February 2021 ULMS Update

Created by
brandon dudley (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Feb 17, 2021
6 min read

Project Management

  • Primo VE Evaluation began in early Jan and is planned to continue until late-May/early-June. Each campus will be participating and contributing to the evaluation and final call on whether to go into production with Primo VE or stay with Primo. The Discovery Committee is spearheading this work with support by the Chancellor’s Office.

  • The CO met with Ex Libris in January and discussed their response to the Satisfaction Survey conducted in the Fall. They proposed a multi-pronged strategy around the major pain points listed in the report - content support and CDI - as well as the top issues raised by each committee. We are in the beginning stages of meeting on each point and working through how best to address each area.

  • COLD will soon receive a proposal from Ex Libris to adopt Rapido, their next-generation resource sharing platform. This product was demonstrated to the CSU community by members of the CSU development team on January 27.

Analytics

  • Working Group

    • Sent out a message to COLD regarding usage data irregularities we expect campuses to see when reporting for ACRL this year.

    • We're working with Brandon to identify specifics related to the issues that were brought forward through the satisfaction survey: Cost usage data isn't included for databases without portfolios or for network zone collections; network zone analytics continues to have performance issues; It's not possible to do a print and electronic overlap analysis in the network zone. 

    • We're preparing to send another usage data survey to find out how libraries are gathering, storing, and reporting on usage data, to update the survey we did two years ago. We're adding questions about use of R5 data and whether people found the Analytics committee's shared ACRL/IPEDS reports useful.

    • The Data Visualization task force shared their recommendation. With the current available technology/resources there are not good options for creating real-time data dashboards. The task force recommends we explore the creation of a data repository or data lake; we may also want to explore the use of the APIs for analytics. 

 

Resource Management

  • Working Group

    • The Authority Control Task Force pursues its task, 5 members currently. Soliciting interest by folk to join and become the 6th member. Time commitment: calls for approx. 3 hours weekly (+ or -)

    • NO DEDUP – building a policy with helpful examples to shape use of the field that prevents merge of a bibliographic record

    • Norm Rule Survey went to Discovery and Technical Services email groups

      • Responses were from individuals, not Libraries

      • Knowledge and use of Norm Rules in Alma and Primo is present in a few dozen people

      • Survey response available if you’re interested—contact Mark Braden

    • RDA Toolkit changes—Affirmed following PCC practice (defer full use until 2022).

    • Members are participating in the VE configuration effort. The Primo specialists are at work to configure their Instances.

    • Discussion about Local Fields containing a Library’s local information, such as Retention Notes (e.g., SCELC, WEST) continues. ExL Support confirmed indexing/display functionality ”works as designed”. Next steps have been discussed.

    • Gathering anecdotes/use cases and examples of Content Warnings, in order to find a policy and practice for the Libraries.



Acquisitions

  • Chancellor’s Office

  • Working Group

    • discussing ACRL reports and collection budgets

    • Working on identifying top issues from satisfaction survey.

ERM

  • Chancellor’s Office

    • Continued work on CDI settings in the NZ e-collections

    • CDI presentations for Tech Services Open Forum and eCAUG

    • Wiki page created for libraries to share their local CDI tips and tricks

    • Updating NZ e-collections as renewals arrive from SDLC

      • Libraries added or removed from e-collections depending on the renewal

  • Working Group

    • Will participate in the Primo VE testing; new wiki page on CDI Information Tips and Trick created CDI Information, Tips, and Tricks 

    • ERM asked ULMS Analytics for guidance for mixed COUNTER 4 and 5 Reports for ACRL report.  The advice was to use only r4 OR r5, but not to include numbers from both reports for the same resource. They reminded us that R5 metrics are not comparable to R4 metrics, and so our numbers will be different from last year, and that's okay.

    • Kate and Jessica Joined Brandon Dudley on a call to Ex Libris to discuss the user satisfaction survey. ERM reminded Ex Libris (again) that webinars will not resolve all of our issues with CDI, and that CDI functionality needs improvement.



Resource Sharing

  • Chancellor’s Office

    • Temporarily removed expiration dates from CSU+ items during winter break to prevent them from cancelling while closed.

    • Communicated holiday and COVID related service suspension with Unity. 

    • Created a demo of Rapido shown on Wednesday Jan. 27th. Presenters include Stacy Caron, Joe Gerdeman, Meghann Weldon, and Christopher Lee. 

    • Configured local analytics for CSU+ in Alma institution zones. 

    • Exploring potential resource sharing partners and programs. 

  • Working Group

    • Multiple campuses suspended CSU+ as a result of stay at home order. Several are beginning to resume service. 

    • Updated and distributed CSU+ Recommendations for Operations During Holiday Closures page on wiki.

    • Looking into if there is a better solution for providing CSU+ requesting to CalState Walk-in users. Since Walk-in users cannot place requests in Primo, the current solution is for resource sharing staff to place requests manually. This would require each campus to develop some type of separate mechanism for accepting requests from Walk-in users (e.g. send email, separate form) which is not ideal. Collaborating with FFC for potential solutions. 

    • Evaluating November and December resource sharing related enhancements to see if any should be utilized.

    • Launched two new task forces: the ILLiad Updates task force and the CONTU Guidelines task force. The ILLiad Updates task force will review and test new features released with ILLiad 9.1 and share what they learn with our community of practice. As a result of a recent paper on the outdatedness of the CONTU guidelines, there is interest from our community of practice in looking at whether it is appropriate to draft and recommend new guidelines for the CSU libraries to follow. If the task force determines it appropriate, the guidelines will go to COLD for review.

    • We met with Tim Jackson of the SUNY libraries to discuss the possibility of an Alma resource sharing partnership with them.

    • Revisiting a project the RSFC was working on before Covid hit to improve cooperation between the CSU libraries and the UC libraries through expanded reciprocal agreements and courier services. We are investigating our options for adding courier service to the UC libraries not already on the Unity contract.

Fulfillment



Discovery

  • Working Group

    • Primo VE evaluation

      • The evaluation of Primo VE continues apace. Since beginning 2021, we have held three forums regarding the evaluation. A general forum introducing campuses to the process on January 22nd, and two others detailing specific tasks which are part of Ex Libris’ Go VE task list. Past forums are available here https://calstate.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/UPVE/pages/1807351941 . Future forum topics and dates are visible at the prior link as well.

      • Active participants are registered in Basecamp and can contact Ex Libris through that platform. There is a slack channel at #primo-ve-evaluation where people are sharing information and tips. 

      • An outline of the evaluation that the Committee will ask campuses to perform, once they have configured VE to their satisfaction, is linked from the December 18th meeting notes:   

      • Testing will primarily take place in April, though if campuses are ahead of schedule they should feel free to begin earlier and the DFC will get final plans with instructions and testing data submission forms available in a timely manner to facilitate the process. 

      • General information about the evaluation is on the wiki: . All extant documentation about the Go VE process has been collected on this page, courtesy of Christine Holmes: Primo VE Documentation  People who are interested in the process and want to learn more are encouraged to watch ‘Introduction to Primo VE’ and ‘Go VE: Learn about the New Self-Switch Process and Adopt Primo VE’ then explore other videos if they want further details.

      • If anyone at any campus has questions about the front-end analysis of Primo VE, they are encouraged to contact DFC chair Gabriel Gardner or vice chair Christian Ward.

    • Due to the time sensitive nature of the VE evaluation and the complexity of the project, most other business of the DFC has been tabled.