MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING
ELECTRONIC RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
ELIZABETH SZKIRPAN
COLLECTIONS & DISCOVERY SPECIALIST
BAKER LIBRARY, HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
10+ YEARS IN ELECTRONIC RESOURCES WORK
ESZKIRP@GMAIL.COM
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
IN THIS COURSE, WE WILL LEARN:
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AGENDA
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INTRODUCTIONS
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MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING IN THE ERM CYCLE
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MAINTENANCE VERSUS TROUBLESHOOTING
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THE ACCESS CHAIN
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DIAGNOSING ISSUES
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RESOLVING ISSUES
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PROACTIVE TROUBLESHOOTING
WORKFLOWS AND TRAINING
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HOUSEKEEPING
THIS COURSE IS PART OF THE AMIGOS ELECTRONIC RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (ERM) MICROCREDENTIAL.
INTRODUCTIONS
PLEASE SHARE:
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ELECTRONIC RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Electronic resource management (ERM) is the practices and techniques used by librarians and library staff to track the selection, acquisition, licensing, access, maintenance, usage, evaluation, retention, and de-selection of a library's electronic information resources.
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES LIFECYCLE
There are six stages in the iterative e-resource lifecycle: investigation of new content, acquiring new content, implementation, ongoing evaluation and access, annual review, and cancellation and replacement review.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING
Proactive maintenance prevents user problems and enhances the experience by reducing frustration.
Systematic troubleshooting helps quickly identify and resolve issues. Following a checklist of common e-resource problems ensures clear communication with users and vendors about the source of the issue.
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WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING?
Maintenance
Electronic resources evolve rapidly due to new laws (e.g., GDPR), vendor changes, system updates, and technological advances. Maintenance involves ongoing adjustments to ensure continued access despite these changes.
It is typically preventive, addressing potential issues before they arise rather than responding to problems.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting happens after a problem arises and focuses on identifying and resolving the cause of the access issue.
Common steps include verifying login methods, recreating the issue in different settings (on-campus, off-campus, mobile, desktop), and checking vendor communications for outages.
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TROUBLESHOOTING AS PROBLEM SOLVING
Troubleshooting only occurs once a user, including a library staff user, encounters a problem. We undertake troubleshooting so we can identify the source of a problem so we can resolve the problem at hand.
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DISCUSSION #1
What are some common electronic resources problems your library and your users encounter?
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E-RESOURCES HAVE MANY POINTS OF BREAKDOWN
E-RESOURCES HAVE MANY POINTS OF BREAKDOWN (INCLUDING PEOPLE)
Person
Person
TWO TYPES OF E-RESOURCES PROBLEMS
People Problem
Human error can be a major contributing factor in why resources are not working as expected, especially because e-resources have numerous caveats depending on the resource, vendor, and access method.
Technology Problem
Technology problems are problems where we’ve ensured that we’ve checked the human errors first and the issue persists. These problems can be localized or globalized and may or may not be reproducible.
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THE PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS
Library staff are often on the front lines of solving e-resources and technology problems in their libraries.
Following a clear problem-solving process and incorporating those practices into the library’s workflow can help streamline problem resolutions.
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IDENTIFY AND DEFINE THE PROBLEM
There are numerous breakdown “points” in electronic resources that can lead to a resource not performing as expected, users not being able to access the resource as expected, et cetera. The first step is always to identify and define the problem.
EXAMINE THE SITUATION
Who is experiencing the problem? Are they on a deadline? Can the user show you the problem they are encountering or is it a reoccurring problem if you are the user encountering the issue?
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CONSIDER POSSIBLE CAUSES
Are users accessing the resource in an anticipated way? Is the problem reproducible? Did we remember the pay the bill/renew the resource on time? Did the vendor send out an email or post somewhere that they are experiencing an outage? Is the problem localized (e.g. In our building/on campus) or global (e.g. No Elsevier users can access their resources). Did we try “turning it off and back on again”? Does our EZproxy stanza look correct? Do we have alternative access to this resource?
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CONSIDER POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
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IMPLEMENT THE SOLUTION
Knowing the scope of the problem allows us to begin working towards implementing a solution more quickly.
We may implement the solution ourselves or just kickstart the process to implement a solution if the problem is outside our scope of control.
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COMMUNICATE AND DOCUMENT THE RESOLUTION
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TROUBLESHOOTING SKILLS
General Purpose Skills
The skills that can be applied across broad disciplines and are not specific to libraries or electronic resources.
Domain-Specific Skills
The skills learned in a specific industry or role. These may be more role-specific in a library setting.
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Elimination: The systematic approach used to identify what is causing the problem.
TROUBLESHOOTING SKILLS:
GENERAL PURPOSE
Backtracking: Retracing your steps to see if you can identify where/when the problem began appearing.
Re-creation: Testing the problem on your own or with different users/settings to see if the problem appears for other users.
Half-splitting: Systematically isolating and testing different factors that may be causing the problem.
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TROUBLESHOOTING SKILLS:
DOMAIN-SPECIFIC
Overview of Discovery and Access Enviornment
Authentication and Authorization
OpenURL and Link Resolvers
Discovery Index, Linking Mechanisms
Metadata Quality, Impact on Discovery
Interaction Between Link Resolver, Discovery Index, Discovery Layer, and Learning Management System
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DISCUSSION #2
What are the various tactics and skills that you most frequently use in troubleshooting e-resources issues?
