Information objects are hot, documents are not: the use of identifiers in online publishing

Abstract

The role of the Digital Object Identifier in allowing users to access required information with the minimum of effort and then to link to other relevant information is discussed. Its application to a commercial service at a high level of granularity, http://www.BlackwellSynergy.com, the online journal website of Blackwell Publishing Ltd, is described. The paper covers services for the user such as deep linking and discovery, services for the publisher such as viral marketing tools as well as a definition of an information object, and a possible future for the DOI.

In defense of the reference: more than linking in evolving Web environments

“…to a figure or to a collection rather than only to the article-sized resource). 1,2,15 Meanwhile, the Semantic Web promises to be the next new framework for 'smart' linking, where linking occurs on the datum level. 21 Citation practices and standards, meanwhile, have not budged from their article-centric past.…”

“…[1][2][3] At the same time, the longrunning tradition of citation documentation is being increasingly eroded and challenged by new Web technologies and practices.…”

“…I ntroduction New Web linking technologies are transforming online publishing from a system where publishers deliver flat, static articles to a sophisticated network of tools for intelligent, dynamic, user-centric scholarship. [1][2][3] At the same time, the longrunning tradition of citation documentation is being increasingly eroded and challenged by new Web technologies and practices.…”