Open URL and Link Finder Plus Why What

Open. URL and Link. Finder. Plus Why, What, and How? John Miller jsmiller@ku. edu Univ. of Kansas SCVUGM 2004

Outline n n n the problems & opportunities behind Open. URL and LFP definitions & the basic process maintenance activities and goals why things don’t always work a look at Link. Finder. Plus (LFP) 4. 0 n n admin client in action 2

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

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

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

The problems: #4 n E-Journal numbers and uses are growing far faster than most libraries’ ability to deal with them via normal library tech services processes n 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 6

The Opportunities: 1. To deliver everything to the desktop, wherever that desktop is --“I love not having to come to the library” 2. 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 7

A Possible Solution: n Combine the following: n n n 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 8

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

KU’s path: Open. URL + Link. Finder. Plus + Serials. Solutions 10 10

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

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

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

Definitions: Open. URL n What is it? n n an open standard, created originally by Herbert Van de Sompel (and called “SFX”), and now revised & maintained by a NISO committee a syntax n n 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 14

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

http: //lfp. diglib. ku. edu/lfp/Link. Finder. Pl us/Display? sid=CSA: polsci-setc&genre=article&atitle=Axis+of+Evil% 3 A+Threat+or+Chimera%3 F&aulast=P ena&title=Mediterranean+Quarterly&vo lume=13&issue=3&date=2002&issn=1 047 -4552&spage=40&epage=57 16 16

http: //lfp. diglib. ku. edu/lfp/Link. Finder. Pl us/Display? sid=CSA: polsci-setc&genre=article&atitle=Axis+of+Evil% 3 A+Threat+or+Chimera%3 F&aulast=P ena&title=Mediterranean+Quarterly&vo lume=13&issue=3&date=2002&issn=1 047 -4552&spage=40&epage=57 17 17

http: //lfp. diglib. ku. edu/lfp/Link. Finder. Pl us/Display? sid=CSA: polsci-setsid c&genre=article&atitle=Axis+of+Evil% genre atitle 3 A+Threat+or+Chimera%3 F&aulast=P aulast ena&title=Mediterranean+Quarterly&vo lume=13&issue=3&date=2002&issn=1 lume issue date issn 047 -4552&spage=40&epage=57 spage epage 18 18

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 19

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

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

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

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

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

Maintenance and development goals n n 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) n n n by correcting errors by correcting omissions by working around bugs or inadequacies in the system 25

For everything to work perfectly. . . n n n Source database has correct, complete citation Open. URL 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 Open. URL Current local library holdings are correctly reflected on the target record in the KB 26

For everything to work perfectly. . . n n 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 27

Some factors that affect success Knowledge Base & Parsing n n n 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 28

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What does the pre-processor do? n n n 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 36

Significant improvements in LFP 4. 0 n n KB maintenace now in-house at Endeavor former 3 -type division of sites merged into one n n n 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 Open. URL 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 37

Other changes in LFP 4. 0 n n now Unicode UTF-8 compliant online aggregator configuration web, rather than Windows/ODBC admin client many, many sites have new SITE_IDs 38

New or remaining deficiencies. . . n n “SID” (system ID) still is not available to Extended Services Despite additions, KB still lacks many sites and thousands of targets for existing sites n example of a bad cases for targets: n n Lexis-Nexis Academic: 3, 164 in Serials. Solutions DB, 1, 492 in LFP KB BUT, there were only 1, 157 in version 3. 5, so it’s better 39

New or remaining deficiencies. . . n n when selecting a journal online for a new target, ISSNs do not appear online usage reports are very limited n n n 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 n promised for version 4. 1 40

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

Personal view of LFP’s status: n n 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 n a lot of data is retained in the Oracle tables 42

Personal view of LFP’s status: n Web admin client needs improvement just to bring it back to the level of the Windows client n n n 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 43

a quick look at some LFP 4. 0 administrative web client screens . . . 44

Admin client front page 45 45

list of sites 46 46

list of journals subheadings 47 47

list of journals individual titles 48 48

base info for a site 49 49

info for a single journal 50 50

targets for a selected site 51 51

info for a single target 52 52

Extended Service set-up page 53 53

Detail of Extended Service 54 54

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Some Examples

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Questions? 71