E-books and Media

Background

N.B. THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO MARCIVE RECORDS; any policy regarding Marcive will be decided separately.

The CSU libraries provide a wide range of ebooks and other non-serial electronic resources, such as streaming video and audio. These resources may be paid for centrally or locally, shared widely or not at all. This document attempts to balance central needs for efficiency and coordination with unique local circumstances. The guiding principles in any decision regarding non-serial electronic resources should be the avoidance of duplicated records in the NZ and avoidance of duplicated effort by individual campuses. 

Access and payment models

In the CSU system, these packages may be:

• Model 1: Locally purchased or subscribed (by each campus, outside SDLC, local access only)
  
• Model 2: ECC (negotiated centrally, paid for centrally, systemwide access)
  • Examples, purchased centrally:
    • The former “NetLibrary” package, now hosted in EBSCO ebooks.
    • The more recent systemwide DDA-triggered purchases, hosted on ebrary, myiLibrary, and EBL
  • Examples, subscribed centrally:
    • Safari Tech Books
    • Ebrary Academic Complete
    • ACLS Humanities Ebooks
• Model 3: Opt-ins offered via SDLC (negotiated centrally, but paid for by each campus, local access only)
  • Examples, opt-ins:
    
    • Oxford Scholarship Online

Policy Statement

Collections outside SDLC, locally subscribed or purchased (Model 1)

• If the collection is already active in the NZ (for example, because other CSU's have the same package), share the NZ collection.
• If the collection is not already active in the NZ, the campus may choose among available options:
  
  • Activate the CZ collection
  • Load records from OCLC Connexion Collection Manager into your IZ and create an local electronic collection
  • Load records directly from the vendor into your IZ and create an local electronic collection

If CZ ecollection records are found to be unsatisfactory or no CZ ecollection exists, campuses should avoid the practice of loading ecollection record sets into the CZ, because doing so requires a long-term commitment to maintaining the ecollection for others who may be using it. The better option is for the CSU to advocate with both ExLibris and the vendors for better CZ data. 

Collections subscribed or purchased centrally (Model 2)

• If unique to the CSU (i.e. the Netlibrary and ebrary/EBL/myiLiibrary packages mentioned above):  Centrally create electronic collections in the NZ and share with all campuses.
• If standard packages, not unique to the CSU:
  • ebrary Academic Complete must be managed centrally by sharing its CZ collection in the NZ. This is due to the package's large size and frequent changes in content.
  • DECISION PENDING RE SMALLER PACKAGES LIKE SAFARI depending on analysis of CZ record currency and quality, options include:
    • • Active CZ collection in the NZ OR
      • Load records as an electronic collection at the NZ level for sharing (campuses would need to volunteer to maintain)

Collections negotiated centrally but opt-in at the campus level (Model 3)

• Share their CZ collections in the NZ in the absence of some other provision in the NZ (such as a determination to provide a CSU-maintained NZ collection).

Best practice recommendations

Avoid duplication!

Do not turn on the same collection in the CZ if it is already in the NZ; do not turn on a collection in the CZ if you have already created it as a local electronic collection; and so on. Choose only one option for any given collection. 

Considerations when deciding whether to use the CZ or create a local electronic collection

CZ Advantages

If you choose not to use a CZ collection, create a Local Electronic Collection

Whenever possible, portfolios should be added to Local Electronic Collections. Even eresources that are not sold as collections (such as ebooks or streaming video titles purchased title-by-title) can be maintained more easily if they are in a Local Electronic Collection, as long as they are from the same provider, have the same license conditions, and share the same base url.

Local Electronic Collection Advantages

• Maintenance functionality in Alma is based on portfolios in collections rather than stand-alones
• Better display in Primo and Alma, with collection names
• Better reporting in Analytics
• Ability to maintain settings at collection level (proxy, activation dates for trials, etc.) and push them down to all portfolios

Link your IZ collection to the CZ for improved maintenance

You can create local collections and then link them to a CZ collection for the portfolios.

• Pros: You can choose records from whatever source you want, but keep their linking info updated via the CZ.
• Cons: Linking is by ISBN, so this method works only where ISBNs are available and consistent.

Activation in Primo Central Index

While campuses may also wish to activate their purchased or subscribed collections in Primo Central Index in order to increase discoverability, activation solely in PCI is not adequate. PCI does NOT provide catalog records, nor is it possible to examine PC metadata without pulling it up in a Primo search.

• If you want to offer a catalog scope that includes all your ebooks in one search, you must have catalog records.
• Catalog records are also important for doing collection analysis.
• If linking from PCI is OpenURL, then you must have something active in Alma.

If activating a collection in PCI for which you have an Alma ecollection, watch for possible issues that may appear in Primo, such as duplication of search results or unusual skewing of results ranking (because the entire full text is open to searching). 

Managing PDA/DDA pool records

• For local, campus-level PDA/DDA projects, use Alma's PDA management function at the IZ level. PDA pools represent only the potential for access, and when triggered, will be purchased only for use by your individual campus. For this reason, do not load local PDA pool records in the NZ. 
• After a title in your campus PDA pool has been triggered for purchase, do check the title against the NZ as per usual cataloging workflow for new acquisitions.
• NZ-level PDA management is reserved for systemwide PDA projects, in which all campuses share the same pool and triggered titles will be purchased for the entire CSU.

Procedures in Alma

TO BE DETERMINED

Alma documentation & training resources:

• All you ever wanted to know about e-resource management in Alma (PDF)
• Getting Started: Electronic Resources – Scenarios and Workflows
• Managing Electronic Resources
• Link local electronic collection to CZ electronic collection (video)
  

PDA-specific:

• Patron Driven Acquisitions
• Training Powerpoint: Acquisitions - Patron Driven Acquisitions (PDA) Demand Driven Acquisitions (DDA)

References

Policy: Activation of Community Zone Collection for Alliance Ebrary Academic Complete Subscription

Best Practice: Non-Serial Electronic Resources in Alma

Traill, Stacie (2016) Options for ebook management in Alma and Primo Central. In: ELUNA 2016 Annual Meeting, May 1-6, 2016, Oklahoma City, OK USA. Requires login.

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