OpenURL
OpenURL is a type of URL that contains resource metadata for use primarily in libraries. NISO, the National Information Standards Organization, has developed OpenURL and its data container (the ContextObject) as an international ANSI standard (Z39.88). The OpenURL standard is designed to support mediated linking from information resources (sources) to library services(target. 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 need. Examples include full-text repositories; abstracting, indexing, and citation databases; online library catalogs; and other Web resources and services.
An OpenURL consists of a baseURL, which addresses the user's institutional link-server and a query-string, which contain 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 which describing a Gary Larson book. http://resolver.example.edu/cgi is the baseURL 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), Endeavor (LinkFinderPlus), SerialsSolutions (ArticleLinker), III (WebBridge), EBSCO (LinkSource), Ovid (LinkSolver), Sirsi (Sirsi Resolver), Fretwell-Downing (OL2), TDNet (TOUR), Bowker (Ulrichs Resource Linker) and KINS (K-Link).
OpenURL is usually implemented by information providers by dynamically inserting an appropriate baseURL into web pages sent to an authenticated user. "Latent" OpenURL is a new technology that allows free services like WikiPedia to provide OpenURLs by cooperating with client side software agents.