Link Resolvers and Knowledge Bases – Why are they so important?

Sarah Pearson

University of Birmingham

Co-Chair KBART Working Group

Agenda

What is OpenURL technology?

Why are knowledge bases important?

Problems with knowledge base metadata

How to make content more visible to users

The role of KBART

Feedback from you!

institution

repository

publisherwebsite

database

printcollections gateways

article citation

article title = …first author = …

journal name = …

article title = …first author = …

journal name = …

metadata string

OpenURL query (base URL+ metadata string)

resolver.institution.eduresolver.institution.edubase URL oflink resolver

link resolver’sknowledge base

publisher/providerholdings data

libraryholdings data

content licence

target (cited)article

predictable link

OpenURL query (base URL+ metadata string)

Make their content OpenURL compliant by:

– Creating outbound OpenURL links

Make their content “KB compliant” by:

– Telling the knowledge base what content they have and how to link to it

Which bits do publishers do?

publisher/providerholdings data

link resolver’sknowledge base

Together: “link-resolver compliance”

What does the link resolver do?

Takes an OpenURL and extracts the article metadata– http://baseurl.institution.edu/content?

genre=article&issn= 1234-5679&volume=53&issue=3&page=14

Compares article metadata to knowledge base – where is the article available?

– which version is preferred by the library?

Puts together a predictable link to this versiontarget (cited)

article

predictable link

– http://baseurl.institution.edu/content?genre=article&issn=

1234-5679&volume=53&issue=3&page=14

What bits do libraries do?

Have a link resolver! And register it with providers

Customise its knowledge base with their own holdings data

institution

resolver.institution.eduresolver.institution.edubase URL oflink resolver

libraryholdings data

link resolver’sknowledge base

Link resolver servicesLink Resolver Services

2 full text targets

Full text article

What is a knowledge base?

A database

Contains information about web resources – e.g. what journal holdings are available in JSTOR

– and how you link to articles in them

Contains information about the resources a library has licensed/owns– May contain electronic and print holdings (in addition

to a number of other services)

So why is it so important?

It knows where all the content is

It knows which versions the library is able to access

So – it’s the only place that can get a user to an “appropriate copy”

And that means?......

More content visible to end users

Content linking is more accurate for end users

Increase in content usage

Maximum reach for authors and editors

Better return on investment for library

Favourable renewal decision

Protection of revenue for content providers

Knowledge Bases – Measure of Success Better access for users

– Fewer false positives: saying it’s available when its not

– Fewer false negatives: saying it’s not available when it is

Best-case scenario: – IF a user is seeking an item, and the library offers access

to it through exactly 3 online resources,

– THEN the OpenURL resolver returns exactly 3 accurate links to the full text

– AND the ‘best’ resources appear first

Problems in the supply chain

Wrong data

– Content provider gives wrong metadata for title to knowledge base

– Link resolver uses bad metadata to make link

– Link does not resolve to correct target

– Dead end

Outdated data

– Provider tells knowledge base it has a particular issue

– Link resolver links to an article from it

– Issue has been removed

– Dead end

– Or, provider doesn’t notify that issue is now live

– So no traffic from link resolvers to that issue!

Problems in the supply chain

That’s not

good!

Problems in the supply chain

Lack of knowledge of its importance means:

some content providers aren’t using it

many others aren’t investing in more accurate & timely metadata transfer

And when the supply chain breaks …

Researchers will go to …

Knowledge Bases And Related Tools

UKSG and NISO collaborative project

UKSG 2007 research report,“Link Resolvers and the Serials Supply Chain”

To improve navigation of the e-resource supply chain by

Ensuring timely transfer of accurate data to knowledge bases, ERMs etc.

Right. So. What is KBart?

Guidelines

Education

Information hub

What is KBart’s mission?

Definition of the problems

1. Lack of uptake of OpenURL technology

2. Poor metadata held in knowledge bases

3. Inaccurate implementation of OpenURL syntax by OpenURL sources

4. Poor inbound URL syntax management by OpenURL targets

Areas which KBART is addressing Identifier inconsistencies

Title inconsistencies

Incorrect date coverage

Inconsistent date formatting

Inconsistencies in content coverage description

Embargo inconsistencies

Data format and exchange

Outdated holdings data

Lack of customisation

Recommendations

Phase I – encompasses the more fundamental recommendations from original research:

– File format

– Mandatory and optional fields

– Common approaches for presenting data within fields

– Handling of packages

– Frequency of data update

– Collection mechanism

Mandatory and optional fields Publication title Print-format identifier (ie, ISSN, ISBN, etc.) Online-format identifier (ie, eISSN, eISBN, etc.) Date of first issue available online Number of first volume available online Number of first issue available online Date of last issue available online (or blank, if coverage is to present) Number of last volume available online (or blank, if coverage is to present) Number of last issue available online (or blank, if coverage is to present) Title-level URL First author (for monographs) Title ID Embargo Coverage type (abstracts/fulltext) Coverage notes Publisher name (if not given in the file’s title)

Going public

Final Phase I KBart report now released!

www.uksg.org/kbart

http://www.niso.org/workrooms/kbart

Feedback and suggestions welcomed!

Phase II started in March

Phase II / Next Steps Change of leadership and team members

Endorsement / Compliance / Engagement

Definitions for global vs local updates

Consortia-specific metadata transfer

Institution-specific metadata transfer

Review of metadata transfer for e-books

Open access material

Phase II Working Group

Jason Price Claremont Colleges / California Digital Library Elizabeth Stevenson Edinburgh University Chad Hutchens University of Wyoming Sarah Pearson University of Birmingham Paul Moss OCLC Sheri Meares EBSCO Christine Stohn Ex Libris Sherrard Ewing Serials Solutions Matthew Llewellin Royal Society Andreas Biedenbach Springer Marieke Heins Swets Ruth Wells Taylor & Francis Rose Robinson Publishing Technology

Let’s look at those benefits again…… More content visible to end users

Content linking is more accurate for end users

Increase in content usage

Maximum reach for authors and editors

Better return on investment for library

Favourable renewal decision

Protection of revenue for content providers

Learn more

www.uksg.org/kbart http://www.niso.org/workrooms/kbart

Sarah Pearson – KBart co-chair

s.pearson.1@bham.ac.uk

KBart interest group

http://www.niso.org/lists/kbart_interest/

Your Turn!

Comments on knowledge base engagement

Feedback on KBART recommendations to date

Suggestions for future work

Endorsement / take-up

Supply chain involvement