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Hello, In the UK we have a pilot service that provides a registry for OpenURL resolvers, and also a "routing" service, hence the name OpenURL Router. Institutions can register their OpenURL resolvers - base URL, preferred button image and "alt" text, and various identifiers (IP address range and authentication scheme IDs). Service providers can then perform a lookup on the registry. For instance, a user from Edinburgh University is likely to access most services with the "Athens" authentication system (which associates them with the institutional identifier "edu"); the service provider can perform a lookup with this HTTP request: http://openurl.ac.uk/lookup/athens:edu The XML response details the resolver (try it, the XML is readable). The EDINA BIOSIS service uses this technique to provide OpenURL links to whatever resolver the institution has entered in the registry. No librarians ever have to inform EDINA about their OpenURL Resolver, and EDINA does not have to hold tables mapping customers to OpenURL Resolvers: as soon as a resolver is entered into the OpenURL Router registry, links automatically appear in EDINA services. The OpenURL Router can also provide a redirection service, which allows people to offer an OpenURL like: http://openurl.ac.uk/redirect?genre=journal&title=Journal+of+Ecology When an end user clicks on that link, the OpenURL Router figures out their institution from their IP address and redirects the browser to their local resolver. If their IP address is unrecognised there are tricks using Athens that may identify them; if absolutely necessary, they are asked to pick from a list of institutions. The last resort if no matching institution with a resolver can be found is to provide them with a choice of free access resolvers. Apart from the obvious gain that it could save librarians informing all their different service providers about their resolver, the OpenURL Router enables OpenURL Links from services that have no login procedures. Suppose you have an open access bibliographic portal; anyone can use the service, so you are unlikely to keep big tables of IP address ranges to identify users (it takes time, costs money, why would you?) You could add OpenURL links to your service, except you cannot tell what resolver to address them to. The OpenURL Router fixes this; either you can do a registry lookup using the end users' IP address, or just create a link with openurl.ac.uk as the base URL. The OpenURL Router is funded by JISC (http://www.jisc.ac.uk/). There is no charge for using the service, and access is not restricted, though because the funding is derived from the Higher/Further Education sector in the UK it cannot really be extended to cover resolvers outwith the UK. Full details at http://openurl.ac.uk/doc/. Best wishes, Ben Soares On Tue, 07 December, 2004 20:44, Hickey,Thom wrote: > Forwarding a message from the OpenWorldCat team: > > > > As part of the Open WorldCat program, OCLC will be piloting a registry > of OpenURL resolvers. We plan to investigate building on the more than 1200 OpenURL resolvers currently registered within our administrative > systems. We are in the early design stages and would welcome > recommendations. Feel free to email directly to: > > Mike Teets, Exec. Dir. Product Architecture & Development, OCLC > mailto:[log in to unmask] > > > > It looks like we'll be prototyping that here in Research, so we might > have some data for Dan to play with. > > > > --Th > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of > Daniel Chudnov > Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 6:55 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: [CODE4LIB] resolver list. > > > > For some stuff I'd like to try, and maybe for browser extension authors, > > among others, it would be helpful to have at least one public list of > > some public openurl resolvers. If you like, if you might kindly add > > your resolver to the just-started list here: > > > > http://curtis.med.yale.edu/unalog-trac/wiki/OpenurlResolverTable > > > > ...it would be very helpful. > > > > Or, if there's already a list like this elsewhere, please let me know. > > > > Thanks, -Dan -- Ben Soares tel: +44 (0)131-651 1238 EDINA, Edinburgh University Data Library fax: +44 (0)131-650 3308 Main Library Building, George Square email: [log in to unmask] Edinburgh EH8 9LJ, Scotland, UK www: http://edina.ac.uk/ "Hmmm, that makes no sense to me... But then you are very small, perhaps you're right." -- Treebeard