Resources - Electronic

This section contains information on policies, workflows, how-to's, and configuration settings for electronic resources in the WRLC Alma environment. Information about shared WRLC electronic collections can also be found here.

Resources -Electronic Policies

CDI Best Practices and Recommendations
Placement of Electronic Resources in Alma
URLs in Alma Bibliographic Records
Open Access Community Zone Collections in the NZ

Resources - Electronic Workflows and How-To's

How to activate Community Zone Collections
How to create an Alma import profile
How to set up automatic holdings for e-resources
E-Resources Training Sessions 2021
Shared Open Access E-Resource Collections Workflow

Resources - Electronic Configuration

Configuration of CDI Settings for Shared Electronic Collections
Configuration of Shared Electronic Collections in the Network Zone

Shared Electronic Collections
Coordinated Collections Committee (CCC) Shared Cost Formula Philosophy

Resources -Electronic Policies

CDI Best Practices and Recommendations

CDI Defined

Central Discovery Index (CDI) is a database of citations gathered from a wide array of sources such as journal articles, e-books, legal documents and more. They are harvested from thousands of primary and secondary commercial publishers and aggregators, and from open-access repositories. CDI is also a relational database between citations rather than just an aggregated list of abstracts or citations. This enables linking features like those between a book review and the book in question or a book chapter and the entire book. By default, CDI will try to display results for material where the full text is available for your users based on your local subscriptions or subscriptions provided to members of the consortium.

Source: Section titled “Central Discovery Index (CDI). https://wiki.library.ucsf.edu/display/SILS/Primo+VE+Glossary

Required Role: CDI Operator

Components of CDI:

CDI Search activation status OR CDI Search activation status

● Active/Yes: If selected, the content will be searchable.

● Not Active/No: If selected but a collection has both active portfolios and inactive portfolios, only the active portfolios will show as View Online,

○ NOTE: Book Chapters (e.g., book chapters, encyclopedia entries, etc.,) from CDI will not show as View Online, even if the book is activated.

Recommendation: Select Active or Yes

● Yes: CDI will try to match your active portfolios in Alma to records in CDI to show “View Online” on those.

● No: Everything from the collection (as identified in CDI) will show as Online.

Recommendation: Select as appropriate for your electronic collection.

Do not show as Full Text available in CDI even if active in Alma

● Checked: CDI content will not have a View Online link in Primo. Instead, it will show a “How to get it” link.

○ NOTE: This will affect book chapters in CDI as well.

Recommendation: Checkbox should be left unchecked

*Recommendations provided by the libraries in WRLC

**Source of information and definitions: Harvard Wiki: “CDI Management in Alma and interoperability with Primo”, created by Corinna Baksik.

Additional aspects to consider:

Duplicate results for e-books appearing in Primo (if using a blended search scope)

Scenario: Two results are being displayed in Primo for a single activation of a title.

Likely cause: A record from both Alma and CDI are being displayed.

● Mark the “do not show as full text” checkbox.

● Good practice to select “No” next to “CDI Search activation status”, so that unrequestable books do not appear in the results of an expanded search.

● CON: Book chapter-level results (dictionary entries, encyclopedia entries, etc.,) will no

● longer appear if “CDI Search activation status” is set to No.

Additional information:

● Available for CDI search activation:

● Provider coverage:

● Search Rights in CDI:

● Full Text Rights in CDI:

● CDI Type:

Definitions for each section can be located here.

Linking Methods

Primo supports the following linking methods, which are set at the collection level:

● OpenURL linking

● Link in Record

● Primo Link Template CDI collections

Source: CDI and Linking to Electronic Full Text document by ExLibris

Additional sources:

Single Activation with the Fully Flexible Setting (Ex Libris documentation: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/Electronic_Resource_Management/060_Alma_Single_Activation_Source_for_CDI/020Single_Activation_with_the_Fully_Flexible_Setting

CDI and Linking to Electronic Full Text:

https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Content_Corner/Central_Discovery_Index/Documentation_and_Training/Documentation_and_Training_(English)/CDI_-_The_Central_Discovery_Index/050CDI_and_Linking_to_Electronic_Full_Text

Primo VE Release Notes page (Will include CDI updates): https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Release_Notes/002Primo_VE

Single Activation for CDI in Alma - Overview:

https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/Electronic_Resource_Management/060_Alma_Single_Activation_Source_for_CDI/010Single_Activation_for_CDI_in_Alma_-_Overview

Using the Central Discovery Index (CDI) in Alma:

Specialized Search Scopes for CDI (released March 2022):

https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Release_Notes/002Primo_VE/2022/010Primo_VE_2022_Release_Notes?mon=202201BASE#CDI-Related_Updates

Resources -Electronic Policies

Placement of Electronic Resources in Alma

Introduction

This policy establishes guidelines on where bibliographic records for electronic resources should be placed within the Ex Libris Alma architecture. This policy applies to all staff members of Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) institutions who work in Alma.

Background

When WRLC migrated to Alma in July 2018, most electronic resource records from Voyager and Sierra were placed in the Network Zone (NZ), which is the shared catalog. This immediately caused a problem because member institutions do not have access to electronic resources held by other member institutions. The only electronic resources that can be accessed by all libraries are those which were acquired as a consortium; these are managed by WRLC in the NZ. All other institution-specific electronic resources are not shared and therefore do not belong in the shared catalog. Furthermore, the presence of other institutions’ electronic resources confused patrons, who were frustrated or confused by not being able to access some ejournals, ebooks, and other electronic resources. At that time, it was not possible to limit the display of electronic resources in Primo VE by owning institution. Therefore, all institutions unlinked their records from the NZ so that they only resided in the proper Institution Zone (IZ).

During migration, electronic resources from Serials Solutions were activated in the Community Zone (CZ), which is a knowledge base of shared records for electronic resources that can be used by all Alma customers. Staff have also been activating electronic resources in the CZ since migration completed. These CZ records also go to the NZ, even though they are for non-shared electronic resources. It is not feasible for staff to unlink these records from the NZ (as they did with other migrated records) because that also breaks the link to the CZ.

Policy

All bibliographic records for shared electronic resources acquired by WRLC must reside in the NZ.
All bibliographic records for non-shared electronic resources acquired by individual institutions:
1. Must reside in the IZ if that institution loads the records from a vendor, OCLC, or any source other than the CZ.
2. May reside in the NZ if that institution has activated them in the CZ.
  1. These records may not be edited, merged, or overlaid in the NZ; instead, all changes must be made in the CZ.
  2. If an institution finds the CZ records to be low quality or inaccurate, the institution may create its own record in its IZ.
3. Consistent with this policy, individual institutions may link from a shared electronic resource in the NZ to a “local discovery collection”* in order to highlight or promote specific electronic titles.
  
  1. Linking an NZ-level bibliographic record to a local discovery collection does not create a _portfolio in the IZ or a corresponding holdings record for the institution in the NZ.
  
  2. The Alma IZ link icon (house symbol) will now display for the linked bibliographic record in the NZ, indicating that the NZ-level bib and portfolio are linked to one or more local discovery collections.**
  
  3. Deleting a shared electronic resource from a local discovery collection will only remove the link within that local discovery collection.
  
  4. It is the responsibility of the individual institution to maintain the accuracy of their local discovery collections. Institutions should bear in mind that the availability of specific titles within WRLC shared collections is subject to change without notice.

* In an attempt to more clearly identify these collections, we have adopted the term “local discovery collection”. ExL uses the terms collection or sometimes "local collection”, to distinguish these from "electronic collections" in Alma. These local collections, which may include a combination of digital, print, and electronic titles, are managed in Alma at the IZ level, (see Resources >> Manage Inventory >> Manage Collections) and displayed in Primo VE through the collections menu item, or can be linked via a collection-specific URL.

In addition, ExL uses the term "discovery collection" for a facet that breaks down CDI analytics in Primo VE by CZ electronic collection. As such, please note that this facet does not function to identify these “local discovery collections”, rather it seems to apply only to CDI entries in a blended search profile (one that includes articles).

**The NZ-level bibliographic and portfolio information for individual titles in WRLC-provided shared collections selected by an institution are indexed directly into that institution's discovery layer. In this case, the IZ selections are attached to the collection-level record in the NZ (showing as "available for"), rather than to individual titles. As such, the house symbol does not show up next to the title in the NZ unless the title is also linked from the IZ with local holdings (against this policy) or, now, as part of a “local discovery collection” (in compliance with this policy).

See Managing Collections documentation.

See Adding NZ titles to a local collection in the Alma May 2025 highlights.

