SDSU Library Serials List Project

								February 15, 2000
TO:		InfoHeads

FROM:		Serials List Task Group
		Bruce Harley, Chair
		Carolyn Baber (responsible for the chart comparing approaches)
		Beth Deahl
		Miriam Gitchoff
		Mark Stover
		Markel Tumlin

There are three parts to this document:

• a project introduction, based on the original NEW AUTOMATED LIBRARY SERVICES CHECKLIST
  
  
• a Comparison of Approaches for this project
  
  
• a copy of the Chico offer, based on their approach to this type of project

NEW AUTOMATED LIBRARY SERVICES CHECKLIST:
SDSU Library Serials List Project

You will note that detailed answers (concerning costs, funding, administration, etc.) about each of the approaches have not been provided in the answers to the following questions. Such data will likely need to be gathered for one or more of the suggested approaches, pending an initial review of the proposed project.

 
1.  Please give a brief (1 or 2 sentence) description of the new service: 
The proposed new automated library service is a list of all print and electronic
serial titles available to the SDSU Library in full text.
 
1a.  Are you aware of any existing installation of this service?
Variations of this type of list have been installed at other libraries.

If so, please list. 
Please see linked examples associated with Comparison of Approaches,
listed below.

                       SERVICE OBJECTIVES 
 
2.   What is the desired outcome and or purpose of the service? How will the new
service benefit library clients? The library itself?
The proposed list will help Library clients identify both individual serial title
coverage and database serial title coverage. This information will also serve as
both a reference aid for Library personnel providing public service and as a
collection development tool or Library personnel involved in making serial title
and database subscription and cancellation decisions.
 

3.  Who will be the primary (and secondary) users of the new system? Library
clients? Librarians? Library Staff?  
All of the above (see #2).
 
                       RESOURCE ALLOCATION 
 
4.  Where will the service be located in the library? In public areas? Technical
areas? Will the new service require any changes in power supplies, network
connections? How much space will the new service require? Is space available? Will
it be necessary to rearrange existing equipment and/or services? Will any other
special site preparation be required?
The list will be Web-based, accessible via Libweb, without access restrictions,
from any networked computer in or outside the Library. No physical site preparation
will be necessary.
 
5.   What training will the new system require? Librarian/staff training?  Library
client training?  Does training material exist or will it have to be prepared
in-house? Will technical training of non-technical staff be required? 
It is not anticipated that any training will be necessary, except perhaps in
one-on-one situations, most likely between Library personnel and clients at public
service points. It is unlikely that any documentation would be needed.
 
6.   What will the new system cost? Purchase price? Overhead costs?  Maintenance
costs? Peripheral equipment/software cost?   
Costs of the proposed list will ultimately be determined by its method of production.
Please see the Comparison of Approaches listed below.

Is the new service likely to require additional staff? 
No.
 
7.  How will the new service be funded? Library budget? If  so, be  specific. Will
funding come from cancellation  of  existing service(s)?   From  sources outside
the Library, i.e., grants, lottery funds, etc.?
Funding of the proposed list will depend on cost and price specifics (see #6).
However, it is unlikely that any existing services would be cancelled. 
 
 
                    TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS 
 
8.  Is the service feasible using extant technology?  Is off the shelf hardware
and software available?  If not, how much in-house engineering will be necessary?
Be as specific as possible. 
The proposed list is feasible using extant technology. How much off the shelf
software is available vs. how much in-house engineering will be necessary can not
be answered until the proposed list's method of production is determined. Again,
please see the Comparison of Approaches listed below.


9.  Will the service vendor install the service, or will in-house installation be
necessary? Does  existing  staff  have the expertise to do the installation? 
No vendor installation will be necessary.
 
10.  Who will maintain the new service?  Vendor? Library  staff? Service contract
available? Will hardware and software updates be provided, and at what costs?
Library personnel will maintain the proposed list. Depending on the method of
production, software updates may be required, at a cost to be determined.
 
