Umlaut does not have an index. It assumes users are finding texts and articles in some other software somewhere else. But once they do find a known item, Umlaut — via either a link or content embedded on the other software’s page via javascript — provides services for that item. Fulltext; location in library stacks; inter-library loan; search inside the book from Google, Amazon, HathiTrust; citations and similar items from ISI or Scopus; related information from Wikipedia, Ulrich’s, Amazon, Journal Citation Reports, Worldcat Identities.

This is just a start. I can think of so many more services that could be provided — some which actually exist, and Umlaut needs to have plug-ins written for, others which don’t exist yet and someone needs to create. But Umlaut is a platform for supporting plug-ins for arbitrary services for known items.

One project I’d like to get to in the future is working with LibX 2.0 to allow more pages on the web, without their actual cooperation, to link to Umlaut for library-provided services for items users find wherever.

The more I work with it and think about it, the more I think Umlaut is an important infrastructural building block, for exactly what you’re talking about.

But I’m having trouble getting anyone else to see this!