Approval

Approved by Electronic Resource Committee on 8/27/20.

Approved by Metadata Committee on 8/28/20.

Resources -Electronic Policies

URLs in Alma Bibliographic Records

Introduction

This policy establishes guidelines on the inclusion of institution-specific uniform resource locators (URLs) in bibliographic records for electronic resources within the Ex Libris Alma architecture. This policy applies to all staff members of Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) institutions who work in Alma.

Background

The MARC 856 subfield $u is the standard location in the bibliographic record for URLs. These URLs may provide direct access to an electronic resource or they may link to ancillary documentation, such as summary, table of contents, etc. Access URLs may be generic, or may be specific to a particular institution. Institution-specific access URLs are problematic.

Records containing institution-specific access URLs in the 856 $u field may be introduced to the shared catalog via migration or from other sources, including Community Zone records created or edited by vendors and by other Alma libraries, or from services such as OCLC. When these records are introduced to a different local catalog, the access URLs are not functional, creating confusion for users.

Ex Libris is working to address this problem on a global level. Individual libraries can fix their own records and try to avoid further problems. The Alma local equivalent for the 856 field is 957, which is not transferred to shared records. Institution-specific URLs in the 957 field are not problematic. Transferring the URL from the 856 to the 957 field resolves the problem.

Policy

Institution-specific access URLs are not to be stored in the MARC 856 $u, but instead should be stored in the 957 $u or 856 $x.
Generic URLs (of any type: access or table of contents, etc.) that apply to all institutions are allowed in 856 $u.

Approval

Approved by Electronic Resource Committee on 1/28/21.

Approved by Metadata Committee on 1/29/21.

Resources -Electronic Policies

Open Access Community Zone Collections in the NZ

A number of Open Access (OA) Community Zone (CZ) collections are activated and managed in the WRLC Network Zone (NZ).

The decision to manage the most popular OA CZ collections in the NZ was agreed upon by the E-Resources Committee, the Coordinated Collections Committee, and the Alma/Primo Advisory Committee in the 2021-2022 school year. This was done to ease the burden of maintenance for the individual schools. Like all e-collections in the Network Zone, access to the collection is distributed to members who want the collection to appear in their institution's Primo VE.

For a current list of OA CZ collections , please see the Shared Electronic Collections page (the value in the Access Type column equals Open Access).

Collections that are activated by 5 or more institution and that have an overall Brief Level over 6 are reviewed and added to the NZ once a year. For a full workflow on how new collections are approved, please see the Shared Open Access E-Resource Collections Workflow page.

Resources - Electronic Workflows and How-To's

How to activate Community Zone Collections

In order for an Electronic Collection or an Electronic Portfolio to be visible and accessible to users, it must first be activated. When activating from the Community Zone (CZ), the Collection or Portfolio is activated and then becomes a part of the Institution Zone (IZ) while still connected to the CZ for updates.

