Link Resolver Research Articles

Link Resolver Survival Skills: Using a Team-Based Approach to Diagnosing and Fixing Link Resolver Problems

Link Resolver Survival Skills: Using a Team-Based Approach to Diagnosing and Fixing Link Resolver Problems

Scope and limitations of library metrics for the assessment of ebook usage: COUNTER R5 and link resolver

Abstract Data are at the heart of electronic resource management in academic libraries. Assessing the usage data of electronic resources has become a prevalent approach to demonstrate the value of digital collections, justify library expenditures, and gain insights into how users interact with library materials. This study analyzes the usage statistics of electronic books (ebooks) generated locally by the OpenURL link resolver in an academic library, and statistics collected by platform vendors based on Release 5 of the Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resource (COUNTER R5). Three content provider platforms (Cambridge Core, EBSCOhost, and ScienceDirect) were analyzed as data sources. The COUNTER and link resolver statistics were examined to determine the degree of association between these two metrics. The Spearman correlation coefficient was moderate (rs > 0.561 and < 0.678) and statistically significant (p < .01). This suggests that these metrics capture different aspects of the usage of ebooks in different contexts. Other factors, such as the types of access to electronic resources and the units of content delivered, were also examined. The study concludes with a discussion regarding the scope and limitations of link resolver and COUNTER R5 as library metrics for measuring the usage of ebooks.

Tale of Two Tools

Consistent delivery of full-text content has been a challenge for libraries since the development of online databases. Library systems have attempted to meet this challenge, but link resolvers and early direct linking tools often fell short of patron expectations. In the last several years, a new generation of direct linking tools has appeared, two of which will be discussed in this article: Third Iron’s LibKey Discovery and Quicklinks by Ex Libris, a Clarivate company. Figure 1 shows the “Download PDF” link added by LibKey. Figure 2 shows the “Get PDF” link provided by Quicklinks. The way we configured our discovery interface, a resource cannot receive both the LibKey and Quicklinks PDF links. These two direct linking tools were chosen because they were both relatively new to the market in April 2021 when this analysis took place and they can both be integrated into Primo VE, the library discovery system of choice at the authors’ home institutions of SUNY College of Optometry and Ferris State University. Through analysis of the frequency of direct links, link success rate, and number of clicks, this study may help determine which product is most likely to meet your patrons’ needs.

Making Up the Difference: Using Custom Reporting to Identify Metadata Inaccuracies in Link Resolver Serial Metadata

Accurate title and holding level metadata in a library’s link resolver knowledgebase is essential to providing access to ejournal entitlements. As a result of their complex title histories, publisher submitted ejournal metadata often needs to be manually updated in the link resolver knowledgebase to ensure title changes and coverage data align. This article will demonstrate how a custom report used at the University of Alberta Library identifies date discrepancies between link resolver and catalog data to drive link resolver knowledgebase clean up work for priority ejournal collections. It will end by highlighting how quality metadata produced by the library community might be leveraged by vendors to improve ejournal holding data globally in their link resolver knowledgebases.

Book Review: The Electronic Resources Troubleshooting Guide

The discovery and access of electronic resources is full of challenges. Complicated relationships between vendors, integrated library systems, link resolvers, and knowledge bases both guarantee the occurrence of patron access problems and obscure the root cause. In The Electronic Resources Troubleshooting Guide, the authors provide frameworks for solving any technological problem and then break down the components of electronic resources (e-resources) access. This book is ideal for those who have found themselves in a position where they need to develop familiarity with the problems that may occur with e-resources, as well as manager who seek to formalize e-resources troubleshooting policies.

Web-scale discovery and Google Scholar: A study in use patterns

J. Paul Leonard Library at San Francisco State University launched a web-scale discovery service, branded as OneSearch in 2013. Before that, Leonard library had been using Google Scholar since 2006. This study gathered usage data on OneSearch and Google Scholar from the library OpenURL link resolver, SFX, and the interlibrary loan server, ILLiad, from 2011 to 2017. The findings demonstrated that OneSearch had become an essential library search tool, especially among students. Data revealed fewer patrons used Google Scholar after the implementation of OneSearch. However, Google Scholar remained an important research tool that complemented OneSearch.

Predicting Potential Electronic Serials Use

ABSTRACT When assessing electronic serials, librarians often review usage reports for subscribed serials but know relatively little about the potential use of unsubscribed titles. This paper discusses methods for predicting future use, including examining use of similar materials, citation metrics, interlibrary loan requests, denial/turnaway reports, and failed link resolver requests. Each indicator can tell librarians something different about how users are discovering and attempting to access materials. This paper also shares preliminary data from two case studies that detail an attempt to correlate prior year indicators of demand with first year use data of new electronic serials acquisitions.

