October: OpenURL Link Resolvers

The linking revolution is well underway,1 and for information professionals, it's akin to a roller coaster ride. Librarians are forced to navigate a host of options for linking users to a variety of materials, both print and electronic. One of the most popular linking mechanisms to emerge is the OpenURL link resolver, also called a link server or link resolver.

The beauty of the OpenURL link resolver is that it allows the local librarian to control what links do and do not appear to users, thus solving the now-infamous "appropriate copy" problem. With the help of an OpenURL link resolver, a user will be presented only with links to resources that his or her institution subscribes to.

Both of us have recently implemented OpenURL link resolver products at our libraries (Furman University and Mississippi State University, respectively) and, in the process of doing so, heard a number of presentations from different vendors pushing their wares. We also have watched closely the development and standardization of the OpenURL, observing its evolution to a robust linking solution.

This last article in the 2004 Helping You Buy series examines 11 vendors and their corresponding linking products: EBSCO, LinkSource; Endeavor Information Systems, LinkFinderPlus; Ex Libris, SFX; Fretwell-Downing Informatics, OL2; Geac, VLink: Innovative Interfaces, Inc., WebBridge; Openly Informatics, 1Cate; Ovid Technologies, LinkSolver; Serials Solutions, Article Linker; Sirsi Corp., Sirsi Resolver; and TDNet, TOUR.

The survey we used for this comparative article was by no means exhaustive, and several of the vendors were very helpful with their responses, indicating issues we missed, which we discuss in the conclusion. The technology that powers an OpenURL link resolver can be complicated, and the choice of which product to purchase can be confusing. We hope our discussion of OpenURL and the accompanying chart will help demystify a very powerful linking solution for libraries.

The Basics of OpenURL Link Resolvers

Providing access to the appropriate copy of a full-text article is one of the key issues facing libraries today. Many databases provide access to some version of the full text through static HTML links, which point the end user to whichever full-text version the database vendor has designated. The primary disadvantage to this type of linking is that not all users will be authorized to...