Perhaps in this debate about deep linking it might of interest to share my
experiences.
DEEP LINKING FROM WITHIN A LIBRARY CATALOGUE
I have created several direct links from within the Web Accessed part of my
library's Automated Library system (CAIRS) which point directly to papers
and documents contained within other organisations sites, I do this to
create an electronic alternative to the hard copy we have purchased. I
wrote to a couple of these organisations asking for permission to deep link
to these sites. I have not received any replies. I have not removed my
links.
Either
a) the letters got lost
b) they found there way into somebody's intray and the issue of deep linking
is so misunderstood or uninteresting to the organisation they prefered to
let ignore it.
c) they are passively accepting the practice
DEEP LINKING FROM WITHIN AN INTRANET
The links cannot be accessed from the outside (except by hacking into our
system). The web catalogue is only available from within our Intranet and
they are held within CAIRS and the web pages are dynamically created in
response to searches. If followed the links all start a new web page.
If the web site wishes to prevent deep linking they can do so, diverting my
deep links to their home page, no doubt. I will then remove them.
I was a little intrigued to find that an organisation can at the same time
sell their hard copy printed papers and allow their electronic version to be
freely accessed via the web. I suspect these organisations just want as
much circulation to their papers they can get.
LINKING FROM WITHIN MY PERSONAL PAGES
I also run a set of personal web pages
http://www.thelufts.freeserve.co.uk/links.htm where I have converted my
bookmarks to become web pages. Most of these links are not deep linking. I
regularly receive notification from the sites I link to that my links are
broken and would I mind mending them. Why do they encourage linking - I
suppoe linking (deep or shallow) helps raise their score from search engines
that use "link analysis" and thus promotes their site.
CONCLUSION
My conclusion is that all the legal cases I have seen of suing deep linkers
involve commercial interests and commercial rivals. I do not think
libraries are in the same category. I always start links to external (to
the intranet) pages in new windows. I always indicate these are external
sites. And if a site wishes to prevent linking they can. So what is the
problem for us librarians?
Nick Luft
Systems Librarian
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