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OCLC Support

We are finding “Access online” linking buttons to titles that we do not own

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Symptom
  • Access online linking buttons are appearing on a title that you don't own or subscribe to.
  • You do not have holdings on the title in WorldShare Record Manager, nor are the titles selected in Collection Manager.
Applies to
  • WorldCat Discovery
Resolution

First determine the source of the link. See: What are some tips to identify elink sources in WorldCat Discovery?

The Access online link could be coming from either the MARC 856 URL in the WorldCat or central index record, or from the DOI. If you want to prevent these types of links from appearing altogether, you can disable them in the OCLC Service Configuration. Note: Disabling a link type will not only remove the link from the record you are looking at, but also for any other records that have links of the same type.

  1. Go to the Service Configuration and log in using your OCLC Services Account (WorldShare credentials).
  2. Navigate to WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Full Text and Open Access Links > WorldCat Local Search Results // WorldCat Discovery Search Results and Detailed Views
  3. Deselect the checkbox(es) for the type(s) of links you want to disable.

Below are some additional considerations based on the link type:

  • Links from WorldCat Record 856 field
    • If the 856 link is broken (meaning you click on it and it doesn't resolve or it goes somewhere unexpected), contact bibchange@oclc.org to request that OCLC review the record and determine if the 856 field should be removed.
    Links from WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway
  • Government and Educational documents
    • If the link is still appearing, check to see if it is a Government or Educational document. Links that are classified as Government or Educational will always appear as Open Access links.  When the Government and Educational documents setting is selected, WorldCat Discovery is only checking two things:  First, is the URL a government URL? And, second, are the first and second indicators of the MARC 856 field 4 and 0,1,2 respectively?
  • Links from DOI
    • If the link is still appearing, check for "DOI" in other fields (e.g. 024). Test the DOI in the field to see if it matches the site to which the button resolves. If they match, remove the field from the record.
    • If the Access online or View PDF link is coming from LibKey or Unpaywall, you'll need to contact them to report the broken link, as these are third-party integrations.

If these steps do not remove the access online link, please contact OCLC Support

Page ID
13594