Skip to main content
OCLC Support

How do I get a link scheme so that I have article-level linking

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF

Symptom

  • You want article-level linking for a collection.

Applies to

  • WorldShare Collection Manager
  • WorldCat knowledge base

Resolution

Article-level linking is not available for every collection. If there isn’t a link scheme, there can’t be article-level linking. Even for a given provider, some collections have link schemes but others cannot.

To determine if your collection has a link scheme, go to WorldShare Collection Manager, retrieve the collection that the specific journal and/or article is in, and on the Linking accordion, look at the Link Scheme field.

If the Link Scheme field is filled in, but article-level linking not working:

Sometimes a link scheme is set for a collection but an access link won't display. This can be because the citation doesn't have enough information. Each link scheme is unique in what it requires. A lot of link schemes require information such as a volume, issue and start page but others only need a volume or an article title. Contact OCLC Support with a link to the article in WorldCat Discovery.

If the Link Scheme field is empty:

  1. See this article to determine if an existing link scheme will work: How do I identify what the link scheme is for a collection in order to add it?
  2. Test the existing link schemes for the provider. If none of the existing link schemes work, then contact OCLC Support to ask if it is possible to have article-level linking for that collection. Include the following:
    • Your institution's OCLC symbol
    • Provider Name, Collection Name, and Collection ID 
    • A sample search from the current provider that resolves to full-text, along with a screenshot (full-screen is best)
    • A username and password that will allow OCLC to proxy through to the provider platform
  3. OCLC will investigate to see if any existing link schemes work and if a custom link scheme can be created. OCLC will notify you if a link scheme request cannot be fulfilled.

We check several things to see if we can provide an article-level link, including:

  1. Does the provider offer an OpenURL which we can build a link out of  
  2. Does the provider offer a standard URL to articles which we can build a link using citation data such as volume, issue, start page 
  3. Does the provider have DOI linking 
  4. Can we use the provider’s search feature to offer a link to their article 
  5. Does the provider have a table of contents page we can offer a link to that is broken down by year, volume, and/or issue

Link schemes and ebooks:

Not all ebooks can be linked-to in the chapter. Most ebook providers only allow for a link to the book’s title level. To request a linkscheme for an ebook, contact OCLC Support and provide the following:

  • Your institution's OCLC symbol
  • The ISBN, date
  • start page/artnum (artnum = article number)
  • A username and password that will allow OCLC to proxy through to the provider platform
Page ID
30903