Expanded presentation from 2012 Charleston Conference on how to complete missing metadata in certain EDS records by obtaining it from WorldCat to ensure linking to desired item held by local library.

1. Discover EDS:
Tales of Implementation and Use
Implementing and
Customizing the User Experience
Assessment, Usability and Customization
Rafal Kasprowski
Electronic Resources Librarian,
Rice University
Expanded Charleston Presentation:
Augmenting Record Metadata with EBSCO Discovery System CustomLinks
and OCLC’s WorldCat Local "quick start"
2012 Charleston Conference, November 7-10

2. Agenda
• Custom Links
− Increase successful linking to desired items, online & print
− Offer versatility and granularity
Presentation limited to Custom Links
− Pre-coded by EBSCO
− Created with the help of EBSCO Support
• Related Enhancements
− WorldCat Local “quick start”
• FREE locally branded & customized version of Worldcat.org
− Serials Solutions OpenURL resolver menu
• graphically enhanced with JavaScript coding from jQuery library

3. Overview: Full-Text Linking in EDS
Full texts native to discovery platform (HTML, PDF, Smart Links)
• Discovery service vendor is also content provider.
• Discovery service vendor’s content is available directly through discovery
platform.
Proprietary external links (Custom Links)
• Discovery service vendor establishes linking protocol with individual content
providers
• Static linking is predictable, works as long as links remain unchanged
• Links created one provider at a time: limited, but growing in scale
OpenURL links
• Link resolver checks library’s A-Z list and links to matching full text
• Existing standard: scales across most providers
• Dynamic linking can be problem if no holdings, or if source & target formats differ

4. Custom Links w/ EDS Partner Databases
• Use EDS Content Questionnaire (Excel sheet) to indicate which links to setup, e.g.,
− JSTOR
− Web of Science
− American Psychological Association
− Lexis Nexis
− Alexander Street Press
− NewsBank
− OAIster
− arXiv
− OUP: Oxford Handbooks Online, Oxford Scholarship Online
− ScienceDirect, etc.
• Possible to set up some Custom Links to show up only for certain collections.
• New Custom Links are being created by EBSCO – follow the EDS Partners listserv for
additions.
• Ask EBSCO to create Custom Links, by outlining parameters and it will be put in a
development queue, e.g. Oxford Art – Music – Reference Online.
• Some libraries are creating their own EDS Custom Links using the EBSCOhost admin
module, see CustomLinks – Best Practices Guide.

5. Advantages of Custom Links
to EDS Partner Databases
• As explained by EBSCO in EDS Questionnaire Help:
− Using a CustomLink direct to the publisher's content will often
result in a reduced number of clicks for end users - since some link
resolvers may require several clicks before end users reach the full
text.
− Using a CustomLink direct to the publisher's content may be more
reliable, since using a link resolver results in adding another layer
in the process.
− Using a CustomLink direct to the publisher's content allows you to
promote your external content, since the link text will use the
publisher's name by default. It also becomes more transparent to
end users where the link will take them because the link text is
contextual.

6. Problem situation
• Users are presented with EDS records from third-party databases
(i.e. not local catalog or IR).
− Harvard Library Bibliographic Dataset
− Government Printing Office Catalog, etc.
• A number of these third-party EDS records may be duplicates of local catalog
records.
• Certain third-party records have insufficient metadata for link resolver to work,
preventing resolver from reaching item or resolver service page, e.g.:
− Books
− Audiobooks
− Audio
− Music Scores
− Video, etc.
• Custom Links from EDS Partner Databases are not available.

7. Questionable Solutions
• OpenURL links – insufficient metadata in EDS records; user will not
even reach ILL form on resolver menu page: dead end
• ILL links – if local catalog has full text, ILL request will be denied
• No links – dead end; user has to search citation in other resources
• Remove the duplicate third-party databases
− All-or-nothing approach: Potential loss of valuable records and data
− Parsing through good and bad databases: time-consuming
− EBSCO may rearrange databases: risk of removing databases that will
need to be put back later & potential waste of effort

8. Why Retain All Third-Party Databases?
• If not duplicates to local content, they broaden discovery.
• Not all duplicate records have identical metadata – searches
may yield records from third-party databases, but not from
corresponding local catalog
− E.g., book chapter information in a book record: in third-party
database record, but not in local catalog record
• Third-party duplicates of catalog records are in EDS before
local catalog records because the latter are subject to upload
delays (days, weeks, months)
− CustomLink from third-party duplicates to catalog would offer
access in real time regardless of how often local records are
uploaded to EDS.

