Dear Siobhan,
Further to your email below I'd like to offer some explanation for why
CatchWord block URL checking robots.
Many full-text resources offer a challenge page to such robots (and also
to users) either as soon as you enter their site or when you attempt to
access full text - this being the "login" page you refer to below. If we were to allow robots from IP registered institutions such as Reading on to the site
then the robot would have access to literally thousands of pages every time.
This not only places extra traffic on our server network, but more
importantly, it falsely increases any usage statistics (in so far as web
page hits can be considered as valid usage statistics). This is neither of
use to the library or the publisher.
We ensure that links always work by generating them from a templated
database. This ensures that they are both consistent and stable. All the
titles in CatchWord have a published URL that links to the available volumes
and issues. For a complete list of these URLs please go to
www.catchword.co.uk/link.htm where you will also find details of how to link
directly to contents pages or articles.
I hope this explanation is helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
Regards
Tracy Shaw
Marketing Co-ordinator
CatchWord Ltd.
Tel: +44 (0)1235 555877
Fax: +44 (0)1235 536500
URL: http://www.catchword.com
Eml: [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Siobhan Wood <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 22 November 1999 14:35
Subject: Url checking of e-journal links
>
>
>At Reading we currently include links to e-journal titles in the 856 field
>of our webcat. Each month I extract a list of these and run them through
>an Urlchecker to ensure that the links are not broken.
>
>I would be interested in hearing how other sites are checking their links.
>Either for those included in their catalogue or on separate listings in
>their webpages.
>
>
>I find the results that come back either say the links are ok, access
>denied for robots, access is forbidden, no response from host, file not
>found. Catchword, Wiley, Cambridge, American Institute of Physics and the
>Institute of Physics periodicals all seem to fall into the category of
>Access denied for robots Oxford and Elsevier seem to fall into the
>category of Access forbidden
>
>and I am a little puzzled as to why others which are ip address controlled
>e.g. JSTOR come back saying OK - how far is the urlchecker going - is it
>just getting to the JSTOR site or is it getting to my individual title,
>the same applies to ingenta journals I am using the easylink access so is
>it just getting as far as the login page again?
>
>Siobhan
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Siobhan Wood
> Metadata Co-ordinator / Liaison Librarian (Geography)
> University of Reading Library
> Whiteknights
> P.O. Box 223
> Reading
> RG6 6AE
>
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
> Tel: (01189) 318770 x7488
> Fax: (01189) 316636
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|