 
11.   How much administration will the new service require, and who will administer
it? Who will be responsible for security? 
Administration of the proposed list by Library personnel will depend on the its
method of production. Libweb administrators will be responsible for security.
 
12.   What is the anticipated (desired) schedule for acquiring, installing  and
implementing this new service?  Can the service begin when technically ready, or
is the timing of the introduction important?
The desired implementation of the proposed list is Spring, 2000. The timing of its
introduction is not important.
 

13.  Please provide a timeline for the various stages of the new service, including,
but not limited to: evaluation, acquisition, installation, testing, and start-up. 
The timeline for the proposed list will be dependent on its method of production.

Comments:
The Serials List Task Group recommends that the serials list be generated in the form
of active/dynamic Web pages created from PAC records, with the PAC being the sole
repository for records all serial title records in all formats (print, microform,
electronic). See the Database approach in the comparison table below, and, more
specifically, the 1st way to build the database, listed in the table footnote.

As Coordinator of Electronic Information Services, I recommend that the method used
to generate Web pages from serial records in the PAC be extended to the generation
of the main periodical indexes and databases Web pages (e.g., Periodical Indexes
and Databases Listed Alphabetically by Name) from PAC records, now
that Bonnie Madsen is cataloging our periodical indexes and databases (see, for
example, the PAC record for Ebscohost academic search fullTEXT elite). Doing
so would eliminate discrepancies in database descriptions on Libweb and LION pages
and reduce maintenance.

Comparison of Approaches

The key difference between the approaches identified for the Serials List Project is the extent to which the PAC would or would not serve as the sole repository for records for serial titles in all formats, and, consequently, whether there would be one or more search engines for the information contained in these records:

• The OPAC (Web) approach would mean that the PAC would serve as both the sole repository for records for serial titles in all formats and the sole search engine for the information contained in these records.
  
  
• The Database approach would mean that the PAC might serve as the sole repository for records for serial titles in all formats and that the PAC would not be the sole search engine for the information contained in these records. This would depend on how the database is built.
  
  
• The Chico Project approach would mean that the PAC would not serve as the sole repository for serial titles in all formats and that the PAC would not be the sole search engine for the information contained in these records.

* Different ways to build the database

1. All records in PAC; export all records for database.
2. Export PAC print records and combine with vendor supplied records.
3. Export PAC print records and combine with "snap shot" of Chico database.
4. Use vendor supplied records only.

Good, fast, cheap. Pick one.

