SFX was the first

OpenURL An OpenURL is similar to a web address, but instead of referring to a physical website, it refers to an article, book, patent, or other resource within a website. OpenURLs are similar to permalinks because they are permanently connected to a r ...

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 Herbert Van de Sompel is a Belgian librarian, computer scientist, and musician, most known for his role in the development of the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) and standards such as OpenURL, Object Reuse and Exchange, and the OAI Protocol for M ...

, Patrick Hochstenbach and their colleagues at

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, whe ...

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 Ex Libris Group is an Israeli software company that develops integrated library systems and other library software. The company is headquartered in Jerusalem, and has ten other offices around the world. In October 2015, Ex Libris was acquired by ...

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 Ex Libris may refer to: *An Ex Libris (bookplate), a label affixed to a book to indicate ownership * Ex Libris (band), a Dutch metal band * Ex Libris (bookshop), a Swiss retail company * "Ex Libris" (''Charmed''), a 2000 episode of the television ...

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.

References

Further reading