9. Linking EDS outliers to local catalog
• “Outsourcing” metadata
− Linking to outside resource that has proper metadata
− Customizing outside resource to display local holdings
− If local holdings cannot be displayed directly in outside
resource, using OpenURL to link to local holdings in library
catalog
• OCLC’s Worldcat.org
− Many records in many different formats
− Most records have relatively complete metadata
− Locally branded version (i.e. WorldCat Local “quick start”)
directly displays local catalog holdings
• in real time if library holdings are updated in OCLC Connexion every time a
new item is ordered or cataloged
− Platform is OpenURL-compatible
• If no OCLC# match is established between local catalog and WorldCat to
display holdings, then OpenURL button is generated, which leads to service
page with links to catalog, ILL, etc.

10. OpenURL Service Page
(Sample page, enhanced w/ JScript*)
*Contributors at Rice U.: Mang Sun, Jeff Koffler, Rafal Kasprowski, Denis Galvin
Coding reference: Matthew Reidsma, “Rethinking Stock User Interfaces", http://matthew.reidsrow.com/articles/11

11. Preparing institutional version of
WorldCat Local “quick start”
• Creating local rice.worldcat.org account - FREE
• Institutional branding
• OpenURL setup
• Link positioning & personalization for best user
experience
• Selecting link options
− e.g., only display OpenURL link if local holdings cannot be
displayed directly in WorldCat.

12. Linking from EDS to rice.worldcat.org
• If the following formats are not in our catalog or institutional
repository
− “Publication type” or “Document Type”:
• Audio, Book, Book Article, Book Chapter, Book Collection, Motion picture,
Music Score, Videorecording
• then use Custom Link labeled “Check for availability” and run
Title + Author search in a WorldCat keyword query:
http://rice.worldcat.org/search?q=title+author
• Rank “Check for availability” as last Custom Link in order of
preference
• Note: Book chapter queries yield corresponding book titles in
WorldCat

13. Linking process in rice.worldcat.org
1) If item IS available in local catalog
A. OCLC# match between local catalog & WorldCat
 Library holdings display in detailed WorldCat record
B. No OCLC# match between local catalog & WorldCat
 OpenURL link is displayed in detailed record
 User reaches resolver service page
 User links to record in local catalog

14. Linking process in rice.worldcat.org
2) If item IS NOT available in local catalog
− OpenURL link is displayed in detailed WorldCat
record
− User reaches OpenURL resolver service page
− User selects ILL request option on service page
End result the same whether (1) or (2):
− No dead ends
− User obtains desired item
− No manual data entry

15. Linking issues
(1) Linking to WorldCat
http://rice.worldcat.org/search?q=title+author
• title contains extraneous information that prevents linking
e.g., editor: “… / edited by …”; format: “… [sound recording]…”
• author may interfere with search for book chapter titles
e.g., OCLC record does not have author info for book chapters
• Query within keyword structure is too broad at times –
top results are unrelated to item searched
Partial solution: keep tweaking at metadata level,
e.g., reinstate OpenURL links for book chapter records with DOIs
(2) Linking to local catalog
• May require multiple clicks

16. Checking Availability via WorldCat Knowledge Base
EDS
WC
Cat.

17. Finding EDS items in local holdings using
WorldCat Local “quick start”
• Holdings match in rice.worldcat.org
− E.g., Maria [sound recording]. By: Bartoli, Cecilia. London,
England : Decca, p2007. 01/01/2007 1 sound disc (79 min.,
47 sec.) : digital, stereo. ; 4 3/4 in. Language: Italian
• No holdings match in rice.worldcat.org
− E.g., Nature and love in the late Middle Ages. By: Scaglione,
Aldo D.. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1963.
01/01/1963 x, 250 p. illus. 24 cm. Language: English