On Mar 22, 2007, at 10:51 PM, Jeremy Frumkin wrote:

> It isn’t clear to me that there is enough added value to libraries
> at this point to adopt OpenID – of course, I’d be glad to buy
> someone a beer if they provide a use case to convince me otherwise ;-)

OK, I'll bite:

* We build a registry mapping OpenID providers to OpenURL resolvers.

* A user comes to our tool for finding licensed material (eg, a
LibraryFind implementation)

* If (by IP, OCLC's link resolver) we know the OpenURL resolver,
rewrite URLs to point at that resolver.

* Otherwise, we punt to an OpenID login form, and look them up in the
OpenID -> Resolver registry, and use that resolver when rewriting links.

Now, anyone whose institution has both has an OpenURL resolver and
provides OpenIDs can use our tool, without making any interaction
with us.

The really nice thing is that (at least for us) the OpenID resolver
handles trust issues, proxying requests if necessary. The resolver
doesn't need to be OpenID-aware -- though it would make for a nicer
experience.

Cheers,
-Nate