Tag Archives: openURL

How to set MPG/SFX links in the ADS

Users of the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) can configure their ADS preferences to link to the electronic resources available to them through their library subscriptions. The MPG/SFX server has recently be added to the list of Library Link servers offered by ADS.

To activate MPG/SFX buttons in the ADS, please:

  1. log in to your personal account (or create a new one),
  2. go to "my Account" and choose the "Library Link Settings",
  3. from the pull-down of available Library Link servers, select the entry for the "Max Planck Society"
    ADS preferences
  4. and save your settings.

Your ADS preferences are stored as a cookie in your browser and will remain active until you sign off the system.

One week, two new OpenURL sources

Sometimes, it’s really worth asking content providers for OpenURL support – even it may take some time and effort to identify the appropriate contact person. This week was pay-off time and we activated links to the MPG/SFX link resolver on two additional information platforms:

  • Credo Reference has been licensed recently to provide MPG staff with full text access to 150 reference books. OpenURL links to the MPG/SFX server are offered for the references in selected articles, see example.
  • BioOne launched a new platform some weeks ago and mentioned "Open URL compliance" in the the corresponding announcement. The revised user interface provides OpenURL links for all literature cited (see example), but the implementation requires some improvements – in particular for books and book items.

Time to start the weekend!

Enabling OpenURL links in the reference section of APS PROLA

You would like to request the MPG/SFX link resolver directly from the references cited by an article published on the APS PROLA platform? This is possible, after you activated the feature by

  1. going to http://prola.aps.org/openurl
  2. entering "http://sfx.mpg.de/sfx_local" as your OpenURL setting and "Save"
  3. enjoying PROLA’s OpenURLs, e.g. from Phys. Rev. E 60, 3361 (1999)

OpenURLs in reference section of APS Prola

Update: Meanwhile we learned that APS PROLA intends to provide the OpenURL setting at institution level as well, but this will require some more time. Good news, anyway!

MPG/SFX becoming tiny

The MPG/SFX link resolver bases on the OpenURL standard which defines a way to transport bibliographic metadata via an HTTP request. This standard made context-sensitive linking possible and helped us to create many new services within in the digital library. On the other hand, OpenURLs tend to become very long – because information providers wish to deliver as much detail as possible – and are therefore often difficult to re-use, e.g. by copying it into the body of an e-mail.

But solutions are available for everything: A fellow developer just recently released a new service to make long URLs tiny and we integrated this service into the MPG/SFX menu. Therefore, you should now find a short URL at the bottom of each MPG/SFX menu:

tiny url in sfx menu

This URL will take you back to the MPG/SFX menu requested with the original OpenURL and we hope you will like it!