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BREAK
Please take a ten (10) minute break to stretch, use the restroom, and hydrate!
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THE ACCESS CHAIN
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BASIC ACCESS CHAIN
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PROXY SERVER ACCESS CHAIN
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VPN ACCESS CHAIN
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RESEARCH GUIDE ACCESS CHAIN
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DISCOVERY INTERFACE ACCESS CHAIN
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KNOWLEDGE BASE ACCESS CHAIN
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DISCOVERY SERVICE ACCESS CHAIN
COMPREHENSIVE ACCESS CHAIN
GATHERING PROBLEM REPORTS
Libraries rely on user reports to find problems with e-resources but there is often issues with motivation and capturing enough information in user reports.
We need to know the Who, What, Where, When, and How of the problem while making sure any reporting process is convenient for users.
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SIMPLE REPORTING FORM
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EXPANDED REPORTING FORM
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TROUBLESHOOTING COMPONENTS
Who reported the issue?
What is the issue?
Where did the issue occur?
When did the issue occur?
How was the issue encountered?
Customer Service
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DIAGNOSING ACCESS ISSUES
PEOPLE-CONTROLLED COMPONENTS
LIBRARY-CONTROLLED COMPONENTS
VENDOR-CONTROLLED COMPONENTS
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PEOPLE-CONTROLLED COMPONENTS
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People (both users and library staff) can play a major role in electronic resources components either working or not working. Remember that all users and library staffers are technologically savvy on different levels so approach electronic resources problems with patience and understanding.
LIBRARY-CONTROLLED COMPONENTS
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Some e-resources problems will be outside of the library’s scope of control, but we do have control over some components. These components are things that we can look to when we are troubleshooting issues, as well as when we are maintaining our resources to prevent future access issues.
VENDOR-CONTROLLED COMPONENTS
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If a problem cannot be resolved at the user-level or library-level, we should then look to vendor-controlled components for troubleshooting and problem-solving. These components are not in our scope of control at all.
REVISITING TROUBLESHOOTING SKILLS
General Purpose Skills
The skills that can be applied across broad disciplines and are not specific to libraries or electronic resources.
Domain-Specific Skills
The skills learned in a specific industry or role. These may be more role-specific in a library setting.
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START WITH GENERAL PURPOSE TROUBLESHOOTING SKILLS
Elimination: The systematic approach used to identify what is causing the problem.
Backtracking: Retracing your steps to see if you can identify where/when the problem began appearing.
Re-creation: Testing the problem on your own or with different users/settings to see if the problem appears for other users.
Half-splitting: Systematically isolating and testing different factors that may be causing the problem.
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TRIED AND TRUE TROUBLESHOOTING
If you can’t reproduce the issue, ask the reporter to clear their cache and cookies, as well as try a different browser.
If you encounter a paywall on campus, check to make sure that a payment has been made.
If you encounter a paywall off campus, double-check your authentication methods.
If you encounter a broken link, try to navigate to the content in a different way.
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FEELING STUCK?
Contact the vendor
Check the FAQ for the resource
Ask a listserv or other technical support group
Consult a peer (at your institution or at another institution!)
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RESOLVING ISSUES
STOPGAP SOLUTIONS
EVALUATING SOLUTIONS
IMPLEMENTING A SOLUTION
REVIEWING RESULTS
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COMMUNICATION AND DOCUMENTATION
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TRIAGE
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WORKFLOWS AND TRAINING
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STAFF AND THEIR ROLES
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ACCOUNTABILITY
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HONORABLE MENTION: GENERATIVE AI
CAVEATS:
PROMPT:
I WORK AT A UNIVERSITY LIBRARY MANAGING E-RESOURCES. USERS ARE REPORTING THAT THEY RECEIVE AN ERROR MESSAGE WHEN TRYING TO ACCESS A LIBRARY RESOURCE OFF-CAMPUS. I'VE TESTED THE RESOURCE ON-CAMPUS AND HAVE PROBLEMS ACCESSING THE RESOURCE. WHAT ARE SOME POSSIBLE CAUSES OF THE OFF-CAMPUS USERS NOT BEING ABLE TO ACCESS THE RESOURCE?
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MAINTENANCE
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MAINTENANCE TASKS
Preemptively locate and repair problems through regular maintenance tasks such as:
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SAMPLE SCENARIO #1
The following message was received through the library’s chat service:
Hi, I’m trying to read an article online, but it says I have to pay to view it. The article is Use of flipped classrooms in higher education by O’Flaherty.
What are some questions we might ask the user to determine whether they should have access to this article or not?
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SAMPLE SCENARIO #2
A library staff member is wondering why the library does not have access to some e-books that were purchased several months ago. From the troubleshooting interview, we learn:
What are some possible causes as to why these e-Books are now inaccessible to the staff member?
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WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE?
ELIZABETH SZKIRPAN, MLIS
Email:
eszkirp@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/
szkirp
ASSIGNMENT
Choose a scenario. Provide the access chain that should provide access to the resource. Brainstorm some troubleshooting steps. Provide one possible solution.
ELECTRONIC RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE
https://www.amigos.org/node/6710
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RESOURCES
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