Identify an Electronic Collection or an Electronic Portfolio in the CZ that you wish to activate.
Click the “Activate” button. The Activation Wizard: Electronic Collection and Services Setup page appears.
Enter the required information in the Activation Wizard: Electronic Collection and Services Setup page. The Activation Wizard allows you to configure settings for the Collection and/or Portfolio that are required for user access. The Ex Libris documentation should be consulted for the most current details of the Wizard. However, the Wizard is comprised of 4 main sections requiring input, some of which only appear for specific types of collections:
1. Local Electronic Collection Information (All Collections) - basic localized information about the collection. If the collection is to appear for users, some input will be required:
  1. Public name - If you want to override the electronic collection name that is exposed to the public, enter a new name in this field.
  2. Library - select the library of which this collection is a part.
  3. Level URL - the unproxied access URL for the whole of the Electronic Collection
  4. Additional descriptive information - the bibliographic record that describes the Collection. This will automatically come from the CZ but can be overridden with a bibliographic record in the IZ.
  5. Mark Bib as suppressed - if checked, the collection-level bibliographic record will not appear. Uncheck if you wish for the collection to be visible to users.
  6. Electronic Collection Proxy Enabled - Select “Yes” if the Level URL should be proxied.
  7. Electronic Collection Proxy Selected - If “Yes” was selected for the Electronic Collection Proxy Enabled, select the appropriate pre-configured proxy.
2. Full Text Service (Selective Packages only) - contains the services available for the Collection being activated. More than one service may be available.
  1. Activate this electronic collection service - this activates the relevant service for the Electronic Collection. This must be checked in order for the collection to be accessible for staff locally or for users through Primo.
  2. Make service available - this makes the activated service available for the Electronic Collection. In conjunction with Activate this Electronic Collection, both must be checked in order for the Collection to be visible to users in Primo. If the service is activated but unchecked, the Collection will not be available for users in Primo but will be activated for testing by staff in Alma.
  3. Automatically activate new portfolios - check if the Collection is an aggregator. Uncheck if only specific portfolios are to be activated.
3. Full Text Service - Linking Parameters (Selective Packages only) - contains the parameters that are required for some full text services. Depending on your authentication method or the provider, client ID or Shibboleth parameters may be required for title-level linking.
4. Full Text Service - Proxy setup
  1. Proxy enabled - if access requires proxy access, it should be enabled at the service level to cascade to all individual portfolios.
  2. Proxy selected - if the proxy is enabled above, select the appropriate pre-configured proxy
5. Activation Type (Selective Packages only) - decide which activation type is appropriate for the collection
  1. Activate all - activates all portfolios then available in the CZ without selection. If the Collection is an aggregator, select this and ensure that Automatically activate new portfolios was selected earlier in the Wizard.
  2. Activate electronic collection and selected portfolios via Excel file upload - when this option is selected, the search for portfolios in the Community Zone is done using the ISSN or ISBN (from the Excel file)
  3. Manual activation - select the specific portfolios that should be activated from within the Alma web interface
6. Activation Summary (All Collections) - this summarizes the service(s), portfolios, and total activations that will be carried out. The total activation count is the sum of the collection, service(s), and portfolios.
To complete the Wizard, click “Activate”. Selecting Activate causes an Inventory Electronic Collection Activation/Deactivation job to run. The results of the activation job can be viewed by selecting Report from the row actions list on the Monitor Jobs page for the job that ran. This report identifies the validation policy that you selected and provides a link to the file that was analyzed, that is, the file that was selected for loading in the Activation Wizard when you selected the Activate electronic collection and selected portfolios via Excel file upload option.

Relevant Documentation

- Managing Electronic Resources: Activating Electronic Resources
- Managing Electronic Resources: Activating an Electronic Collection Using the Activation Wizard

Last updated: 2/27/2020

Resources - Electronic Workflows and How-To's

How to create an Alma import profile

There are several types of import profiles in Alma. Different import profiles may be appropriate for different types of materials.

Creating a Repository Import Profile

Repository import profiles are the most common import profile type you will create in Alma. They can be used to load and update local electronic collections, and to load batches of records

Go to Resources > Import > Manage Import Profiles
A list of all import profiles you have access to will appear. In addition to those created for your institution, there are also import profiles that come from the Network Zone and the Community Zone.

Click Add New Profile to add a new import profile
The first page will ask you to choose a Profile Type. In this case, choose Repository.

The next screen asks you to name the profile and give a description.
Fill in the originating system (if no match is found use “other”).
Choose the import protocol you will be using. In this case, we will choose Upload File/s. The other options are FTP and OAI.
Physical source format for MARC records is Binary
Source format is MARC21 Bibliographic
If you know the file name pattern you can enter it, but this is more important for import profiles that use FTP.
Be sure to uncheck Use Network Zone.

Once you have completed all the necessary fields, click Next
The next page asks if you’d like to correct or filter the data in any way. Generally these can be left blank or as is unless you wish to specify one of the rules below.
If you have created an indication rule you would like to use to filter out certain records from your set, you can add it using the Filter drop-down.
If you’d like to correct your data using a normalization rule you’ve created, you can choose that here as well.
Finally, if you have a specific validation profile you’d like to see used, you can also choose that here. Generally MarcXML Bib Import is fine.
Click next when completed.

