OpenURL Management Overview

Why Use This Tool? Up

The "Manage OpenURL Configuration" page allows you to add and manage your OpenURL configurations in one location for all your HighWire-hosted journal subscriptions. If you have an OpenURL link resolver, such as SFX, for example, then this will allow you to create links back to your library holdings in the reference sections of selected journals. This helps the user find the most appropriate copy of the article he or she is seeking at your institution.

For a complete explanation of what OpenURL is and why it is useful, see the article "Why OpenURL?" by Ann Apps and Ross MacIntyre, University of Manchester, in the May 2006 issue of D-Lib Magazine (Volume 12 Number 5, ISSN 1082-9873) http://www.dlib.org/dlib/may06/apps/05apps.html

Set it up only once for all your HighWire-hosted subscriptions:

In order for your OpenURL configuration to apply to all the HighWire-hosted subscriptions you administer, you must first associate your subscriptions to your HighWire Press account. If you haven't already done this, click here for instructions about how to do so. Once you have associated your journal subscriptions, those titles (or groups of titles by publisher) will appear on the Manage OpenURL Configuration page and you can proceed with the next steps.

Adding or Changing Your OpenURL Configuration Up

Step 1: Enter New Resolver Base URL and Link Text. The "Resolver Base URL" is the URL of your link resolver. The "Link Text" is the wording that will appear for your patrons in the references of online articles, directing readers to available copies of content in your online holdings. In the example below, the "Find it @ Stanford" link is the OpenURL link. Your own link text can be whatever you choose.

Note: Whenever you return to the Manage OpenURL Configuration page, both the Resolver Base URL and Link Text fields will always be blank, even if you have previously entered data in these fields. If you are updating existing information and only need to change one of the fields, be sure to enter/re-enter the correct information in BOTH fields; a blank field will erase existing information from a subscription when you perform an update.

If you enter a Resolver Base URL but do not enter information in the Link Text field when adding or updating your OpenURL configurations, the default link text "OpenURL" will be used for the selected subscriptions.

Step 2: Select Subscriptions to Update You may choose which subscriptions to which your OpenURL configurations should apply. If you would like to apply the entered information to all subscriptions, select the Check All box. If you were expecting to see more journals to choose from, see the instructions for associating your accounts

Removing OpenURL Configuration Up

To remove the OpenURL configurations from journals, leave both Resolver Base URL and Link Text fields blank, select the subscriptions for which you are removing OpenURL, and click "Update Selected Subscriptions."

How to Associate Your Journal Subscriptions Up

1) Go to http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/changesubs. All subscriptions that are administered by the email address(es) in your HighWire account will be listed on this page. If you would like to associate additional subscriptions not listed, follow the link appearing after the listed journals:

I have more subscriptions to HighWire-hosted journals. Give me a journal list to pick from.

2) To associate the listed subscriptions, you will need to provide the administrator user name and password for the subscriptions. The administrator user name and password would have been designated when the online access was activated for the account. If you are the current administrator and do not have access to this information, you may request a new password from the journal site (a link is available on the Subscriptions page), or you may submit a message via the journal's Feedback/Contact Us page for assistance.

3) Enter the administrator user name and password for a journal subscription (or multiple subscriptions, if the information is the same). After you Submit, you will see all newly associated titles appear in the lower section of the page. Continue entering administrator user names and passwords until all desired subscriptions are associated. There is no need to uncheck subscriptions as you associate titles - only those titles matching the entered user name and password will be associated, and all remaining titles will still appear for you to continue the process.

Please contact us if you need assistance.