OpenURL construction + outward linking mechanism = “OpenURL-enabled” • In other words, what you are linking FROM • Site: • In LFP terms, the provider of the full text or other service that you are linking TO • Target: • Generically, what you are linking TO • Specifically, in LFP, a specific item (i.e., e-journal title) at a particular Site

  12. journal: Mediterranean Quarterly ISSN: 1047-4552 site: Johns Hopkins University Press target: Mediterranean Quarterly @ Johns Hopkins University Press coverage: 01/01/1999 - present active 12

  13. Definitions ... • Link Resolver: • Knowledge Base: what journals, targets, and sites exist and to which ones do I have access • Parsing rules and programs: turn the Source’s OpenURL into a Site’s proprietary language

  14. Definitions: OpenURL • What is it? • an open standard, created originally by Herbert Van de Sompel (and called “SFX”), and now revised & maintained by a NISO committee • a syntax • for packaging metadata and identifiers describing information objects • for pointing to a specific resolver that can accept the data and resolve the data into actual links • a base URL + a query • just a string of characters

  15. which becomes start with a simple citation: title: Axis of Evil: Threat or Chimera? author: Charles V. Pena source: Mediterranean Quarterly, 2002, vol. 13, no. 3, summer, pp. 40-57. database: CSA: Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

  16. http://lfp.diglib.ku.edu/lfp/LinkFinderPlus/Display?sid=CSA:polsci-set-c&genre=article&atitle=Axis+of+Evil%3A+Threat+or+Chimera%3F&aulast=Pena&title=Mediterranean+Quarterly&volume=13&issue=3&date=2002&issn=1047-4552&spage=40&epage=57http://lfp.diglib.ku.edu/lfp/LinkFinderPlus/Display?sid=CSA:polsci-set-c&genre=article&atitle=Axis+of+Evil%3A+Threat+or+Chimera%3F&aulast=Pena&title=Mediterranean+Quarterly&volume=13&issue=3&date=2002&issn=1047-4552&spage=40&epage=57 16

  17. http://lfp.diglib.ku.edu/lfp/LinkFinderPlus/Display?sid=CSA:polsci-set-c&genre=article&atitle=Axis+of+Evil%3A+Threat+or+Chimera%3F&aulast=Pena&title=Mediterranean+Quarterly&volume=13&issue=3&date=2002&issn=1047-4552&spage=40&epage=57http://lfp.diglib.ku.edu/lfp/LinkFinderPlus/Display?sid=CSA:polsci-set-c&genre=article&atitle=Axis+of+Evil%3A+Threat+or+Chimera%3F&aulast=Pena&title=Mediterranean+Quarterly&volume=13&issue=3&date=2002&issn=1047-4552&spage=40&epage=57 17

  18. http://lfp.diglib.ku.edu/lfp/LinkFinderPlus/Display?sid=CSA:polsci-set-c&genre=article&atitle=Axis+of+Evil%3A+Threat+or+Chimera%3F&aulast=Pena&title=Mediterranean+Quarterly&volume=13&issue=3&date=2002&issn=1047-4552&spage=40&epage=57http://lfp.diglib.ku.edu/lfp/LinkFinderPlus/Display?sid=CSA:polsci-set-c&genre=article&atitle=Axis+of+Evil%3A+Threat+or+Chimera%3F&aulast=Pena&title=Mediterranean+Quarterly&volume=13&issue=3&date=2002&issn=1047-4552&spage=40&epage=57 18

  19. sid=CSA:polsci-set-c genre=article atitle=Axis of Evil: Threat or Chimera? aulast=Pena title=Mediterranean Quarterly volume=13 issue=3 date=2002 issn=1047-4552 spage=40 epage=57 19

  20. Process: from the user’s perspective • find a citation in a database • click on LFP link • see a list of links to possible sites and services • full text, abstract, TOC, OPAC search, ILL form, etc. • choose a link and follow it • arrive at the end of the link

  21. Source • Index Citation • Catalog Record • Footnote Link Resolver: Parser + Knowledge Base • Target • Full Text • Service • Database 21

  22. Source • Index Citation • Catalog Record • Footnote • Source • Index Citation • Catalog Record • Footnote • Source • Index Citation • Catalog Record • Footnote Link Resolver: Parser + Knowledge Base • Target • Full Text • Service • Database • Target • Full Text • Service • Database • Target • Full Text • Service • Database 22

  23. Source • Index Citation • Catalog Record • Footnote OpenURL syntax Link Resolver: Parser + Knowledge Base Target syntax • Target • Full Text • Service • Database The Parser’s Role: Translation 23

  24. “Routine” maintenance and setup • Activate and deactivate targets • manually or via batch activation • Add journals and targets to sites • either manually or via bulk load • Use existing service types to create Extended Services • e.g., Voyager OPAC search • Create new, custom Extended Services • e.g., ILL form or database search • Customize the interface via XSLT

  25. Maintenance and development goals • To provide additional custom services • To make the system easier to use and less confusing for our users • To keep KB up-to-date in an efficient manner • To make things work right (or, at least, better) • by correcting errors • by correcting omissions • by working around bugs or inadequacies in the system

  26. For everything to work perfectly ... • Source database has correct, complete citation • OpenURL created by source is complete and accurate • The site / journal (i.e. target) exists in the KB • E-journal ISSN and/or TITLE in the KB matches that in the incoming OpenURL • Current local library holdings are correctly reflected on the target record in the KB

  27. For everything to work perfectly ... • LFP’s parsing and translation is correct • The site is up and operating • The site recognizes and authenticates the user • The site processes the incoming message correctly

  28. Some factors that affect success • Knowledge Base & Parsing • Not all e-journal sites exist in the KB • Not all journals exist in the KB • Activations may be inaccurate or out-of-date • Some sites that exist do not work due to incorrect or incomplete parsing • Target sets for some sites are incomplete and/or inaccurate

  29. Some factors that affect success • Knowledge Base & Parsing, cont. • Creating new e-journal sites locally is reasonably difficult • Inadequate parsing of elements for External Services • Source • OpenURL omits elements that are important to some sites, e.g. GENRE • Data put in wrong OpenURL elements • Extraneous data put into OpenURL elements

  30. Some factors that affect success • Target • Ability to correctly authenicate user • Ability to link to individual issue or article

  31. Source • Index Citation • Catalog Record • Footnote between the Source and Link Resolver Link Resolver: Parser + Knowledge Base on the way to Extended Services • Target • Full Text • Service • Database When can we step in and affect the process? modifying incoming activation data augmenting the KB SysAdmin customization altering the parsing in SOME cases 31

  32. Local custom XML file Target Activation Process SerialsSolutions XML Data Site ID clean-up program Knowledge Base 32

  33. What does the site ID cleanup program do? • changes some site IDs to those of others for the same site that work better • removes redundant sites • changes textual dates to real dates • e.g. “3 years ago”, “6 months ago”

  34. What’s in the custom local XML file? • consolitations where SS has two sites, the KB one • e.g., ACS current and archive sites, APS journals current and backfile sites • missing site / target matchups • e.g., for us, PsycArticles • new sites that we have access to, but which aren’t yet in the SS file (rare)

  35. Extended Service • Source • Index Citation • Catalog Record • Footnote Linking Process pre-processor Link Resolver: Parser + Knowledge Base Perl - PHP - etc. Standard Target 35

  36. What does the pre-processor do? • supplies GENRE value when missing • removes initial articles from TITLE • moves some data from one element to another for some database • gathers custom info for ILL form • writes a log entry for statistics and reporting

  37. Significant improvements in LFP 4.0 • KB maintenace now in-house at Endeavor • former 3-type division of sites merged into one • formerly “Agg_”, “JS_”, and XML sites -- only XML sites could have targets added to them • all sites now can have targets added to them • can pass optional OpenURL elements to Extended Services -- a great improvement over 3.5 • online usage reporting • 552 new sites and thousands of new targets in KB • many sites work now that did not work before, or now work better than before

  38. Other changes in LFP 4.0 • now Unicode UTF-8 compliant • online aggregator configuration • web, rather than Windows/ODBC admin client • many, many sites have new SITE_IDs

  39. New or remaining deficiencies ... • “SID” (system ID) still is not available to Extended Services • Despite additions, KB still lacks many sites and thousands of targets for existing sites • example of a bad cases for targets: • Lexis-Nexis Academic: 3,164 in SerialsSolutions DB, 1,492 in LFP KB • BUT, there were only 1,157 in version 3.5, so it’s better

  40. New or remaining deficiencies ... • when selecting a journal online for a new target, ISSNs do not appear • online usage reports are very limited • MS Access reports promised “soon” • large number created for version 3.5 earlier this year: e.g., “Active Targets”, “Links Followed”, “Links Presented”, “Audit-no Links Presented” • can’t sort columns in the web client • promised for version 4.1

  41. Example of “Sites Followed” query: KU Jan-June, 2004 41

  42. Personal view of LFP’s status: • It’s getting better, but still has a ways to go to • completeness, accuracy, and especially up-to-dateness of the KB continues to be the biggest problem • bringing maintenance inhouse and unifying the 3 types of sites was an essential step • Initially lacked reporting capabilities, but now quite a bit is available • a lot of data is retained in the Oracle tables

  43. Personal view of LFP’s status: • Web admin client needs improvement just to bring it back to the level of the Windows client • quite a bit slower and more cumbersome to use • do custom queries in Access to find out most things • Cooperation between Endeavor and agents such as SS needs to be improved -- or an alternative found

  44. a quick look at some LFP 4.0 administrative web client screens ...

  45. Admin client front page 45

  46. list of sites 46

  47. list of journals - subheadings 47

  48. list of journals - individual titles 48

  49. base info for a site 49

  50. info for a single journal 50

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