The next page asks you to detail your match profile for records. This is important because it eliminates duplicates.
Under Match Profile choose whether or not you will be importing mixed serial or non-serial items. Generally the answer to this is No.
Choose the Match Method, generally 035 (Other System Identifier), then enter the system identifier prefix (such as OCoLC).
Under Match Actions
- Choose whether you would like to handle problems with matches manually or automatically.
- Choose how you would like records handled upon a match being found. Generally Do Not Import or Merge are preferable.
- Check the box to match the record only with the same inventory
- Choose a merge method, if using Merge. Note: If this is a Network Zone import profile, always choose the Consortium NZ Overlay all fields but local...rule
- Keep all other options blank.
- Under Automatic Multi-Match Handling
- Check Prefer record with the same inventory type (electronic/physical)
- Check Skip and do not import unresolved records
- Under Handle Record Redirection
- Choose Delete under canceled record
- Choose Merge Method overlay all fields but local
- Under No Match, choose Import.
Click Next
On the Set Management Tags page, you can choose whether or not you would like to publish to OCLC or suppress records from discovery. Leave these as is. Click Next.
In the Set Management Tags section, leave all conditions at default. Click Next.

On the Inventory Information page you will choose the type of information you are dealing with and where the records should go
Under Inventory Operations choose the type of records you will be importing. It is generally considered a best practice to choose either Electronic or Physical rather than Mixed. The type of inventory you choose will determine the mapping that appears below.
For electronic inventory
- Choose whether or not the portfolio is standalone or part of an electronic collection.
- Choose the corresponding electronic collection. Service is generally Full Text.
- Choose the appropriate Material Type.
- Choose whether you are importing a single record or multiple. Multiple is more common.
Under Extract portfolio information from field, choose the MARC field where the URL information is stored in the bib record. Generally this is the 856 field.
- Add the subfield. The information is contained in the Extract access URL from subfield. This is usually $u or $x.
- Add any authentication notes necessary
Choose a default library and check Activate resource.
Click Save. Your import profile should now be ready to run. It is recommended to test the profile using a small number of records before running it on a large batch.

EOD Import Profiles

Embedded Order Data (EOD) profiles allow you to import records with order data which is used to create attached PO lines. Sometimes, these are overlaid by full records at a later point.

Creating an EOD Import Profile follows the Repository Import Profile creation until Inventory information is entered. There is an additional tab for PO line information, and a section for fund mapping on the Mapping tab on an EOD profile that need to be completed before it can be run.
- On the PO line information tab
- Choose the PO line type
- Fill in the vendor (or vendors) and the vendor account (Note: the vendor account must be in your list of vendors in Alma)
- Choose the currency, and the acquisition method (usually purchase or purchase at vendor system)
Under EOD mapping fill in the fields in which the order information is stored in the MARC record. This information can usually be found or established in vendor documentation.
- Choose the default PO line owner library, and choose to Map the owner.

If necessary, go to the mapping tab and map. You must use the existing fund code from Alma and ensure it matches the fund code from the vendor EOD profile.
- Funds can also be added at the point of invoicing, if necessary.

Click save when completed.

Update Inventory Import Profiles

When EOD information is added, or if you are overlaying or merging records with new ones, you can use an Update Inventory Import Profile.

Follow the instructions for Profile details for Repository and Normalization and Validation. You may choose to remove Vendor data at this time since the order record has already been created.
In the Match Profile tab
- If choosing to merge, use the Consortium NZ Overlay all fields but local...merge method.
- Disable Merge and Combine

Pay special attention to the match profile to ensure the match method is correct. In most cases you will be matching by PO line, but 035 (other system number) is also a reliable match-point for overlays or merges that are not for EOD records.

Under Match Actions choose whether you’d like to merge or overlay the records.
Under Automatic Multi-Match Handling check Prefer record with the same inventory type (electronic/physical)
Under Merge Records and Combine Inventory for Multi-Match
In the Mapping Tab
- Choose the fields from the incoming records to map. Location fields, number of items, and material type are the most important.
- Under Holdings Record Mapping check update holdings call number
- Leave Receive item unchecked.
- Under the PO Line Information tab be sure to enter the vendor reference number field and subfield if you are matching by PO line.
- The mapping tab may be left blank.
Save the import profile.

Manually Running an Import Profile

Prepare your records for import using MarcEdit or a similar program. Ensure the mapped fields and subfields in the import profile match the fields in the records.
Navigate to Resources > Import > Manage Import profiles. Select Run under the row actions list (...), then select file to upload your record file.
Once the records are uploaded click Run.
The job will run and you will be able to view the results and resolve any errors.

Setting up an Import Profile via FTP

Marymount has two import profiles set up using FTP. One is for GOBI and the other is for Ingram. The instructions will detail general set-up of FTP import profiles, as well as specifics for the GOBI and Ingram profiles at Marymount.

