From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

OpenURL is a type of URL that contains resource metadata for use primarily in libraries. The National Information Standards Organization (NISO), has developed OpenURL and its data container (the ContextObject) as international ANSI standard Z39.88. On 22 June 2006, OCLC was named the maintenance agency for the standard.

The OpenURL standard is designed to support mediated linking from information resources (sources) to library services (targets). A "link resolver", or "link-server", parses the elements of an OpenURL and provides links to appropriate services as identified by a library. A source is generally a bibliographic citation or bibliographic record used to generate an OpenURL. A target is a resource or service that helps satisfy user's information needs. Examples include full-text repositories; abstracting, indexing, and citation databases; online library catalogs; and other Web resources and services.

An OpenURL consists of a base URL, which addresses the user's institutional link-server, and a query-string, which contains the bibliographic data, typically in the form of key-value pairs. For example:

http://resolver.example.edu/cgi?genre=book&isbn=0836218310&title=The+Far+Side+Gallery+3

is a version 0.1 OpenURL describing a book. http://resolver.example.edu/cgi is the base URL of an example link-server. In version 1.0, this same link becomes somewhat longer:

http://resolver.example.edu/cgi?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:book&rft.isbn=0836218310&rft.btitle=The+Far+Side+Gallery+3

OpenURL was originated by Herbert van de Sompel, a librarian at the University of Ghent. His link-server software, SFX, was purchased by the library automation company Ex Libris which popularized OpenURL in the information industry. Many other companies now market link server systems, including Openly Informatics (1Cate — acquired by OCLC in 2006), Endeavor Information Systems, Inc. (Discovery: Resolver), Swets (SwetsWise Linker), SerialsSolutions (ArticleLinker), Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (WebBridge), EBSCO (LinkSource), Ovid (LinkSolver), SirsiDynix (Resolver), Fretwell-Downing (OL2), TDNet (TOUR), Bowker (Ulrichs Resource Linker), KINS (K-Link) and Infor (Vlink).

OpenURL is usually implemented by information providers by dynamically inserting an appropriate base URL into web pages sent to an authenticated user. OpenURL COinS is a new specification that allows free services like Wikipedia to provide OpenURLs by cooperating with client side software agents. Federated search software presents OpenURL links in record fields by employing the library's subscriber links to link servers faciliating access to full-text resources from bibliographic record hyperlinks.

• ANSI/NISO Z39.88-2004 The OpenURL Framework for Context-Sensitive Services at NISO
• OpenURL standardization committee
• OpenURLs COinS
• Why OpenURL?
• DLIB Article on SFX