Transcript KubalaMudrick

MAKING IT OUR OWN
Creating a Customized Product
from an
“Out-of-the-Box”
Link Resolver Software Package
NC Serials Conference April 14-15, 2005
Kristine E. Mudrick
Serials/Electronic Resources Librarian
Linda A. Kubala
Web Resources/Reference Librarian
NC Serials Conference April 14-15, 2005
• Who
we are
• Who
we are
• Why
use Link
Resolver
Software?
• Why
use Link
Resolver
Software?
Joseph’s
Solution
• The• The
SaintSaint
Joseph’s
Solution
• Implementation
Customization
• Implementation
and and
Customization
• Q&A
• Q&A
NC Serials Conference April 14 -15, 2005
Enrollment - 7230 students
3950 traditional undergraduates:
-2075 College of Arts & Science
-1875 Haub School of Business
780 university college/bridge
2500 graduates:
-1560 College of Arts & Science
- 900 Haub School of Business
- 40 doctoral students in Education
Curriculum
• 40 undergraduate majors
• 10 additional special-study options
• 52 graduate study areas
• Ed.D. in Educational Leadership
Francis A. Drexel Library
S-23; L-10/3
Information
Access &
Services L-5/2
(Public Services)
Resources
Management
L-3/1
(Technical Services)
Library
Systems
L-1
Web Resources/Reference
Serials/Electronic Resources
• Develop/Maintain Library
Web pages
• Liaison to vendors for access to
serials and electronic resources
• Conduct Library Instruction
• Maintain links to e-journals in the
Library catalog
• Regular Reference Desk
Hours and Consultation
• Consultation with ILL
• Collaborate on Library
Services that are Web-based
• Consultation with Reference
Librarians for patron problems
with access to serials
• Consultation with ILL
• Collaborate on Library Services
that are Web-based
Database Subscriptions
• 61 Subscription Databases for Periodicals
• 3 E-Book Subscription Collections
• 231,500+ Database Searches
Journals “Received”
Periodical
Microform
Current Print
Titles
2,695
889
~1,437
Volumes
63,817
847,711*
FT Journal Links via
Paid Subscriptions:
JSTOR titles:
Aggregator titles:
Miscellaneous free titles:
742
635
16,250
2,645
Total (duplicated count):
20,272
The Abiding Questions
Q. What do students want?
A. FT—easily, consistently, and quickly
Q. What do Librarians want to provide to students?
A. FT—of articles that are appropriate to the research
ex. Use MLA for literary research
ex. Use PsycINFO for psychology research
ex. Use Philosopher’s Index for philosophy research
How Can We Provide Access to FT?
• List all your e-journals, including aggregators, in your
Library catalog
• Selectively list your e-journals in your Library catalog
ex. only those to which you directly subscribe,
not the aggregator titles
• Provide e-journals lists on your Library Web site
• Employ Link Resolver Software
 Vendor- provided proprietary
 OpenURL
Why Use Link Resolver Software?
• To reduce the amount of time it takes to locate
FT articles from citations
• To reduce the frustration and confusion that
students experience when forced to use multiple
databases to retrieve FT
• To streamline the patron’s ILL submission
process
(1)
Why Use Link Resolver Software?
• Not all scholarly bibliographic databases include FT
(Web of Science, Philosophers Index, MLA)
• There is often no overlap between vendors’ offerings
(Web of Science, Philosophers Index)
• Vendors will link to FT articles between databases in
its own suite, but generally will not link to other
vendors’ products
(EBSCOhost
EBSCOhost)
(EBSCOhost
ProQuest)
(2)
Link Resolver Software 101
• Streamlines the research process by directing users
to a single point of access at the citation level
• Includes a regularly updated database of publisher
and vendor products (ex., Knowledge Base)
• Vendors agree to standards that allow hyperlinking
all the way to the article (in most cases)
• Interprets the data coded in aggregator databases and
directs researchers to FT articles to which you
have access
Link Resolver Software 101 (2)
+
-
• You can host your own server
• Some vendors host the server
• Can direct users to Library
Catalog
• Not all publishers/aggregators
yet participate
• Can also link to book chapters,
abstracts, etc.
