COinS Totally Explained

Everything about Coins totally explained

ContextObjects in Spans, commonly abbreviated COinS, is a method of embedding latent OpenURL ContextObjects in web pages. This allows client software to retrieve bibliographic metadata and to use an OpenURL resolver to find a mediated link. A principal advantage of using COinS, rather than giving a static OpenURL, is that the client can determine which resolver to use. This allows, for instance, searching for a copy of a book in one's own library.

Sites which embed COinS

Server-side applications which embed COinS

refbase

WordPress

Peter Binkley's plugin (described further in this post) allows you to refer to external sources within a post
Zotero's plugin (by Sean Takats) generates self-referential COinS for each post as an alternative to Binkley's UnAPI plugin.

Client tools which can use COinS

LibX

OpenURL Referrer (External Link

)

ZoteroFurther Information

Get more info on 'Coins'.

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