Hacking the Collection: Changing the Collection in Response to a Migration

In 2016, the Munday Library at St. Edward’s University migrated to a new discovery layer. The Library had been an EBSCO Discovery Services (EDS) customer for six years, and the migration to Ex Libris’s Alma-Primo negatively impacted content discovery and collection usage due to issues with EBSCO’s proprietary metadata and Primo’s OpenURL link resolver. This article discusses switching the library’s collection using collection data analysis to respond to the change in discovery layer. The data-informed changes made to the collection improved collection usability and access.

The Impacts of Library Services on Interlibrary Loan Requests Canceled due to Local Availability

Interlibrary loan (ILL) services receive requests for resources that are available locally and form a major portion of canceled requests. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between requests canceled due to local availability and three aspects to identify impacts on ILL. The authors explored library service aspects such as collection format, the link resolver knowledge base, and discovery system functionality for potential influence on requests for locally available resources. Quantitative methods were used to identify evidence of different aspects’ impact through analysis of ILL borrowing request data. The most important finding was that the discovery system had impact on ILL services by improving retrievability of locally available resources published recently. The results suggest that a modern discovery system can efficiently provide more relevant results sourced from a carefully curated set of authoritative resources, save users’ time to access available materials, and reduce library staff members’ time and effort. This study will be helpful to libraries through its analysis of library services that impact the cancelation of ILL requests due to local availability and how those services may influence service improvement.

Library Provision of Intellectual Access to Open Access Journal Articles

ABSTRACTAcademic libraries provide intellectual access (discovery and procurement) to the full text of electronic journal articles through traditional library technologies like discovery layers, link resolver software and knowledge bases. These technologies mainly rely on accurate title-level metadata to successfully deliver journal articles to library users. Open Access articles pose a difficulty for many participants in the e-journal supply chain, including libraries and publishers, as Open Access status is a property of the article, not the title. A review of the literature examines: the impact of Open Access on intellectual access through traditional library technologies, current proposed solutions, and emerging technologies.

Blind academic library users’ experiences with obtaining full text and accessible full text of books and articles in the USA

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore a topic where blind participants expressed significant concern: obtaining full text and accessible full text.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study includes 18 open-ended telephone interviews with blind academic library users in the USA. The study uses the viewpoint that understanding blind peoples’ perspectives is essential for equal accessibility.FindingsLocating full text via link resolvers seemed problematic. Inaccessible articles and complications and delays creating accessible versions of print books limited participants’ use of materials. Enabling technologies and services were highlighted.Research limitations/implicationsCaution should be used when generalizing from this study due to its sample size and methodology. The study is not a web accessibility test, which would analyze coding, nor a usability test, which would observe users. Additional research would be ideal; however, libraries should not wait to attend to accessibility.Practical implicationsIn addition to improving digital accessibility, to address difficulty obtaining full text, libraries could offer to locate full text for blind users and implement SmartLinking and single sign on authentication. To deal with inaccessible full text, libraries could work with disability offices to obtain accessible materials and to convert materials to accessible format. DRM free HTML or EPUB e-books can have accessibility advantages. Outsourcing conversion to accessible format can also help. Libraries could offer reader service to assist blind users locating relevant sections of books to convert.Originality/valueCompared to previous studies, this study includes a larger number of blind screen reader users; describes some unique issues; and includes blind users’ own interpretations.

Increased impact for Open Publishing

Watch the VIDEO here. Presenter - Susanne Mikki.PurposeBased on the scholarly output in Norway, we aim to determine the total amount of articles freely available online, and prove whether there exists a citation advantage for these. We also investigate whether these articles receive more mentions on social platforms such as tweets or blogposts.DesignThe total scholarly publication output of Norway is indexed in CERES, the Current Information System in Norway. Based on these publication data, we searched a) Google Scholar and denoted a document as freely available, when a link to a full-text was provided, and b) altmetric.com to detect mentions of these articles. We analyzed the extracted data by publishing year, citations, availability, provider and mentions on different platforms.FindingsDependent on subject field, we find that almost 70 % of all articles are freely available. Articles behind paywalls belong to the most prestigious publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, Routledge and Universitetsforlaget (the main Norwegian academic publisher). According to Google Scholar’s link resolver, ResearchGate and academia.edu are the most frequent providers. In addition, institutional repositories seem to play a major role in posting free article versions.We find a clear advantage for open publishing; on average, these documents received almost 30 % more mentions on social media platforms and twice as many citations, indicating that open access is the future in publishing.