• Not all publishers/aggregators
are fully compliant with
standards
• Can often use it to submit ILL
requests
• Offers A-Z list generation
• Provides user statistics
The Saint Joseph’s Solution
Started Implementation
w/ local University
Reviewed
Products
Spring 03
Customized and
Tested
Summer 03
Summer 04
Will migrate to
new ILS
Summer 05
Decided on
SFX
New Staff Arrives
2/04
Migrated to our
own server
Fully
Implemented*
Implementation & Customization:
Preliminary Set-up
Team Approach
Six Librarians: Serials*, Systems*, Web*, Cataloger,
Reference, Department Chair
Training
Important enough to repeat for new key team members
Our 2-day SFX training/set-up tended to be theoretical
Implementation & Customization:
Customization & Direct Support
Core Working Group
Direct access to SFX server for
customization work
Web Resources/Reference
University IT
Higher-level UNIX support
SFX
Help desk, listserv, and user
support group with an annual
conference
“Out-of-the-Box” Solution
• SFX logos only – No University/Library Branding
• Products labeled by SFX naming convention
• No hierarchy in choices offered to the researcher
• No limitation of choices offered to the researcher
• No value-added features on the menu -- such as
linking to FAQs, Library Home Page, etc.
• No customization of the ILL form
The Saint Joseph’s Solution
• Named the product --- local and semantic meaning
• Offered a menu that “looked like” Saint Joseph’s
University for the comfort level of our researchers:
- consistent button-graphic
- color scheme and university/library graphics
used on Library Web site
- familiar links (to our catalog)
(1)
The Saint Joseph’s Solution
• Prioritized the databases that would be offered on
the menu by criteria:
- show our “most reliable” vendors
ex. ProQuest in place of LexisNexis
- show our “best fit for the subject” vendors
ex. Business Source Premier in place of
Academic Search Premier
ex. Health Source: Nursing/Academic in place
of ProQuest Research Library
(2)
The Saint Joseph’s Solution
• Made it aesthetically appealing
• “Spoke” in language that our Library uses and that
our users understand
• Customized Knowledge Base
• Maximized vendors’ ability to incorporate our
customization:
- created a graphic button of a particular size
- disabled vendors’ links to services we do
not subscribe to
ex. Project Muse
(3)
The Saint Joseph’s Solution
• Created a pre-populated Interlibrary Loan form
• Created an A-Z list of e-journals for Library Staff use
• Secondarily, used the opportunity to step back
and look at the customized branding of our
bibliographic databases
(4)
Challenges along the way
• Off-campus access (IT collaboration)
• New staff members needed to come up to speed
• Problems linking from SFX to our OPAC
(1)
Challenges along the way
• Not all vendors allowed the same customization, so
researchers and Librarians needed to deal with
exceptions to the rule:
Click our custom button & be brought to the FT article
ex. ProQuest does not allow a custom button on the
“Results” page – only on the “Document View” page
ex. LexisNexis will not connect to the article level—only
the journal level
ex. Not all databases are Open-URL compliant
(2)
Challenges along the way
• Staff resistance to offering an A-Z list to patrons until
we can also list journals (title and/or formats) now
listed only in our Library catalog
• A-Z list is not in “Library A-Z order ”
ex. Air & space power journal (‘&’ is ignored)
ex. America’s is listed before America
(3)
Rolling it Out to the Public
• Timing: Best at semester start
• Training: Be sure staff are prepared and
knowledgeable
• Publicity
Large signs with our logo
Library Web page notices
Pens
Email message to university community
Notices on campus portal
Targeted messages to Faculty by Library-liaisons
Advice
• Be prepared for setbacks and adjustments
• Test, Test, Test, then Test Again!
• Setup and maintenance will take time away from
other responsibilities
• Make backups of your customizations
(even “edited versions” along the way)
(1)
Advice
• Know your subscriptions
• Be prepared to make changes as your offerings change
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help
• Still need to address helping users feel comfortable
using non-URL compliant databases even though it
takes longer
(2)
Would we do it again?
You Bet!
Our users love it…
and so do we!
“The Find it @ SJU tool is incredibly useful, even an
occasional snag like this one. Pretty amazing times
we live in, eh? “
Contact us!
Kristine E. Mudrick [email protected]
Linda A. Kubala [email protected]
Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA
Presentation URL:
http://www.sju.edu/libraries/drexel/findit/ncserials/april1505.ppt
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