"search for resolvers" gives out-of-date information
The registry used by the "search for resolvers" function (in Preferences -> Advanced) has been discontinued by OCLC and is returning stagnant, out-of-date results that can't be corrected by the institution.
I've found several references in the forum telling people that the information is drawn from the WorldCat Registry (http://www.worldcat.org/registry/Institutions), but that isn't the source for the http://worldcatlibraries.org/registry/lookup?IP=requestor lookup Zotero uses. I assume it was when those messages were written (2014, 2015, etc.), but it isn't now. I contacted OCLC to confirm that and to see if I could find a replacement URL, and they said that there isn't one.
My question to OCLC was "Is there an API for searching the WorldCat Registry programmatically, analogous to the old OpenURL registry's http://worldcatlibraries.org/registry/lookup?IP=requestor? I'm specifically looking for the OpenURL resolver information and need results in XML (or possibly JSON or another parsable format)." After some internal consultation, the answer I got back was that they had "confirmed that OCLC does not does not offer what you need via the newer WorldCat Registry API".
I'm not sure when the old API stopped reflecting changes made to the WorldCat Registry, but I know my institution updated our library name there in November or December, and it isn't reflected. So it's been at least that long.
I've found several references in the forum telling people that the information is drawn from the WorldCat Registry (http://www.worldcat.org/registry/Institutions), but that isn't the source for the http://worldcatlibraries.org/registry/lookup?IP=requestor lookup Zotero uses. I assume it was when those messages were written (2014, 2015, etc.), but it isn't now. I contacted OCLC to confirm that and to see if I could find a replacement URL, and they said that there isn't one.
My question to OCLC was "Is there an API for searching the WorldCat Registry programmatically, analogous to the old OpenURL registry's http://worldcatlibraries.org/registry/lookup?IP=requestor? I'm specifically looking for the OpenURL resolver information and need results in XML (or possibly JSON or another parsable format)." After some internal consultation, the answer I got back was that they had "confirmed that OCLC does not does not offer what you need via the newer WorldCat Registry API".
I'm not sure when the old API stopped reflecting changes made to the WorldCat Registry, but I know my institution updated our library name there in November or December, and it isn't reflected. So it's been at least that long.
So then I suppose we should 1) remove
http://worldcatlibraries.org/registry/gateway
as the default resolver, 2) remove the "Search for resolvers" button, 3) add a link to the OpenURL resolvers wiki page from that prefs section, and 4) show an alert with a link to that page if you try to use Library Lookup without a resolver entered.Registry search API aside, is there really no replacement for the Gateway?
If anyone reading this manages their institution's WorldCat entry, I'm still curious whether there's a place to enter your OpenURL resolver and authorized IP ranges in the current interface.
The default resolver is now https://www.worldcat.org/registry/gateway, which is the same as the old one but with HTTPS support.
OCLC's new Services & Configuration website relies on authenticating with an OCLC Services Account (which is also new), but I was able to dig and find this entry point that still works with a WorldCat account that had been previously authorized to edit the registry entry...
Given that people will often be off-campus these days, having the directory is still useful, but it's good if the default resolver will still work for on-campus access.
But I *just* updated our WorldCat entry, so maybe there's some lag time.
First I had to find our resolver ID (by hovering over a blank space in our registry so that the *Edit* button popped up) so that I could then associate it with our IP range. Apparently there's no default association, even if you only have one IP range and one resolver, which is strange and (if true) means that it's unlikely most sites will have sorted that out.
The documentation lives at https://help.oclc.org/Librarian_Toolbox/OCLC_Service_Configuration/IP_Addresses/010Manage_IP_Addresses#IP_Address_Range_Attributes and https://help.oclc.org/Librarian_Toolbox/OCLC_Service_Configuration/OpenURL_Resolvers/Manage_Resolvers
Not sure why my test using a campus proxy failed, other than that perhaps there was a lingering cookie that misled the WorldCat Registry gateway.
When I try this library lookup on my personal laptop and when I'm not connected to my institution's VPN, I get an error from WorldCat, "Oops, something went wrong."
Is this a useful feature for the general public who may not be affiliated with an institution that provides library access?
But WorldCat has been making major changes to their site lately, and they may have just broken that URL by accident. Seems possible it's broken currently even for people with an institutional IP address.
https://www.oclc.org/research/activities/registry.html
I reached to OCLC about the error message I was seeing, and they said they no longer support the OpenURL Registry.