In with the New, Out with the Old: An Innovative Method to Manage

eJournals

Jeannie Castro and Annie Wu

University of Houston Libraries

Electronic Resources and Libraries Conference, 2012

University of Houston Libraries

Main library with 3 branches

160 staff members2.2 million

volumes400,000 e-titlesServe cliental of

over 40,000

UH E-resources Management

Use Serials Solutions for almost all ejournals and ebooks management

Individually subscribed ejournals used to be cataloged in house, now outsourced to Serials Solutions

Individual Ejournals Management History

Utilize Help Desk Ticket for newly subscribed ejournals

Add additional info for title(s) in ticketDownload and export OCLC records for the

newly subscribed title Close Help Desk Ticket

Barriers for the Old Former Process

HelpDesk Ticket system is not designed for ejournal management

Adding note for detailed ejournal data can be cumbersome

Data about ejournals are not consistent or not sufficient, thus confusing to catalogers

There was no way to track the process in lagging subscriptions

There was no resource history of subscribed titles

Making the ChangeSelf-initiated

teamWork out the

new workflowBuild the spread

sheet and set up status in SS

Carry out the designated work by different units

UH Ejournals Management Tools

Serials SolutionsMicrosoft

OutlookExcel

spreadsheet

Initiation of Individual E-journal Process

Process begins with the Serials Review by Acquisitions.

New e-journal titles are ordered based on SR analysis.

ER staff take care of licenses if needed. Individually subscribed titles go through the

designed workflow process

Old Workflow Process

HelpDesk Ticket sent to ER by Acquisitions

ER verified the HelpDesk Ticket info and forwarded it to Cataloging

Cataloging cataloged the new title and closed the ticket

HelpDesk Ticket

Detailed Ticket Info Supplied by ER

New Workflow with Color Coding

License Negotiation

Ready for Order

ER Set-up

Coverage Verification

Ready for Cataloging

Subscribed

Collection Level Spreadsheet

Title Level Spreadsheet

Resource History of Title in the ERM

License Negotiation – Step 1: Change Status

License Negotiation – Step 2: Email Alert from Serials Solutions

License Negotiation – Step 3: Create Spreadsheet

License Negotiation – Step 4: Update Action Log

License Negotiation – Step 5: Update Summary

License Negotiation - Actions Taken by ER

Request license from publisherMark up the license according to

University PolicyNegotiate the licenseCreate the Spreadsheet and

update the action log and summary note

Change status to Ready for Order in SS

Ready for Order – Step 1: Status Change

Ready for Order – Step 2: Email Alert

Ready for Order – Step 3: Update Spreadsheet

Ready for Order – Step 4: Update Action Log

Ready for Order – Actions Taken by Acquisitions

Create the order record Verify that the information in the

order is correctPay the invoiceChange the status to ER Setup in

SS and the spreadsheet

ER Setup – Step 1: Change Status

ER Setup – Step 2: Email Alert

ER Setup – Step 3: Spreadsheet

ER Setup – Step 4: Update Action Log

ER Setup – Step 5: Update Summary

ER Setup – Actions by ER

Input script into EZProxyVerify access and test URLEnsure that the coverage dates

are correct from the licenseChange status to Coverage

Verification in SS and in spreadsheet

Coverage Verification – Step 1: Status Change

Coverage Verification – Step 2: Email Alert

Coverage Verification – Step 3: Update Spreadsheet

Coverage Verification – Step 4: Update Action Log

Coverage Verification – Action Taken by Serials

Check several issues of the subscribed journal to confirm the access

Change status to Ready for Cataloging – Individual eJournal in SS and the spreadsheet

Ready for Cataloging – Step 1: Change Status

Ready for Cataloging – Step 2: Email Alert

Ready for Cataloging – Step 3: Update Spreadsheet

Ready for Cataloging – Step 4: Update Action Log

Ready for Cataloging – Action Taken by Cataloging

Cataloging staff verify coverageChanges the Serials Solutions

record to reflect correct dates and URL

Changes Status to Subscribed at individual record level

Subscribed – Step 2: Serials Solutions Individual Record

Subscribed – Step 3: Update Spreadsheet

Subscribed – Step 4: Update Action Log

Serials Solutions

(status

change)

Outlook(email alert)

Spreadsheet

(title info)

ChallengesUse of color Work overlapTracking unsolved problems in

process Communication among different

groups

Success Points

Shared processEasy to integrate additional

changes in processTransparencyDecent tracking of subscriptionCollaborationProcess reusable for other

formats workflow

Contact:

Jeannie Castro: jmdowney@uh.eduAnnie Wu: awu@uh.edu

Sources for Images: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us http://sxc.hu/ http://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi