Lesson plan

SFX (software)

SFX was the first OpenURL link resolver or link server. It remains the most widely used OpenURL resolver, being used by over 2,400 libraries. Librarians Herbert van de Sompel, Patrick Hochstenbach and their colleagues at Ghent University in Belgium developed the OpenURL framework from 1998 to 2000. At that time they called it by the working title Special Effects (SFX). As part of the OpenURL development, they implemented the linking server software called SFX server. In early 2000, Ex Libris Group acquired the SFX server software from Ghent University. Ex Libris re-engineered the software and marketed it to libraries as an autonomous component of the OpenURL framework. Ex Libris continues to develop the software and add enhancements recommended by its customers. SFX is the most widely known OpenURL link server within the library and scholarly publishing community, and occasionally the product name has been used as a generic term for OpenURL link servers.

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Article summary

SFX was the first OpenURL link resolver or link server. It remains the most widely used OpenURL resolver, being used by over 2,400 libraries. Librarians Herbert van de Sompel, Patrick Hochstenbach and their colleagues at Ghent University in Belgium developed the OpenURL framework from 1998 to 2000. At that time they called it by the working title Special Effects (SFX). As part of the OpenURL development, they implemented the linking server software called SFX server. In early 2000, Ex Libris Group acquired the SFX server software from Ghent University. Ex Libris re-engineered the software and marketed it to libraries as an autonomous component of the OpenURL framework. Ex Libris continues to develop the software and add enhancements recommended by its customers. SFX is the most widely known OpenURL link server within the library and scholarly publishing community, and occasionally the product name has been used as a generic term for OpenURL link servers.

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.