Handouts, resources and display documents
Pre-reading and reference documents
Outline and Links to related documentation
Script
Introduction
Welcome to eResources 1. My name is ..... and our facilitator/s in this class is/are... .
This class covers (ADD BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CONTENTS). It builds on what you learned in Search and Sets and (OTHER PRE-REQS). As we work, you can follow along with me as I demonstrate, or wait until each practice break to try it yourself.
A few notes:
- Alma went live on July 3rd and, as expected, we're learning new things about it as staff work with real data in the system. Everyone is continuing to learn Alma, and will have the support they need to do so.
- We are training on the tool of Alma, and while there is usually more than one way to do anything in Alma, we will show you one verified or preferred way to do tasks. Once you've learned the best practice, we encourage staff to discuss local procedures and workflows in your units.
- We also encourage everyone to come together in Learning Circles - either cross-functional within units or on the same functions across units - to discuss how the implementation is going and how the new features and workflows in Alma might change work at Harvard.
- Please continue to use the LTS Alma Support form to ask questions and report issues with Alma data, workflows, or roles & permissions. Asking these questions, and working groups providing answers, is an important part of everyone learning more about Alma. You can find the link in the Notifications widget in Alma, along with the link to Alma documentation on the LTS wiki.
- You have a 1-page handout that contains a link to the Alma sandbox, the wiki page for this class, and a few other useful links. (If there are other handouts, describe them.) The script and all materials for this class are available to review on the wiki, and will continue to be updated with any changes in procedures.
Some quick logistics information:
- The nearest bathrooms & water supply are:
- Lamont rooms: Restrooms are gendered by floor. Lamont 310 is on a men's room floor, Lamont B-30 is on a women's room floor.
- 90 Mt Auburn: Two restrooms are on the opposite side of the building on the basement level, water is in the kitchenette and in a fountain by the restrooms
- 625 Mass Ave: Restrooms are at the opposite end of the building on the 3rd floor, by the water fountain
- Please ask questions when they come up; I will also pause between sections for questions and to make sure things are clear.
Let's start by introducing ourselves. (Go around the room and ask everyone to share their name, library/unit, and how this class relates to their work.)
High level overview of electronic resources
- 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. In the case of ebooks, there are many different purchasing and access models. Some publishers sell individual books (often purchased via Coutts or YBP), others only sell packages of ebooks which are purchased directly from the publisher. Some publishers offer frontlists, lists of books that they expect to publish in a given year. In the Community Zone, these will appear as Collections. Similarly for journals, we can order electronic subscriptions individually via our subscription managers, or in packages, often directly from the publisher.
- 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.
Basic Topics
Overview of pre-Alma workflows: Aleph, SFX, Verde, ERNIE, ERIN (screenshots)
- Aleph: orders and invoices, bringing in records, creating holdings
- 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.
- from the task list, can test access and activate resources.
- analogous to work orders/receiving workflow - click 'Done' or it will stay on the list. (Reference acquisitions & order maintenance classes.)
- ex libris is planning to enhance task list functions in a future update based on feedback from library partners.
Introduction to the Community Zone
"The Alma Community Zone (CZ) is a shared repository for all Alma users. It includes authority records, bibliographic metadata, and an electronic materials knowledge base."
Bibliographic records in Alma come from a variety of sources. The sources are not all shared with customers, but we know it includes CONSER database and ebook records from many vendor sources.
Searching, interpreting records, levels (service, collection, portfolio)
- Service - (e.g., full text or abstracts). Proxy settings for eresources are set at the service level, portfolios inherit these settings
- Collection - like a package record. Collections contain portfolios.
- Portfolios are individual title level and must be part of a collection
- Portfolios are grouped/organized into collections. A collection can contain active and inactive portfolios. You can see a list of all the portfolios in a collection.
- When we bring in a record from the Community Zone, it lives in our Institution Zone but is still linked to the version in the CZ. Updates or enhancements to the records will be reflected in our IZ records.
- Example: ClinicalKey, frontlists in the CZ
Activating Journals (continuous orders) - task list
- click on task list at top right
- choose 'electronic resources activation'
- search for 'The Laryngoscope'
- from ellipsis, choose 'test access'
- from ellipsis, choose 'activate'
- from ellipsis, choose 'done'
Activating Journals (continuous orders) - alternate workflow - ADVANCED
- Example: search for 'The Laryngoscope'
- in this example, we discover that this title has moved from one platform to another, and we need to activate it on the new platform.
- find electronic version, expand portfolio list - note that Interfaces can have multiple collections (e.g., wiley)
- find inactive portfolio, click on 'view'
- in electronic portfolio editor, click 'active' radio button
- update coverage if necessary on coverage tab
Activating single Ebooks - task list
- click on task list at top right
- choose 'electronic resources activation'
- search for 'Arts Therapies in the Treatment of Depression'
- from ellipsis, choose 'test access'
- from ellipsis, choose 'activate'
- from ellipsis, choose 'done'
Activating single Ebooks - alternate workflow - ADVANCED
- Example: search for 'Arts Therapies in the Treatment of Depression' (1-315-45441-6)
- click on Portfolio List
- note proxy settings: do you need to change? (no)
- further work: Relink to another bibliographic record (advanced topic?)
- are we done?