Book description
OpenURL was devised to solve the “appropriate copy problem.” As online
content proliferated, it became possible for libraries to obtain the
same content from multiple locales: directly from publishers and
subscription agents; indirectly through licensing citation databases
that contain full text; and, increasingly, from free online sources.
Before the advent of OpenURL, the only way to know whether a journal was
held by the library was to search multiple resources. An OpenURL link
resolver accepts links from library citation databases (sources) and
returns to the user a menu of choices (targets) that may include links
to full text, the library catalog, and other related services (figure
1). Key to understanding OpenURL is the concept of “context sensitive”
linking: links to the same item will be different for users of different
libraries, and are dependent on the library's collections. This issue of
Library Technology Reports provides practicing librarians with
real-world examples and strategies for improving resolver usability and
functionality in their own institutions. Cindi Trainor is the
Coordinator For Library Technology and Data Services at Eastern Kentucky
University Libraries, where together with her awesome staff she plans
for, implements, maintains and assesses technology in the libraries. She
is the former Director of Library/Information Technology for the
Libraries of the Claremont Colleges and spent several years at the
University of Kentucky Libraries. She is active in LITA and a proud
member of the library geek community. She also writes and shoots photos
for ALA's TechSource blog, is a co-author of The Darien Statements on
the Library and Librarians, and is a photographer whose portraits have
appeared in Library Journal, Digitale Bibliotheek and the New York Times
Jason Price is the Collections and Acquisitions Manager at the Claremont
Colleges Library. He has a PhD in Plant Evolutionary Ecology from
Indiana University Bloomington where he cut his teeth as a teacher and
researcher before earning an MLS from IU-SLIS. After spending 10 years
as a graduate student, he thoroughly enjoys applying his hard won
analytical skills to current library challenges. His role as E-resource
Package Analyst/Consultant for the Statewide California Electronic
Library Consortium provides opportunities to work with publishers,
vendors and libraries to improve products and increase pricing equity.
He wishes to thank his colleagues on the OpenURL Evaluation team, who
collected data for Chapter 3, and especially his family and coauthor for
their forbearance throughout this ambitious project.
