1 Context-Sensitive Linking and CrossRef Policy Special Member Meeting December 4, 2001

2 The disconnect… Possible world? All content digital and assigned DOIs Demand-driven, article economy Full text direct from publisher All access via publisher IP- authentication Article-level navigation The library context Print Subscription-based budgets Locally held resources Full-text databases Complex licensing deals Remote and mobile users No article-level records

3 APPROPRIATE COPY PROBLEM: WHICH URL? DOI Resolver DOI URL? Sciencedirect.com? Ohiolink.edu? Utoronto.ca? LANL.gov

4 ACM DOI (to Elsevier) Ohio State User ELSEVIER Cited article OhioLink The Problem (or: “$25, please”) CLICK ARTICLE Citation

5 Why CrossRef can’t solve the appropriate copy problem on its own Only the library knows what it owns or has rights to – IP authentication at the publishers’ websites doesn’t account for all access The CrossRef resolution system can’t store or keep up-to-date every institution’s holdings, or be customized for local use

6 Current SFX customers 50 libraries and consortia around the world 2 global pharmaceutical companies UK and European libraries include: –Loughborough, UWestminster, London Business School, Royal Holloway, Czech Nat’l Library,Ghent, City of Sci. & Industry Paris, Delft Technical, etc… US libraries include: –Brown, Yale, Boston College, Harvard, MIT, NYU, Caltech, LANL, UChicago, UDelaware, URochester Australian/Asian libraries include: –AARLIN (consortium of 40), University of Technology Sydney, Nat’l Teachers College Taipai

7 Localized linking prototype Participants include IDF, CNRI, CrosssRef, Ex Libris, University of Illinois, LANL, OhioLink, Ohio State Article in DLIB Magazine, September 2001

8 Localized linking prototype User in library context clicks on a DOI link A cookie on user’s machine alerts DOI proxy server to redirect this DOI to the local linking server Article-level metadata needed for local resolution can come from the source of the link, or from CrossRef

9 Reverse metadata look-up When a DOI is sent to CrossRef and metadata is returned Occurs dynamically when a user clicks on links Would be covered under $500/year library affiliate fee

10 OpenURL aware References DOI Proxy Server DOI link DOI OpenURL Metadata DOI Handle Server DOI LANL LinkSeeker (Local Service) Appropriate Links OpenURL model for Alternative/Local resolution of CrossRef/DOI

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14 Review: 2 possibilities… Institution subscribes, so DOI link takes user directly to the publisher’s site where user is authenticated… or to an intermediate page where other access options are presented Institution does not subscribe, but the DOI link takes user directly to the publisher’s site where user sees an abstract and may be offered pay-per-view –More than user might see otherwise –Appropriate for user with individual subscription

15 Policy concerns Local linking service should not be used to circumvent subscriptions No links to known copyright infringers Branded link to publisher’s site always prominent on SFX menu, and not couched in unapproved language Library should always have option to forego menu page to link directly to full-text if available Publishers should be able to opt-out of redirection to local linking server

16 Why we should cooperate with context-sensitive linking services Local linking implementations are happening anyway – Ex Libris has dozens of library clients If we don’t partner with vendors like Ex Libris, we can’t influence how library linking options are presented –Default, branded link to publisher –Cooperation in efforts to block copyright infringement –Publisher opt-out

17 Furthermore… RMDLU makes all CrossRef publishers functionally OpenURL-enabled. By populating local linking servers with DOI links, libraries will come to recognize the DOI standard, and to demand DOIs in secondary databases and as a pre-requisite for library subscription dollars.

18 Reference Linking Survey

19 Problem: Why is DOI retrieval income well below projections? Secondary publishers not rushing to sign up –They expect to get DOIs in datafeeds from publishers –They say we only address a portion of their linking needs at the moment Only 30% of CrossRef publishers are creating outbound links

20 Hurdles to implementing reference linking according to publishers… “Size of the CrossRef back archive”, “low matching rate” “Format of our online journals (PDF)” “SGML tagging of necessary metadata” “Technical implementation, not cost” “Cost, for small publishers” “The work involved” “Authors don’t cite correctly” “Non-availability of internal resources” “We haven’t felt any demand to link”

21 Would lowering fees make a difference? Yes: 10 No: 8 What if retrieval could be done on the basis of text strings? Yes: 8 No: 6 Maybe: 4

22 What publishers say CrossRef should do to help… “Continue implementation workshops” “Provide a list of outside consultants who can help” “CrossRef should build up a consultancy service” “More support in interacting with CrossRef system” “More technical implementation detail on the web” “A more timely response to technical questions” “More education of end-users about the benefits of DOI” “Technical improvements”

23 Summary: barriers to linking on the publisher side Format of online journals (PDF) Cost, for smaller publishers Technical requirements, given limited internal resources Poor quality of references submitted by authors

24 Barriers to linking on the CrossRef side Robustness of database, back archive Matching rate Limited staff for technical support Documentation

25 What CrossRef is already doing to help Ongoing data clean-up Registering more content New technical support staff in 2002 System re-write: better validation process, enhanced inexact and partial matching Improving guidelines and query spec – XML query format in 2002 Promoting end-user awareness

26 Going forward… Create a software toolkit or help publishers use an affordable commercial package, such as Xmetal, to convert to query format – distributed approach OR Accept text strings as input for querying by creating a front-end conversion component to the query system – centralized approach