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ServiceType (svc)
The ServiceType says what the user wants done with the Referent: full text, an abstract, holdings, interlibrary loan. For scholarly use the vocabulary is the registered sch_svc format.
The ServiceType entity names the kind of service requested for the Referent. In KEV form the prefix is svc; at most one ServiceType may be described in a KEV ContextObject, while the XML format allows several. It is optional, and most OpenURLs leave it out and let the resolver show its menu.
The scholarly ServiceType format: sch_svc
The standard's initial Registry includes a metadata format for ServiceTypes of the scholarly-information community, info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:sch_svc (with an XML twin, info:ofi/fmt:xml:xsd:sch_svc). It is part of the SAP1 and SAP2 profiles. Each key takes the value yes (service requested) or no (not requested):
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
svc.abstract | An abstract of the Referent |
svc.citation | The bibliographic citation of the Referent |
svc.fulltext | The full text of the Referent (for a book, possibly an e-book or an excerpt) |
svc.holdings | Holdings information: which libraries hold the Referent, and for serials which issues |
svc.ill | An interlibrary-loan request for the Referent |
svc.any | Any service |
Example
url_ver=Z39.88-2004
&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004
&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal
&rft_id=info:doi/10.1103/PhysRev.47.777
&svc_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:sch_svc
&svc.fulltext=yesThis asks the resolver to go straight to full text if it can.
What resolvers actually do with it
The KEV implementation guidelines are explicit that requested ServiceTypes "should be regarded as hints": the standard does not prescribe resolver behaviour, so a source cannot rely on the service being provided. Many resolvers ignore svc keys and use their own configuration, such as a "direct to full text" setting, to decide between a menu and a redirect. A ServiceType can also be given by identifier (svc_id) if a community has agreed on URIs for services, but no such identifiers are registered for general scholarly use.