Improving our Access Game

ensuring curated e-content is discoverable in Alma/Primo VE

Carrie Marten (she/her), EResources and Systems Librarian

Rebecca Oling (she/her), Director of Digital Accessibility

Purchase College, SUNY

Purchase College Profile

• Part of SUNY system with 60 institutions and 4 statutory colleges.
• Size of SUNY schools vary with 20/60 having under 2500 FTE
• Purchase normally has just under 4k FTE
• One of 13 comprehensive colleges (offers an array of degrees, levels and majors incl professional programs)
• System wide move to Alma/Primo in 2019

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Specific Purchase Alma Migration Landscape

• Purchase had an Interim “Acting” Library Director
• Undergoing Director search
• Small “team of one”
• EResources and Systems Librarian
• chairing a director search
• other conflicting demands
• Training for them and circ staff and ILL and input from others
• “Acting” director was supportive, but juggling multiple demands
• Priority needed to be basic migration no extras

Ebook Collections

• ACLS Humanities E-Book
• eBook Collection on EbscoHost
• Proquest Ebook Central
• Gale eBooks
• Classical Music Reference Library
• Credo Reference
• Dictionary of Literary Biography
• Grove Art and Music Online
• LGBTQ Source
• Literature Online
• Literature Resource Center

https://purchase.libguides.com/ebooks

Streaming Collections

• Alexander Street
• Digital Theatre +
• Drama Online
• OntheBoards.TV
• Opera in Video
• Naxos Video Library
• American History in Video
• Dance in Video
• Kaltura server for indy

https://purchase.libguides.com/Multimedia

Common Themes and Issues

• Several generic collections
• Sprinkled in a PDA
• None were customized to our needs
• Individual licenses by request
• saved emails or LibGuide links
• Increased attention for accessibility and copyright risks
• Slow creation of ground-rules and best practices
• Nothing readied us for COVID

Establishing new workflows in the midst of COVID lockdown

• Trainings & documentation
• SLS (SUNY Library Support)
• Colleen Lougen (SUNY New Paltz peer) to formulate workflows
• Google forms:
• eBook Purchase Request via subject librarians
• Streaming Request Form for faculty
• All eBook acquisition through YBP’s GOBI interface.
• ProQuest and EBSCO titles
• Taylor and Francis, et al on occasion
• ProQuest and EBSCO were available platforms
• all other titles needed to be made available as links in Primo VE
• Librarians training on forms (edits based on feedback)
• eBook license types (focus on unlimited user license, DRM free usage, avoid single user license items if possible).
• OCLC stanzas needed to be added to EzProxy for eBooks from new vendors/publishers.

Accessibility Concerns

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“Bad scans” violated:

• Copyright/fair use
• Accessibility
• Reality
• COVID 19 allowed no support or time for remediation at scale
• Strategic Planning
• less nimble in meeting ongoing needs and gaps

Ordering in Alma and Primo VE activation

These are orders of individual ebooks, not additions to existing packages.

What you need: working knowledge of Alma and Primo VE and certain roles in Alma

Using Ex Libris and SLS documentation, Carrie developed her own workflow and instructions. Detailed local documentation is key to facilitate success.

Adding ebooks is basically a three-step process:

• Alma Acquisitions to order each eBook
• “Manage Electronic Resource Activation” in Alma Resources to activate each eBook in Primo VE
• Testing, and possible troubleshooting, are a given for every item

Workflow Documentation for eBooks and Streaming Films

Adding eBooks to Alma/Primo VE (Purchase Documentation)

This documentation works in conjunction with the screenshots on the following slides. Also includes troubleshooting notes on issues we have encountered.

Order and Activate a Single eBook (SLS Documentation)

Our local documentation (above) was built off of the SLS’ detailed workflow documentation. {Unfortunately, after our presentation on 10/26/2021, this PDF was taken down, but ExLibris and the SLS do address this workflow in other places online.]

How eBook Links work in Primo VE (SLS Documentation)

Creating a local collection for streaming films (Purchase Documentation)

We will not go into detail about this workflow, but we wanted to share our local documentation to help illustrate the difference between this and the eBook workflow.

Required Roles in Alma needed to add eBooks

• Electronic Inventory Operator
• Electronic Inventory Operator Extended (required for delete operations)
• Repository Manager
• Purchasing Operator or Purchasing Manager (required to create and edit POs and POLs)

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Note: If you are not a system administrator, in Alma, for your library, you will need to speak to your system administrator, and possibly your supervisor, about getting these roles added to your Alma profile.

Search Alma, select eBook Record in Community Zone, click “Order”�

Create Purchase Order Line�

Fill in POL details and click “Order Now”�

Primo VE activation via the Electronic Resource Activation Task List in Alma�

Make eBook available and choose Access Type�

Enable proxy in the Linking tab�

Optional: Add any necessary notes, such as a note visible to users, and Save�

Choose Test Access for the ebook in the Task List�

Click the Collection link to confirm access is working �Then choose Done for this eBook in the Task List (see previous slide)�

Search for eBook in Primo VE�

View full record and test access again by clicking the collection name�

Discovery Search for "High School"�

2 Versions of "High School"�

Streaming film record in Primo VE with the link and added expiration date�

Next Steps/Future Plans/Questions

• COVID Catch Up: public request forms (within reason)
• Streaming request form is used by faculty
• eBooks request form is only used by library faculty liaisons
• Adding pre-COVID purchases to our discovery layer
• eBooks
• DVDs which came with streaming rights
• Develop a detailed workflow for hosted “indy” streaming titles
• SUNY shift to more online courses--what impact will that have on our eResource collecting objectives?
• What adjustments do we need to make for accessibility and other kinds of disaster planning outside of the current pandemic?
• Workflows for eBook and streaming film management will be revised as our eResource management work changes and updates are made to Alma and Primo VE.

Questions?

Carrie.Marten@Purchase.edu, EResources and Systems Librarian

Rebecca.Oling@Purchase.edu, Director of Digital Accessibility