[WEB4LIB] Re: Betr.: Building a database for e-journals

[Thomas Dowling]

> 2. Libraries need to deploy and configure OpenURL link-servers.
> Link-servers are software agents that know what electronic content a
> user has access to and how to direct the user to that content. The
> link-server acts as a hub which directs users to the appropriate
> content. Within a few years, link-servers are likely to become an
> integral part of any Integrated Library System worth paying money
> for, but for now link-servers are separate components or services.
>

Hearty agreement with all of Eric's points.  I'll offer a 2a here:
libraries need to be aware that OpenURL-driven linking hubs can be
constructed from scratch, or put together from open source tools
(including tools from Openly, no?), and so there are OpenURL approaches
for whatever your budget is (mine was zero, and was just cut by 6%).


> 3. Information providers (publishers, aggregators, libraries, etc.)
> need to be friendly to incoming "deep" links. If a user has
> bibliographic information for an item, either entered by hand or
> carried on an OpenURL link, the user ought to be able to immediately
> get to resources for that item that the user's library has paid for.
> This means sensible authentication mechanisms and automated access.
> No user wants to drill down through ten search screens or directories
> when they already know what they want.
>

And a 3a: From what I've seen, quite a few journal aggregators and a/i
database providers have seen the light on this recently, and OpenURL-based
links are for real.

Thomas Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu