Open Linking in the Scholarly Information Environment Using the OpenURL Framework

This paper provides insights into the concepts underlying the OpenURL framework for open reference linking in the web‐based scholarly information environment. The discussion starts by briefly reiterating the problems with reference linking that were initially described and later addressed as part of the SFX research. Some notions crucial to the understanding of the issues at stake are briefly described: extended service‐links, closed and non‐context‐sensitive linking, open and context‐sensitive linking. Then, the paper details the OpenURL framework and reports on its current deployment in the scholarly information environment. As an illustration of the penetration of the OpenURL framework, special attention is accorded to a prototype in which the OpenURL framework is integrated with the DOI/CrossRef linking solution.