Challenges of the Electronic Resources Life Cycle and Practical Ways to Overcome Them

This paper will discuss challenges throughout the electronic resources life cycle and practical work arounds of tools many academic libraries have on hand already. Those tools include: a discovery layer, electronic resource management system (ERM), link resolver, COUNTER and SUSHI standards, ticketing systems, and spreadsheets. The workflow was previously described by Oliver Pesch’s work (2008) on electronic resources life cycles. Themes of this discussion of the experience at Kansas State University Libraries will include documentation of efficiencies, transparency of workflow activity across library departments, and the movement to take action in user communities and vendor support.

リンクリゾルバが変える学術ポータル : 九州大学附属図書館「きゅうとLinQ」の取り組み

リンクリゾルバが変える学術ポータル : 九州大学附属図書館「きゅうとLinQ」の取り組み

The Knowledgebase at the Center of the Universe

ABSTRACTSince its advent more than 15 years ago, the knowledgebase has quietly deposed the catalog as the center of the library management and discovery universe. Knowledgebases provide libraries with an inventory of their e-resources holdings and describe the materials that a library has purchased at a more granular level than the traditional bibliographic record. Knowledgebases power key tools such as link resolvers and unified search platforms, support management needs across the e-resources lifecycle, and more recently have evolved to intersect with areas such as linked open data, community contribution models, and next-generation library management platforms. They have truly become the hub from which our most vital services operate. This report will provide an overview of “The Knowledgebase at the Center of the Universe,” an American Library Association Technology Report assessing the state of knowledgebase technology. Topics covered will include an overview of the current product landscape, an exploration of new directions, and case studies from libraries and vendors using knowledgebases in innovative ways.

Remain in Safe Mode or Embark on a New Horizon

ABSTRACTDuring the past several years the Colorado State University Libraries considered alternatives to their current integrated library system, Innovative Interfaces’ Millennium, and their web scale discovery service, VuFind. These explorations were conducted by two separate task forces that both led a similar course of action: “watch and wait” for the progression of open source library utilities. A few years later, another task force was formed to examine other proprietary Open Uniform Resource Locator link resolvers. In the end, the Committee resolutely understood that a holistic approach to library technology is paramount for providing optimal service and that the a la carte approach to selecting and incorporating library technologies from disparate proprietary companies has a deleterious effect on services.

Providing and Maintaining Access to Electronic Serials: Consortium and Member University Library’s Perspectives

ABSTRACTOntario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) is a consortium of Ontario’s twenty-one university libraries. Scholars Portal E-journals (SP E-Journals) is an OCUL-sponsored digital repository containing over 45 million full text scholarly articles drawn from 19,000 journals covering every academic discipline. SP E-Journals exports its holdings to various knowledge bases including SFX. Scholars Portal (SP), OCUL’s shared technology infrastructure provider, maintains a central SFX instance for member libraries’ content subscribed via OCUL. The University of Windsor’s library is an OCUL member library that, until recently, used SFX as its Open Uniform Resource Locator link resolver for OCUL and local subscription content. This study will examine the work flow and problems encountered in maintaining central and local SFX instances, as well as discuss the advantages and challenges of providing and maintaining access to electronic serials at the consortium and member library levels.

Selecting link resolver and knowledge base software: Implications of interoperability

ABSTRACTLink resolver software and their associated knowledge bases are essential technologies for modern academic libraries. Because of the increasing number of possible integrations involving link resolver software and knowledge bases, however, a library's vendor relationships, product choices, and consortial arrangements may have the most dramatic effects on the user experience and back-end maintenance workloads. A project team at a large comprehensive university recently investigated link resolver products to increase efficiency of back-end workflows while maintaining or improving the patron experience. The methodology used for product comparison may be useful for other libraries.

Start-up story

A major pain point for librarians and publishers is the work involved in keeping authentication credentials (IP addresses, Shibboleth and link resolvers) current and ensuring their accuracy. Yet, the infrastructure of the internet has solved similar problems like this before. RedLink Network is a free, community-driven platform, run by a public benefit company. It allows librarians to broadcast their access credentials and branding, track uptake across their publishers and platforms, and solve access issues collaboratively. It also enables mapping of hierarchies (consortia and subsidiaries). This article describes what inspired the creation of RedLink Network, how it benefits librarians and publishers and, ultimately, how it can help ensure access for students, researchers and knowledge workers.

Determining Usage When Vendors Do Not Provide Data

ABSTRACTWhen library resource vendors do not provide usage data in consistent, manipulable formats, librarians must find other means to enable themselves to make data-driven collection development decisions. At Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) Libraries, two different approaches have been implemented: OpenURL link resolver analysis and EZproxy log analysis using grep, a GNU open source command-line utility. This column provides an overview of each solution.