[Eril-l] Limitations of Libkey open url solutions?

Tue Jun 24 07:55:38 PDT 2025

We have LibKey as well and are very pleased with it.  I did want to address Melissa’s comment below about the LibKey link appearing the EBSCO pdf link.  We suppress the LibKey link if there is a native EBSCO link.  We set “Hide Link if Full Text” to Yes and we do not see a LibKey link if there is already a full text link.

Laura Vogler
Associate Library Director

Wabash College Lilly Library<https://library.wabash.edu/> | 301 W Wabash Ave | Crawfordsville IN 47933 | P: 765.361.6215

From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org> On Behalf Of Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2025 3:47 PM
To: Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Subject: Re: [Eril-l] Limitations of Libkey open url solutions?

We have been very happy with LibKey.  Their linking is even better than Alma’s.  It’s more accurate, and it’s very fast.  With the LibKey Nomad add-on to browsers, you can have links appear in places like Google Scholar, Amazon, and the reference pages for articles.  What I like best about that is when you have someone searching from a publisher’s site without coming to the library’s webpage first, without LibKey Nomad, they’d get prompted to pay for an article.  But with Nomad, a button floats above the page that links them back to our Primo so the article can be requested if we don’t have it.  (If we do have it, then LibKey would take the person to the paid-for PDF.)

Implementing it was a breeze and their support is fantastic.  They’re super responsive and helpful, and their whole team from the president down is very focused on the customer and user experience.  We’ve had to report incorrect linking just a handful of times in the course of a few years, and they were always resolved quickly.

The only thing I don’t like is that in the new EBSCO UI, the LibKey links display first, above the link to the PDF that’s in EBSCO already.  So if you don’t know that the second link is direct to the PDF, then you loop through LibKey to land on the PDF you could’ve gotten to if you’d used the other link.  But LibKey is very fast so it’s not a super big deal.  (This issue has been reported to both LibKey and EBSCO, but it’s on EBSCO’s end to solve.)

I tested an article with no DOI as found in EBSCO and I still got to the PDF with no issues.  It routed me through 2 screens that were up for just a second so I know it ran the article through LibKey into EBSCO’s OpenURL handling, and then landed on the PDF.  It was very seamless, even though LibKey didn’t actually find the article by itself.

Melissa Platkowski
SYSTEMS LIBRARIAN
............................................................................................
Cofrin Library
UW-Green Bay, 2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, WI 54311
tel: 920-465-2764  |  email: platkowm at uwgb.edu<mailto:platkowm at uwgb.edu>
web: www.uwgb.edu/library<http://www.uwgb.edu/library>

From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org>> On Behalf Of Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2025 2:09 PM
To: Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>>
Subject: Re: [Eril-l] Limitations of Libkey open url solutions?

One great thing about LibKey Link is that if it can't make the user experience better it gets out of the way and will direct end users to your Alma OpenURL functionality.  This is especially important when you don't have access (either OA or subscription) and your users will need to make an ILL request.  I am working my way thru updating our OpenURL info with a variety of platforms to our LibKey Link URL instead of our Alma URL.

Answers to some of your other questions can be found here: https://support.thirdiron.com/support/solutions/articles/72000570249-how-to-add-libkey-link-to-several-popular-databases

Johanna

__________________________________________________________________________
Johanna L. Riordan  (she/her)
Electronic Resources Librarian
Haverford College<https://www.haverford.edu/library>
Hear my name<https://www.name-coach.com/johanna-riordan>
Working remotely on Mondays and Fridays

On Mon, Jun 23, 2025 at 2:13 PM Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>> wrote:
I would also like to add that if anyone had an pros and cons of using LibKey link OpenURL versus Alma OpenURL that would be great!
________________________________
From: Flynn, C.M.
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2025 1:55 PM
To: Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>>
Subject: Limitations of Libkey open url solutions?

Hi all,
I hope this message finds you well! We are currently evaluating LibKey’s OpenURL solutions for potential integration with our library systems and are seeking information regarding any known limitations or challenges associated with its implementation.
Specifically,  we are interested in understanding:

  *   Are there particular databases or platforms where LibKey’s OpenURL linking is less effective or unsupported due to metadata or technical constraints?

  *   What are the requirements for successful linking (e.g., DOI, PMID, publisher support), and what happens when these are not met?

  *   Are there any known issues related to user experience, accessibility, or customization when using LibKey OpenURL links across different platforms?

  *
Any insights or first hand experiences you could provide on these points would be greatly appreciated as we assess the best solution for our users.
Thanks for your assistance!

Take care,
Flynn

------------------------------------------------------------
This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain information that is proprietary, confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message. Please note, the recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The organization accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.
=================================
_______________________________________________
Eril-l mailing list
Eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:Eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
http://lists.eril-l.org/listinfo.cgi/eril-l-eril-l.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.eril-l.org/pipermail/eril-l-eril-l.org/attachments/20250624/3ed8110e/attachment.htm>