OpenURL Technology

OpenURL technology offers an efficiently seamless way to determine exactly how an article or other information resource is available to a specific user. For this exercise, I used Google Scholar to find an article related to global warming:

Root, T. L., Price, J. T., Hall, K. R., Schneider, S. H., Rosenzweig,
     C., & Pounds, J. A. (2003). Fingerprints of global warming on
     wild animals and plants. Nature, 421(6918): 57-60.

The Pollak Library's "Citation Finder" feature allowed for easy access to this article. After purposely changing the page number in the "Citation Finder" window and then clicking on the "Go" button, I was still able to get to the full text of the article on Academic Search Premier. I was curious and decided to try
again--this time changing the volume number. After clicking "Go," the "Find It!" window apparently recognized that the article resides in Academic Search Premier; however, after clicking on the appropriate link, I received an EBSCO page that explains that the article could not be found.

My first thought is that the other citation elements present in the "Find It!" box are enough to "overpower" any one of the other elements that is incorrect. After experimenting with the volume number, now I think that the accuracy of each citation element is equally important in enabling the OpenURL link to work properly.

It was interesting not only to use the "More Options" feature in the "Find It!" box to create a link to the global warming article, but also to see that other types of OpenURL links have the capability to reach the same article. In this exercise, I noticed how an EBSCO database such as Academic Search Premier offers the user the opportunity to copy and paste a persistent link, or Permalink, as a means of gaining access to articles. For EBSCO's Permalinks, however, it seems that the accuracy of OpenURL focuses on the inclusion of an accession number, which apparently is key to identifying the relevant citation elements needed to get to any given article.

By having a variety of ways to create OpenURL links, the user increases the probability that one of the links will offer a connection back to an article, especially if one of the other OpenURL links is not functional for whatever reason. OpenURL technology--such as creating links using the "More Options" tool in the "Find It!" box or the Permalink feature available in an EBSCO database--provides instructors the opportunity to offer their students easy access to full-text articles by including the appropriate links on course websites or other course management systems. The OpenURL links provided by the instructors also help honor existing licensing agreements with vendors by having users authenticate before accessing an article.

The OpenURL link below will provide access to the following article:

Felkins, K., Leigh, H. P., & Jankovic, A. (1998). The royal mail ship
     Titanic: Did a metallurgical failure cause a night to remember?
     Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, 50(1):
     12-17.

Here is the complete OpenURL link as provided by the "More Options" feature of the Pollak Libary "Find It!" box:

http://sfx.calstate.edu:3013/fullerton?sid=google&auinit=K&aulast=Felkins&atitle=The%20royal%20mail%20ship%20Titanic%3A%20Did%20a%20metallurgical%20failure%20cause%20a%20night%20to%20remember%3F&id=doi%3A10.1007%2Fs11837-998-0062-7&title=JOM&volume=50&issue=1&date=1998&spage=12&issn=1047-4838

Thank you for the opportunity to explore OpenURL technology!

The Use of Wikis

Wikis can be meaningful collaborative tools in the workplace. They are easy to use and allow for access from any computer with an Internet connection. A wiki can be helpful for a group project within the library and also as a public resource containing information that is relevant to our users. For example, Pollak Library users who have research tips that may be helpful to others could post their strategies on a library-sponsored wiki.

While a library-based wiki may provide for local control of its content, the story seems to be different with sources such as Wikipedia. As we all know too well, Wikipedia has become the main source of information for many students, and this has presented challenges to all of us in the academic community for reasons such as information accuracy and authority.

Despite this negative impact, Wikipedia points to the need for ongoing efforts in information literacy so that students can determine the most appropriate resources to locate the information they need. From this point of view, therefore, Wikipedia has provided us with a useful platform from which we can address important issues associated with the promotion of information literacy. In addition, the use of wikis in general has highlighted the value of community-based efforts to make information easily accessible to all.