An OpenURL is similar to a web address, but instead of referring to a physical website, it refers to an article, book, patent, or other resource within a website.

OpenURLs are similar to permalinks because they are permanently connected to a resource, regardless of which website the resource is connected to.

Libraries and other resource centers are the most common place to find OpenURLs because an OpenURL can help Internet users find a copy of a resource that they may otherwise have limited access to.

The source that generates an OpenURL is often a bibliographic citation or bibliographic record in a database. Examples of these databases include Ovid Technologies, Web of Science, Chemical Abstracts Service, Modern Language Association and Google Scholar.

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has developed standards for OpenURL and its data container as American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard ANSI/NISO Z39.88-2004. OpenURL standards create a clear structure for links that go from information resource databases (sources) to library services (targets).

A target is a resource or service that helps satisfy a user's information needs. Examples of targets include full-text repositories, online journals, online library catalogs and other Web resources and services. OpenURL knowledge bases provide links to the appropriate targets available.

History

OpenURL was created by Herbert Van de Sompel, a librarian at the University of Ghent, in the late 1990s. His link-server software, SFX, was purchased by the library automation company Ex Libris Group which popularized OpenURL in the information industry.

  • ANSI/NISO Z39.88-2004 [R2010]

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Further reading

  • (38 pages)
  • Registry for the OpenURL Framework – ANSI/NISO Z39.88-2004
  • OpenURL standardization committee - archives of OPENURL@OCLC.ORG mailing list
  • Umlaut