LTFL:ISBN URL

From WikiThing

Please contact casey@librarything.com or sonya@librarything.com if you need help getting this set up.

In order for LibraryThing for Libraries to know how to link to items in your catalog, you have to set up a template that it can use to construct the link to a particular item. This is specified in the field "ISBN-based URL" under 'Edit Library Account' in the LibraryThing for Libraries configuration.

The ISBN-based URL should be the URL to link to a particular item in your catalog based upon its ISBN, with "MAGICNUMBER" (without the quotes) where the actual ISBN should go. There are instructions on how the URL is generally constructed for each type of library software in the installation instructions.

To figure out what the ISBN URL should be, start with the suggested one in the installation instructions for your system, replacing <your catalog server> with the IP address or server name of your catalog. Find an ISBN that's in your system, replace MAGICNUMBER in the ISBN URL with it, and see if you can open that URL in a browser and get sent to the right item in your catalog. For instance, if the following URL worked to link to ISBN number 0805080430 in your catalog:

http://example.com/ipac20/ipac.jsp?index=ISBNEX&term=0805080430

then you would know the ISBN URL in your LTFL configuration should be:

http://example.com/ipac20/ipac.jsp?index=ISBNEX&term=MAGICNUMBER


This URL needs to be added to the section "ISBN-based URL" in the Global Edit section of the Configure page in your account.