ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

FINDING THE GOOD ONES: STRATEGIES FOR EVALUATING OPEN ACCESS RESOURCES

Rhonda GlazierDirector of Collections ManagementUniversity of Colorado, Colorado Springs

Evaluation, Access, & Representation in the Library’s Collection

Can’t Bury Your Head in the Sand!!!

• Open Access Journals increasing• Scholars and researchers are publishing in OA journals• Definitions of what constitutes an OA journal is becoming standardized• Quality of resource no longer dependent on “how” it is published

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

Open Access Concerns

• Finding new titles• Tracking title changes, frequency changes, etc…• Evaluating the stability of a title’s open access • Assessing the degree of open access• Determining quality of a journal• Identifying resources that will help you find and evaluate open

access journals

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

Open Access Resources

• Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)o http://sparc.arl.org/issues/open-access

• DOAJo http://www.doaj.org/

• Scholarly Open Access o http://scholarlyoa.com/

• Simmons Open Access Directory o http://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/Main_Page

• Open Access Workflows in Academic Libraries (OAWAL)o https://library3.hud.ac.uk/blogs/oawal/

Open Access Selection Criteria

• Criteria should be similar to what is used for paid journals “Just because it is free, doesn’t mean you want or need it.”

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

PublisherRelevance of SubjectPlatform UsabilityPotential Use by Students and FacultyTimeliness – How often does the journal publish?Where is it indexed?

Campus Commitment

Institutional involvement can at times dictate the library’s resources and involvement

• Campus Institutional Repository• Open Access fees paid by institution• Faculty actively involved in open access journals

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

Selection Grid

Create a grid of important elements to help you determine whether a journal is needed:

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

Title

• Name of journal

Level of Open Access

• Gold OA?• Green OA?• Hybrid?

Stability

• Journal dates (how long has the journal been around?)

• Open Access coverage

• Publication history

Embargo

• Any embargo?• Full open

access or partial open access?

Scope/Relevance

• Subject or topic of journal as it relates to your collection

Accessibility

• Where indexed

• Citation analysis

• Platform usability

Decision Grid

Journal published at least 1 year

Title subject area relevant to curriculum

Embargo less than 6 months

Articles accessible – indexed at article level

Provide Access

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

Catalog vs. Link Resolver

• Catalog:– “One stop shopping” for your patrons– Real time updates– Controlled vocabulary and access – can make it consistent with other resources

offered – Implies some type of “approval” or selection.

• You are actively adding it to the catalog

– Requires staff time to maintain• No easy way to find or track title changes• Staff have to verify access – keep links current• Have to develop workflow that allows for the checking of titles and date/issue availability

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

Catalog vs. Link Resolver

• Link Resolver:– Access is through your A-Z list or some other list on your website– Journal titles will not be available in a catalog search– Title and frequency changes are handled by the vendor

• Still need to “turn on” a title or package in the software

– Can create access to a package of titles vs. specific titles• May have less control over what titles are available

– Packages may change without notice

– Changes take effect overnight, do not have real-time updates– Will still have access problems and will have to troubleshoot access issues– Biggest advantage is that it takes less staff time to manage

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

Access Grid

Title Level of Open Access

Stability Embargo Scope/relevance

Indexed

Name of journal

Gold OA?

Green OA?

Hybrid?

Journal meets at least minimum standard for length of time published

Stability of OA access has been established

Embargo is limited – or at least acceptable

Journal covers topics central to the curriculum

Research has been vetted

Article level access is available

Create a grid of important elements to help you determine how you want to provide access:

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

Level of Access

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

How are other e-journals handled? Treat the same way

Is the journal central to your library? Create access in multiple places

(catalog and link resolver)

Faculty on campus are actively involved in publishing the journal Create access in the catalog

Has limited embargo

Articles are accessible Create access similar to how all other e-journals are handled

ER&L 2014 Conference – March 17, 2014

The Real Question

• What commitment are you willing to make as a library to Open Access journals?