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High level overview of electronic resources for beginners:
- Ebooks and electronic journals are ordered just like their print counterparts (See acq training), but don't require any item or shelf prep work. Individual title purchases may start with patron requests or the work of selectors. New requests are tracked in the Eresources group using ERIN, a workflow managing tool.
- Electronic content lives at the vendor/publisher site, and we essentially lease access to that content via licenses.
- Generally speaking we purchase Harvard-wide electronic access - authenticated use is via ip address. Off campus access goes through the proxy server, for which users must use Harvard credentials (Harvard Key). A few resources require users to create an additional user account.
- There are many different models for ebook publishing: ebooks take many forms. Integrating resource, pdf or html versions of the print book, downloadable, etc...
- Once purchased and available on the publisher site, books and journals must be activated in Alma for users to be able to find them. This happens via the CZ.
- CZ records are activated in Alma, which creates an instance of the same record in our IZ. Any updates to the CZ record from Ex Libris will be reflected in our IZ records automatically.
- Records from the CZ can be enhanced with additional subject headings, etc. in the metadata editor.
- We get standardized COUNTER reports for journal and book usage via Alma's SUSHI service. These reports inform decisions about whether to keep or cancel low use journals, or buy additional content for heavily used titles.
- Problems: occasionally we lose access to eresources, sometimes because the publisher detects suspicious activity from a Harvard account, but problems can occur for any number of technical reasons. Troubleshooting electronic resources is a daily activity and can involve staff from LTS and HUIT. Access problems are usually tracked using Footprints tickets.
- Journal cancellations, end of life for ebooks: When libraries cancel journal subscriptions, we often retain access to the years that our subscription was active (not always!). In these cases, we update the coverage statement in Alma to reflect our entitlements.
Notes/Outline:
- Overview: Mapping SFX, Verde, Aleph work to Alma
Aleph workflow:
Requests and overall workflow tracked via ERIN
Descriptive and Acquisitions work
Bib record: Bring in via OCLC or create, further cataloging work passed along to catalogers when needed
add holdings
add order(s)
process invoices
Linking:
When resource live at publisher/provider site, create a urn (ERNIE), put in the Aleph holdings record
(If new resource, will need to be proxied)
And/or
SFX: activate appropriate targets, services, portfolios; configure updates
update coverage dates and linking information when needed
Verde: Record licenses, admin info for publisher sites/platforms, cost share info
Usage
UStat – SUSHI and manually downloaded COUNTER reports
Related automated tasks in metadata management
EDI
Order loader
Batch loading/updating of ebook packages
Others:
Activation in Metalib, Primo to make resources visible in library portal
Maintenance and troubleshooting
Broken links, access or authentication problems
Breaches
Other technical problems
Alma workflow:
Alma integrates work previously spread across multiple interfaces, products that didn’t talk to each other
Bibs brought in from external source (e.g., OCLC) or CZ, descriptive work/cataloging in metadata editor
SFX-like tasks such as activation and updating coverage occurs in Community Zone (CZ)
services
collections
portfolios
Local collections & portfolios may be created when necessary and linked to CZ at a later date
License & Acq work - ordering & invoicing, integration with ERIN requests
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