Inera has created a web form that takes bibliographic citations in many different free-text formats and returns the DOI, if any, for the cited work. Unfortunately, access is limited to publisher-members of CrossRef. For details see the February 14 press release. (Thanks to ResourceShelf.)
Comment. Note to CrossRef: wouldn't it spread the use of DOIs to open up access to this useful service? If we could all find DOIs for arbitrary citations (when there are DOIs), then we could build more versatile URLs for our users, give more users links to pre-paid copies of non-OA works, and help publishers, authors, and readers. If the Inera service, or a new layer on top of it, could provide the DOI-based URL as well as the DOI, it would save users that step and be even more useful.
Update (3/2/06). CrossRef Executive Director Ed Pentz writes, "CrossRef is listening....In your post "Citations In, DOIs Out" you suggest CrossRef opening up its Free-Text Query service. It's a good idea but our initial focus is on testing this with our member publishers (including the leading OA publishers) to enable better reference linking. I wanted to point out that CrossRef has a freely available form to look up DOIs and we have an OpenURL 1.0 resolver that enables metadata to DOI and DOI to metadata queries." (Thanks, Ed.)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 2/21/2006 09:58:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