Basic Set-up

Choose the appropriate import profile type (EOD, repository, overlay, etc.)
- On the Profile Details tab
- Uncheck Use Network Zone
- Create a profile name and add a description, if desired.
- Choose the originating system (if no system is listed, choose Other)
- Enter the file name patterns.
- You can find the file name patterns by opening the file from the FTP server and looking at the file. Use the * as a wildcard, and add in the file extension. For example: *.mrc for MARC records for *.ord for order records.
Import protocol will be FTP
- Choose the appropriate physical source format (usually binary), the appropriate encoding format (usually UTF-8), the source format should be MARC21 Bibliographic. You do not need to set the status as active yet.
- Under scheduling
- Choose which files you would like to import (generally New)
- Decide when you would like to schedule the job to run. Note: Keep the scheduler status inactive until you have tested the profile.
- Under FTP information
- Create a description for the FTP server
- Enter the server name, the port used (21 or 22), and the username and password.
Designate the input directory
- You can leave the Max number of files and Max file size as the default of 1 and 1MB, respectively.
- Choose FTP server secured if the server is secure (not necessary)
Test the connection. If you see files available and the get a message that the connection is successful, you can continue creating the import profile.

Relevant Documentation

Managing Import Profiles

Last updated 2/27/2020

Resources - Electronic Workflows and How-To's

How to set up automatic holdings for e-resources

Introduction

Alma has a feature that allows e-resource providers to set a library’s ebook, ejournal, and database holdings in the Institution Zone (IZ) on behalf of that library and update them on a regular basis. This eliminates the need for manual activation/deactivation and setting date thresholds. There are currently four participating providers: Elsevier, Ovid, ProQuest, and Springer. Review the considerations to determine whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for your library.

Workflow

Communicate with the provider. Some providers allow you to obtain all the necessary information from their administration site, while others may require you to send them instructions to set up this feature.

Elsevier: create an institution token in the Elsevier admin tool
Ovid: contact Ovid to request your user name, password, and Ovid group
ProQuest: submit a support case to ask for automated holdings
Springer: create an institution token in the administrative site

Activate Community Zone (CZ) collections. The provider will activate individual titles from these electronic collections, which will result in the bibliographic records and electronic portfolios for your e-resources being copied from the CZ to your IZ.
1. Elsevier ScienceDirect Books Complete
2. Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals Complete
1. Books@Ovid Subscription Complete
2. Books@Ovid Purchase Complete
3. Journals@Ovid Complete
1. Ebook Central Perpetual and DDA Titles
1. SpringerLink Journals - AutoHoldings
2. SpringerLink Books - AutoHoldings

Elsevier
Ovid
ProQuest
Springer

Create integration profiles. Within Alma Configuration, you need to create a separate integration profile for each provider. The process for creating these profiles is the same for every provider:

Select a provider
Enter account information (obtained in step 1)
Schedule the updates

Considerations

Advantages
- No manual intervention. This can save a lot of staff time, especially when there are few staff members dealing with e-resources or the library has a large number of holdings.
- Accurate and detailed holdings
  - Theoretically, the provider has the most current list of your entitlements, so you do not need to figure out all of your holdings.
  - The provider enters date thresholds by the month, year, and sometimes volumes, whereas library staff often only enter the year.
- Frequent updates
  - The jobs can be run weekly, so necessary changes are made right away, instead of waiting for staff to get around to it.
Disadvantages
- Varying degrees of quality in CZ records
  - Some are thorough and some are incomplete
  - Occasionally the records in CZ describe print instead of online.
  - A small percentage of records have incorrect metadata like OCLC number and ISSN.
- Varying degrees of quality in CZ metadata
  - Some of the electronic collections do not contain all of a provider’s titles
  - There may not be records/portfolios for journal title changes
- ProQuest purchase order lines. ProQuest is the only provider that also creates PO lines (POLs) for every title it activates.
  - Duplicate existing orders
    - When the job runs for the first time, ProQuest will create a POL for every title you have ever purchased, even if there already exists a POL for that purchase.
  - Not much acquisitions data
    - The POLs do not contain fund or price information, so they will need to be manually edited

Relevant Documentation

Last updated 2/27/2020

Resources - Electronic Workflows and How-To's

E-Resources Training Sessions 2021

Session 1 | E-Resources Basics

Session 2 | Advanced E-Resources

Session 3 | E-Resources and Acquisitions

Session 4 | Usage Statistics

Resources - Electronic Workflows and How-To's

Shared Open Access E-Resource Collections Workflow

Involved Parties: CCC APAC NZ Manager ERC

NEW RESOURCES

Requests from any library for new open access electronic resources to be added to Primo should be directed to Coordinated Collections Committee (CCC).

