Improving Access to Electronic Journals for Library Users

1
Improving Access to Electronic Journals for
Library Users
Coming Full Circle or Reinventing the Wheel? Can
One Have Too Many Options to Consider?
Aimée Glassel ? WAAL 2005 ? April 21, 2005 ?
Madison, WI
2
So many options, so little time to discuss them

• Where have we been?
• Where do we think we are going?
• What opportunities does replacing our locally
  maintained e-journals list with one generated
  from the SFX database present us with?

3
Coming Full Circle Are we back to where we
started?
Ejournal list data maintained separately from
Voyager OPAC
2005
Ejournal list generated from Voyager OPAC
single point of maintenance
2000
Ejournal list data maintained separately from
Voyager OPAC
1998
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
4
2000 Voyager-generated Ejournal List

• Added separate holdings records at the
  title-level for leased aggregator databases and
  free w/print providers
• Assigned local ejournal subjects (690) to bib
  records for ejournals
• Added 710/730 specific to online vendor/provider
• Added URLs to bib records for each online
  provider/vendor

5
Find It (SFX-generated)
OPAC (Voyager-generated)
Current Ejournal List (Voyager-generated)
6
But are we really reinventing the wheel?

• Yes, we will go back to directing patrons to 2
  sources to identify available resources
• However with an SFX-generated EJournal list,
  patrons will have title-level access to 15,000
  fulltext titles that is not currently being
  offered via our OPAC or the Voyager-generated
  list!

7
(No Transcript)
8
Things Not Affected by Move to SFX-generated List

• Plan to continue to provide and maintain
  bibliographic and individual holdings records
  (MFHDs) containing summary holdings data (866) in
  Voyager for
• paid e-resources which are invoiced as individual
  subscriptions or standing orders
• titles received through package plans (e.g.
  memberships, comes on titles) and
• e-journals received as part of our print
  subscription (e.g. Elseviers Web editions,
  Cambridge e-journals).

9
How is an SFX E-Journal List Preferable to Our
Current E-Journal Solution?

• Access to an additional15,000 titles with SFX
• SFX is a link resolver fewer worries about
  broken links
• Contract with Ex Libris includes monthly updates
  to the SFX Knowledgebase, which will be
  automatically updated with title additions and
  deletions changes to holdings dates

10
2005 SFX-generated Ejournal List Questions about
Voyager Records

• Should we remove holdings records at the title
  level for leased aggregator databases?
• Should we remove the 15,000 local subjects that
  were added to bib records that were added soley
  for the purpose of creating subject lists in the
  Voyager-generated Ejournal List?
• Should we maintain URLs at the title level for
  individual leased aggregator databases, many of
  which do not go directly to the title?

11
Options to Consider

• Status Quo
• Remove analytics from Aggregator Databases from
  OPAC
• Reports generated from Voyager
• Free electronic journals

12
Options to ConsiderStatus Quo

• Maintain separate links and holdings records
  containing summary holdings data for selected
  titles in selected aggregator databases

• PROS
• OPAC would not change

• CONS
• High maintenance costs
• OPAC will still have 15000 fewer ejournal records
  
• OPAC and SFX will be out of sync staff cant
  keep up with manual maintenance

13
Options to Consider Cease Analytics for
Aggregator Databases

• Cease adding separate links and holdings records
  containing summary holdings data for selected
  titles in selected aggregator databases

• CONS
• Patrons staff would need to look in 2 places
  (however they would do this anyway, given the
  additional 15000 titles in SFX!)

• PROS
• As things stand now, updates from vendors not
  consistent (mix of push/pull technology), making
  updating difficult and presenting obsolete info
  in OPAC/Ejournal list
• Staff currently doing these analytics could
  refocus on other priorities

14
Options to Consider Reports Generated from
Voyager

• Since adding electronic holdings to Voyager for
  e-journals, have used this data for numerous
  statistical reports
• What will we lose if we remove those same
  electronic holdings from Voyager?
• What would we gain if we shifted reliance on SFX
  Knowledgebase for these same statistics?

15
Options to ConsiderFree Electronic Journals

• Currently they are cataloged in Voyager, many of
  which require original cataloging
• If patrons will be directed to SFX-generated
  Ejournal list more now that ever, should we
  continue to devote limited cataloging resources
  to them?
• What to do about free titles w/out ISSNs? In SFX
  v.2 they cannot be added in SFX v.3 we will be
  able to add such titles, but as we are not there
  yet, we cannot assess staffing needs with respect
  to this work

16
Linking the Ejournal List and the OPAC

• Every Find It menu contains a link to OPAC (ISSN
  search) so information on print is accessible
  via SFx Ejournal List in a way it is not with the
  current list
• Propose adding OpenURLs using ISSN in OPAC
  records known to contain electronic holdings in
  SFX link to electronic from print
• OpenURL will, for the most part, take patrons
  directly to title, even in aggregator databases
  as compared to URLs we input, many only go to
  connect screens

17
SFX v.3 Ejournal List Features

• Browse search by journal title
• Browse 19 categories and 448 sub- categories to
  access journal titles
• Search by journal title, ISSN, category, or
  vendor/provider
• Once integrated into MetaLib, patrons could
  create customized Ejournal list in personal
  e-shelf

18
Cal State University Sacramento SFX v.3
Ejournal List
19
Humbolt State University SFX Ejournal List via
MetaLib and MARCIt!
NOTE Some of the fields in the e-Journal Details
box come only with the MARCIt! Subscription
20
SFX v.3 Knowledgebase Features

• Ability to add titles to local instance that do
  not have ISSNs (not currently possible in SFX
  v.2)
• We are, of course, asking ourselves
• How much work will this require?
• Who will be able to do this work?
• What level of training will be necessary?

21
SFX v.3 The Great Unknown

• Will we like their 19 categories and 448
  subcategories?
• Will we agree with how Ex Libris assigns
  categories to individual titles?
• How many categories can be assigned to a single
  title?

22
Questions?Answers?
Aimée Glassel UW-Madison aglassel_at_library.wisc.edu
23
Thank You!