Hi All,

Though hesitant to jump in here, I agree with Owen that the dead ends 
aren't a standards issue. The bloat of the standard is, as is the lack 
of a standardized response format, but the dead ends have to do with bad 
metadata being coded into open-URLs and with breakdowns in the 
connection between content aggregators/providers and knowledge base 
maintainers.

Work in this area isn't completely stagnant, though. The joint NISO/UK 
Serials Group's "Knowledge Bases And Related Tools working group" is 
looking towards solutions to exactly these problems.
http://www.uksg.org/kbart

Their initial report on best practice for content providers and KB 
maintainers is worth a look.

-Corey

Owen Stephens wrote:
> Dead ends from OpenURL enabled hyperlinks aren't a result of the standard
> though, but rather an aspect of both the problem they are trying to solve,
> and the conceptual way they try to do this.
> 
> I'd content these dead ends are an implementation issue - and despite this I
> have to say that my experience on the ground is that feedback from library
> users on the use of link resolvers is positive - much more so than many of
> the other library systems I've been involved with.
> 
> What I do see as a problem is that this market seems to have essentially
> stagnated, at least as far as I can see. I suspect the reasons for this are
> complex, but it would be nice to see some more innovation in this area.
> 
> Owen
> 
> On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 6:14 PM, Ed Summers <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 12:08 PM, Eric Hellman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>> Since this thread has turned into a discussion on OpenURL...
>>>
>>> I have to say that during the OpenURL 1.0 standardization process, we
>> definitely had moments of despair. Today, I'm willing to derive satisfaction
>> from "it works" and overlook shortcomings. It might have been otherwise.
>>
>> Personally, I've followed enough OpenURL enabled hyperlink dead ends
>> to contest "it works".
>>
>> //Ed
>>
> 
> 
> 

-- 
Corey A Harper
Metadata Services Librarian
New York University Libraries
20 Cooper Square, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10003-7112
212.998.2479
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