For each requested resource, CCC gathers input on which libraries are interested in opting in (“participating libraries”) and communicates in/out decisions to Alma/Primo Advisory Committee (APAC). Report should include resource name, URL, brief description, and decisions of all WRLC members (IZ level - need 14 responses).
If only one library is interested in a particular OA resource, activation of this resource should be directed back to the appropriate IZ. (See Regular Review section for potential future reevaluation.) If more than one library is interested, APAC directs the E-Resource Committee (ERC) to investigate.
Network Zone Manager checks on availability in the Alma Community Zone (CZ) and evaluates the catalog record quality and provides a brief report to ERC. Report should include: resource name, URL, brief description, participating libraries, CZ record number. ERC prepares a response with approval to move forward or, if not, itemizes specific reservations that need to be addressed.
APAC reviews ERC response and makes a decision either to move forward or to wait for discussion of reservations. APAC directs NZ Manager to proceed with activation.
NZ Manager activates the collection in the NZ, with configuration set for the participating libraries. NZ Manager tests access on behalf of participating IZs. NZ Manager configures SUSHI collection (if applicable) and provides access to usage statistics to participating libraries. NZ Manager notifies APAC when completed.
APAC notifies CCC and ERC of successful activation.
CCC publicizes new shared OA collections at home libraries and in WRLC Newsletter. CCC maintains list on WRLC Intranet of all shared OA collections that have been added. See Regular Review section.

REGULAR REVIEW

Each year, ERC prepares list of OA resources that are already activated in each IZ. Those with more than 4 libraries and with an overall Brief Level over 6 are prioritized and then submitted into the new resource workflow for reactivation as NZ resources.

Each year, CCC examines current shared OA list and offers libraries the opportunity to reevaluate decisions on opt-in or opt-out.

Any requests for changes are communicated to APAC.
APAC directs NZ Manager to make appropriate changes.
NZ Manager makes changes and communicates completion to APAC.
APAC notifies CCC and ERC.
CCC revises shared OA list.

Resources - Electronic Configuration

Configuration of CDI Settings for Shared Electronic Collections

CDI settings for electronic collections in the Network Zone are individually configured for each Institution Zone that has access to a specific collection.

CDI Inheritance Parameter

In order for each IZ to inherit the configured CDI settings for NZ shared e-collections, the cdi_consortia_inheritance parameter must be set to Y (for Yes) in the Configuration > Resources > General > Other Settings page.

Notes on CDI

Full-text activation in Alma consists of two parts : link resolver/link in record for full-text access, and search in CDI (flagged as full-text available)
All full text collections that are active in Alma will be searchable by default, regardless of what their search activation status is
You can have search in CDI without full-text links, but you cannot have full-text links without search in CDI unless you suppress it from being flagged as available in CDI
If a collection is activated for a specific group of IZs, then CDI search is automatically active as well, even if the settings for CDI search activation status are set to No or None
Full-text suppress means the full-text links (either linkresolver or link-in-record) are activated, but search in CDI is not active, because the resource is suppressed from being flagged as available in CDI.
Do not show as full-text available in CDI even if active in Alma is the full-text suppress setting
Can be used only if set on the same level (i.e. for the same groups) as the full-text activation
This setting is recommended for e-books in order to cut down on duplicate e-book records
It is recommended to set the We subscribe to only some titles in this collection to Yes for collections with Linkresolver full-text linking; this reduces errors in CDI linking
CDI-only full text activation appears when Available for CDI search is set to Yes and the full-text linking is Link in Record. For use when your collection is inactive in Alma, you have the option to mark it as "Available Online" only in CDI. (https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/Electronic_Resource_Management/060_Alma_Single_Activation_Source_for_CDI/020Single_Activation_with_the_Fully_Flexible_Setting#The_.E2.80.9CCDI-only_full_text_activation.E2.80.9D_Option)