link resolver/open URL lookup button

nnero
Hi,

I'm sharing a Zotero library with some of my faculty. When I share a library in EndNote Web my link resolver/open URL lookup (Find it @ Wellesley button) shows up and can take them to the source of the full text even if the full text isn't in the database I found the citation in. This would be an invaluable feature. Could we do this in Zotero? Thanks, Neil

p.s. I'd include screenshots, but forums doesn't appear to have that ability. Count that as a forums feature request : ).

Neil A. Nero
Science Librarian for Research & Instruction
Science Library 001
Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481
781-283-3021 (voice); 781-283-3651 (fax)
Semester Hours: MTRF 9-5, W 1-9
nnero@wellesley.edu
  • dstillman
    http://zotero.org/blog/making-better-use-of-zoteros-locate-button/
  • adamsmith
    edited November 10, 2010
    Zotero does this already.
    Here are the instructions from Geoff's excellent Zotero guide:
    http://libguides.northwestern.edu/content.php?pid=68444&sid=522797

    Press the Locate button for any citation to access the resolver.

    Edit: I like clean, text only forums - you can just upload the picture to imageshack or so and post a link here.
  • ajlyon
    But if you are talking about the online view of the group library, then no, that is not yet supported.
  • nnero
    Yeah, I'm talking about the online view of the group library. When I share a group library I'd like them to be able to see if our library has access to an item.
  • ajlyon
    I'm not sure how those links are usually implemented, but I agree that it would be great to find a way to get them onto the Zotero library pages, so that they integrate more cleanly in the scholarly ecosystem.

    Can anyone describe what it takes to create such a system? I know that many sites support it, but I don't know what the technology is called and how it happens.
  • noksagt
    edited November 11, 2010
    Can anyone describe what it takes to create such a system? I know that many sites support it, but I don't know what the technology is called and how it happens.
    OpenURL. And the resolvers are user-specific, which means you would be required to login & the resolver specified per account. Or zotero would have to detect the IP you were visiting from & give a best-guess as to which resolver to use.

    I think COinS may be planned, which would allow those with LibX or other tools to resolve the links without being logged in.
  • schmidli
    Just starting with default/universal OpenURL resolvers like WorldCat and GoogleScholar in Group Libraries would be excellent. User-specified resolvers could then be visible once a user logs in.

    I'm not quite sure how this works, but RefWorks does show specific link resolver options without requiring a user to login. I think this is based on the settings of the user that added the document to the group (Zotero's "Added By" field.)
  • DWL-SDCA
    I am working with OCLC to implement this feature on my online SafetyLit database. Although I haven't finalized all of the details it appears that this can be accomplished relatively simply. It requires creating a standard hyperlink that points to the OCLC registry of institutional link resolvers and appropriately including the item (article, book, etc.) data within the URL. The OCLC server will recognize the IP address of the institution and supply appropriate full text links depending upon the institution's catalog holdings or registered subscriptions. I haven't yet learned how this works if the institution uses one of the other commercial link resolver systems (Ex Libris (SFX), Serials Solutions 360 Link, etc.).
  • schmidli
    Interesting! Is this a link that has to be manually created and entered for each item in your zotero library, or is there a way to automate this process?

    I ask because I have a library of several thousand items I'd like this to be possible for. (This is a library for a research group that would like to publicly display a list of their research that members of the public can interact with - link to full text, export to other formats, search by author, etc. But not all items in the library have existing URLs or DOIs to go off of, and these aren't automatically hyperlinks in the zotero library anyway.)
  • aurimas
    But not all items in the library have existing URLs or DOIs to go off of, and these aren't automatically hyperlinks in the zotero library anyway.
    Sounds like it would be a good idea to make DOIs clickable on the online library (They are already hyperlinked in Zotero itself. You can click on the DOI label)
  • adamsmith
    Sounds like it would be a good idea to make DOIs clickable on the online library
    agreed. Aurimas opened a separate thread on this http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/28048/dois-in-the-library-should-be-live-links/#Item_0 - those are surely low-hanging fruits that could be implemented quickly.

    I think doing simple link resolvers sound like a good idea, too, and I think schmidli is right - start this the same way it works in the client, i.e. with open worldcat, GS, and CrossRef.

    Then explore how this can best be expanded - what DWL writes (which would have to be implemented on the Zotero site to answer schmidli's question) sounds promising, but I think requiring log-in to add customized link resolvers wouldn't be the worst thing either.
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