Note: If you are a WMS library or using full WorldShare Collection Manager, see Manage broken link reports from WorldCat Discovery.
Note: Find instructions to Enable "Report a broken link" and receive emails.
Email messages generated by use of the "Report a broken link" form come from do-not-reply@e.worldcat.org. When you receive a "broken link" email, a patron or library staff member was unable to access a full-text resource.
A link resolves to:
Finding configuration errors is one of the primary benefits of enabling the "Report a broken link" form in WorldCat Discovery.
The subject line of the email generated from the "Report a broken link" form will be one of the following:
If the person who completed the form left "Request librarian assistance" selected, the subject line will include "Follow-Up Requested." You can use the contact information to follow-up with the person after you address the issue causing an errant link.
OCLC will not receive broken link emails and will not automatically provide feedback or fix errant links. Once you review your library's configuration, if you need assistance, report the broken link to OCLC. OCLC will work with your library and does not need patron information.
Verify settings in the WorldShare interface, Metadata > Collection Manager Fundamentals > Institution Settings.
Review the Proxy settings checklist. Note that if the title with the errant link is from an open access collection, you might need to disable the proxy setting within the collection's settings in Collection Manager Fundamentals.
Proxy Type
Base URL
Caution: Do not include a space after the Base URL.
Username and Password
(Optional) Enter your Username and Password. Providing username and password information is used by OCLC for de-bugging purposes only.
Note: If you are a WMS library or using full WorldShare Collection Manager, please see Provider Settings.
Collections from certain providers require identifiers specific to the provider in order for links to resolve to full-text. The ID is often included in the URL you use to access the provider's platform. For example, if you have an ID "XXX" from a provider:
Note: In special situations, you might need to override a linking ID for a particular collection. For help, see Collection-level settings in knowledge base collections, Use Proxy.
Providers that require an ID | Setting is always required | Setting is only required when custom linking has been set up with the provider | Vendor Specific Linking ID |
---|---|---|---|
Askews and Holts | x | VLeBooks Organisation ID | |
CSA | x | Base URL | |
China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) | x | Base URL | |
EBSCO A-to-Z | x | Customer ID | |
EBSCOhost | x | Authentication Type | |
EBSCOhost EJS (EBSCOonline) | x |
EBSCOonline Customer Code
|
|
Elsevier | x |
Scopus Partner ID Expert Consult ID |
|
Factiva | x | Factiva XS-ID | |
Gale Cengage | x | Location ID | |
Get It Now |
WorldCat Discovery libraries configure Get It Now as an unmediated service which allows end users to purchase articles immediately. See How to configure Get It Now (unmediated service) for instructions. WorldShare ILL libraries configure Get it Now as a mediated service. See Purchasing articles from Get It Now for instructions. |
ILL Email Address Bill to Email Address Institute Order Source |
|
IRIS Education | x | IRIS Education Library ID | |
Infobase | x | Infobase Library ID | |
JSTOR | x | OpenAthens Domain Name | |
Kanopy | x | Kanopy Library ID | |
LOCKSS | x | Base URL | |
LexisNexis | x | LexisNexis MIP | |
MD Consult | x | ||
National Library of Medicine | x | Outside Tool User Name | |
Naxos Digital Services Ltd | x | Naxos Library ID | |
OCLC | x | ||
Odilo | x | Base URL | |
OverDrive | x | Base URL | |
Ovid | x | Base URL | |
ProQuest | x | ProQuest account ID | |
ProQuest Ebook Central | x | ProQuest ebook Library ID | |
ProQuest Safari | x |
ProQuest Safari UI Code O'Reilly Connection String for SAML SSO Access |
|
Psychotherapy.net | x | Psychotherapy.net Library ID | |
Recorded Books | x | Library ID | |
Skillsoft EZproxy Domain | x | EZproxy Server | |
Springer | x | Base URL | |
Swank Digital Campus | x | Swank Library ID | |
Teton Data Systems | x | Group Alias | |
The HistoryMakers | x | Site ID | |
VIP | x | Base URL | |
Vandeplas Publishing | x | Vandeplas Publishing Custom URL Path | |
Westlaw Campus | x | Westlaw Site ID | |
e-libro | x | e-libro ID-channel |
If an errant link is not caused by a configuration error, you can report the errant link so that OCLC can correct the issue.
Contact OCLC Support with the following information, if you have it:
*If you are unable to provide test proxy credentials, OCLC might need to conduct a screen-sharing session with your library to troubleshoot.
Many errant link issues need to be reported to OCLC in order for a correction to benefit all knowledge base users. However, you might have the option to edit knowledge base title data in Collection Manager Fundamentals and submit the enhancements to the global cooperative. If interested in exploring cooperative options, follow the recommendations below.
A "broken link" in WorldCat Discovery is only sometimes caused by an erroneous URL or Linking Key. When there is a problem with a title-level URL or Linking Key in a provider-supplied collection, the best practice is to report the issue to OCLC Support. However, you can make edits to URLs in cooperative collections and submit them to the cooperative.
Cooperative (global.) collections
Cooperative collections are collections created by libraries that have been submitted to the cooperative. You can identify a cooperative collection by its collection ID. When a library creates a collection locally, the collection has customer. at the beginning of its collection ID. When the library submits the collection to the cooperative, it becomes a cooperative collection and has global. at the beginning of its collection ID.
Provider-supplied collections
Provider-supplied collections are knowledge base collections that are loaded and updated by OCLC with data from providers. A provider-supplied collection can be identified by expanding the collection's Activity History accordion and looking for: Source: OCLC, Online Computer Library Center
A "broken link" in WorldCat Discovery is only sometimes caused by an erroneous URL or Linking Key. Often, missing or incorrect title-level data in the knowledge base causes erroneous associations with WorldCat records as items are surfaced in WorldCat Discovery. Therefore, we recommend that you focus on enhancing title-level knowledge base data.
For more information, see Best practices for cooperative edits.
See How to update title information for instructions on submitting edits to the global cooperative.
After you save edits made in knowledge base title fields, any due changes in WorldCat Discovery will be visible after processing. Processing time varies but is not instant. Changes are often visible by the following day.
Once you submit your edits to the cooperative, your edits will be loaded to the global knowledge base.