Thanks for your note. WorldCat Registry does look like a useful place
to record the library-specific data I use in my application;
in fact, I've been indexing
libraries in my own databases using ISIL and OCLC identifiers partly
with the thinking that this might make it easier to integrate with
systems like the Registry down the road.
I'm already manually consulting WorldCat Registry for some information
like identifiers, and things like probable ILS when
it's not clear from the library website.
There are some things I use that
don't seem to be captured in the Registry at this point in quite
the form I need for this application, and other things that I can't
now get at (but that OCLC seems to have); but it seems possible to
bridge the gap between our data schemes and share the data more
readily.
I don't have time at the moment to go into more detail in this message,
but I'd be happy to discuss this further when it's convenient.
Thanks,
John
On 3/5/13 1:31 PM, Klein,Max wrote:
-----Original Message-----
From: John Mark Ockerbloom [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, March 04, 2013 7:42 PM
To: Wikimedia& Libraries
Subject: Re: [libraries] Linking from Wikipedia articles to local
library resources
On 3/4/13 9:35 PM, Asaf Bartov wrote:
Hi, John.
This is pretty nifty! Thanks for creating it.
I wonder: would it make sense to connect it to some of the open
resolvers out there? (or are those only useful at the item level,
whereas this produces searches?)
It depends on how the resolver is set up. Most OpenURL resolvers are
primarily designed to link to known items, whereas this is trying to
link to groups of items by or about someone or something. But the
OpenURL 1.0 specification is pretty open-ended, and could encompass
this sort of thing. I decided not to use it to implement this
particular service, but if someone's library would provide better
results via their OpenURL resolver than via their catalog or other
discovery system, I could link to it.
(If anyone would like me to try linking to their library that way,
you can let me know when you request service for the library at
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/olbpcontact?type=library
Tell me about your wishes in the "Anything we should know ..."
comment space, and leave your contact details in case I have any
questions.)
Thanks,
John
John,
What a fantastic idea! Conceptually this is the (ahem) missing link, to realign GWR
(Google> Wikipedia> References) to GWL (Google> Wikipedia> Libraries).
That's the party line we've been delivering for a long time but without software or
practice to materialize the promise.
With that in mind, I quite agree with Asaf that your notion of Forward to
Libraries could benefit from using preexisting linking technologies. With all
necessary disclosure of my OCLC-partisanship I think that instead of
registering libraries through this new UPenn database, it'd make more sense to
use the already populated WorldCat Registry[1] . There thousands of libraries
are already registered with ties into their Online Catalogs, OpenURL Resolvers,
and Virtual References. Just look at the entry for UPenn [2].
This is a tremendous proposal which is theoretically complete. I'd really like
to help volunteer time and code to make it work as best as possible.
[1] http://www.worldcat.org/registry/Institutions
[2] http://www.worldcat.org/registry/Institutions/2583
Max Klein
Wikipedia in Residence
[email protected]
+17074787023
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