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- Ebooks and electronic journals are ordered just like their print counterparts (See acq training), but don't require any item or shelf prep work, hence there is no location in Alma for eresources. 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.
- In most cases, electronic content lives at the vendor/publisher site, and we essentially lease access to that content via licenses, negotiated in the eresources unit.
- 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 (e.g., Harvard Key). Alma facilitates linking via the proxy server so that anyone using Hollis from any location can access eresources if they have a Harvard Key (no more urns/ernie). A few resources require users to create an additional user account (e.g., WSJ, Financial Times).
- There are many different purchasing models for eresources: like print materials, we create one-time or continuous orders, depending on how the resource is being sold to us.
- Once purchased and available on the publisher site, books and journals must be activated in Alma for users to be able to find them in Hollis. There are multiple ways to activate eresources in Alma, we would like to emphasize using the task list for this process.
- Disclaimer: there are many ways to accomplish the same task in Alma. Workflows for many of these tasks are still being thought out. When in doubt about anything, ask your manager or eresources staff.
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Overview of pre-Alma workflows: Aleph, SFX, Verde, ERNIE, ERIN (screenshots) (cut this?)
- Aleph: orders and invoices, bringing in records, creating holdingsERNIE: create URN for resource, add URN to holdings record
- Verde ERM: activating resources, maintaining platform and license info
- SFX KB: activating resources & services, updating coverage, batch changes to packages, generating reports
- Ustat usage reporting
- ERIN: tracking requests, organizing workflow across units
Overview example: all the pieces from ordering through activation - what does the ideal scenario look like? Jamie's video is a good example of ordering & activating a single ebook. (link)
selector selects
order w vendor
order created in alma
eres activated in alma (may involve cat, always involves linking)
invoice processed in alma
The Eresource task list - when resources are ordered but not yet activated, they will appear on the Electronic Resource Activation Task List.
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