Abstract
This article summarizes the findings of a study on e-resource knowledge bases and OpenURL-based link resolvers sponsored by the National Library of Sweden. The project involved soliciting detailed information from each of the providers of the major products in this genre, reviewing product information available on the web and in published articles, and conducting a survey addressed to libraries using these products. The report identified and presented comparative information on a top tier of products that includes KnowledgeWorks and 360 Link from Serials Solutions; SFX Global KnowledgeBase and the SFX link resolver from Ex Libris; LinkSource and the EBSCO Integrated Knowledge Base from EBSCO and the WorldCat knowledge base from OCLC. A second tier included TOUResolver from TDNet, Gold Rush from the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries and GODOT from Simon Fraser University. Innovative Interfaces, Inc offers the WebBridge link resolver but does not produce a knowledge base. The library survey revealed relatively narrow differences in the statistical results. Serial Solutions emerged as more favorable in most categories except for end-user functionality where Ex Libris received higher ratings. The Global Open Knowledgebase project (GOKb) is noteworthy as a nascent community-based effort to produce a knowledge base. Key trends noted include less emphasis on knowledge bases and link resolvers as stand-alone products as they become integral components of comprehensive discovery and automation products.
Highlights
The National Library of Sweden commissioned the author to conduct a study to examine the major e-resource knowledge bases and their associated link resolvers
OCLC’s WorldCat knowledge base has similar capabilities, but follows a somewhat different approach and is targeted to those libraries involved with its WorldCat Local discovery service and its WorldShare Platform applications
The knowledge bases produced by these organizations stand in close competition, with relatively minor points of differentiation in their comprehensiveness and quality. These four products currently stand as the top tier of products, above other commercial and community-based products such as WebBridge from Innovative Interfaces, the Gold Rush Link Resolver from the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, and the community-based GODOT/CUFTS project led by Simon Fraser University
Summary
The National Library of Sweden commissioned the author to conduct a study to examine the major e-resource knowledge bases and their associated link resolvers. The study, carried out in January through April 2012, includes information collected from the providers of these products as well as data provided by the libraries that use them regarding their experiences of their quality and effectiveness. It focuses primarily on the knowledge bases, though it examines the functionality offered in the link resolvers. In addition to these characterizations of the products, the report provides observations regarding the role that these products play in the broader landscape of library automation and some of the trends currently in motion. A preliminary report was submitted to the sponsor in February 2012, with the final 100-page report completed in May 2012.1
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