CHICO Offer

>>To Multiple recipients of list libdir 
>>Sender owner-libdir@calstate.edu
>>Reply-To bpost@csuchico.edu
>>From "Post, Bill" 
>>Subject  Electronic Periodical List
>>Date  Mon, 15 Nov 1999 150539 -0800
>>X-Mailer  Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0)
>>X-SLUIDL 3236B516-9BB011D3-8A7800A0-C9776D0B
>>
>>As a response to inquiries from several campuses, CSU, Chico is considering
>>making available to other CSU libraries a web accessible database of full
>>text periodical titles provided by vendors (e.g. EBSCO, SilverPlatter, etc).
>>This database can include title coverage and links to full-text database for
>>those services to which your library subscribes.  It can also include local
>>print holdings information and direct links to electronic journals.  The
>>CSU, Chico library has been offering its users access to such a database
>>http//toad.csuchico.edu591/eft/   for
>>over one year, and has recently worked with the CSU, Los Angeles library
>>http//toad.csuchico.edu591/LA/default.htm
>>  to create a custom designed
>>database for their library.  Feel free to look these files over to see if
>>they might meet a local need.
>>
>>What we are looking for right now is some idea of the number of campuses
>>that might be interested in providing an electronic periodical list of this
>>kind for their libraries. We are certainly aware of some the database's
>>drawbacks, but for us it has been well worth the investment. Some questions
>>and answers about the list can be found below, including a proposed cost
>>model.  If you think your library might be interested, you can email me
>>(bpost@csuchico.edu  ) or Marc Langston
>>(mlangston@csuchico.edu)  .
>>
>>
>>What is the Periodicals List?
>>Full-text databases, such as Academic Search, contain large collections of
>>periodicals that cannot be cataloged using traditional methods.  Libraries
>>that subscribe to several full-text databases have access to hundreds or
>>thousands of periodical titles over which they have no bibliographic
>>control.  The Periodicals List is intended to make manageable bibliographic
>>control over large full-text collections possible without a huge investment
>>in staff resources.  The Periodicals List at CSU, Chico contains journal
>>holdings information for the 7 full-text databases to which Chico
>>subscribes.  The holdings information is provided by each database
>>publisher.  Users of the Periodicals List can search a title and retrieve
>>date coverage information for the title and a link to the database that
>>offers full-text for the title.  Any library that has access to the same
>>databases to which Chico has access, can search the Periodicals List, find
>>titles, and link to the appropriate database.
>>
>>Currently, the CSU, Los Angeles library is using the Chico Periodicals List
>>to find and access full-text periodicals.  Since Los Angeles subscribes to
>>databases to which Chico does not subscribe, Los Angeles is responsible for
>>contacting the vendors and obtaining the holdings information for the
>>Periodicals List database.  Holdings in the database are then coded so that
>>users at the Chico site retrieve results only relevant to Chico, and users
>>at the Los Angeles site retrieve results relevant only to Los Angeles.
>>
>>Though both Chico and Los Angeles search the same Periodicals List, each
>>campus has its own custom designed web page for searching the database.
>>Chico's web page has the "look and feel" of the Chico library's web pages,
>>while Los Angeles' web page has the "look and feel" of the Los Angeles
>>library's web pages.
>>
>>The Periodicals List now contains holdings for 16 full-text databases.  Any
>>library that has access to these 16 databases can find and access titles in
>>the database.  If a library does not subscribe to one of the 16 databases,
>>holdings can be specially coded for that library so that they do not
>>retrieve irrelevant results.  If a library subscribes to a database not yet
>>included in the Periodicals List, holdings for that database can be added.
>>
>>How is the Periodicals List Maintained?
>>Each database publisher supplies title lists for databases covered in the
>>Periodicals List. The database publishers provide periodic updated title
>>lists, and these new title lists are used to update holdings information in
>>the Periodicals List.  No attempt is made to verify holdings or form of
>>titles. The quality of the data is completely dependent on the vendor.
>>Though publishers offer a large variety of information related to each
>>title, the only information currently used in the Periodicals List is title
>>and date coverage.
>>
>>Chico is responsible for maintaining the title lists for the 7 databases and
>>collections of electronic journals originally covered in the Periodicals
>>List - ABI/INFORM, EBSCO's Academic Search Elite, Academic Universe,
>>Contemporary Women's Issues, Dow Jones Interactive, JSTOR, and Bell &
>>Howell's ProQuest Newsstand.  Los Angeles is responsible for maintaining
>>title lists for an additional 9 databases and collections of electronic
>>journals - American Chemical Society, Alt-Health Watch, American
>>Mathematical Society, American Physical Society, Computer Select, Ethnic
>>News Watch, Gender Watch, IDEAL, and Project Muse.  Title lists must be in
>>Microsoft Excel format - database publishers will either supply title lists
>>already in Excel, or in delimited ASCII text, which can be easily converted
>>into Excel.  Chico codes the title list appropriately for each campus, and
>>loads the titles lists into the Periodicals List.
>>
>>Any library that would like to add a new database to the Periodicals List
>>would be responsible for maintaining that data by providing updated title
>>lists in Excel format.  A library that subscribes to full-text databases
>>already covered in the Periodicals would not be responsible for maintaining
>>title list data for any full-text database.
>>
>>Chico is willing to work with CSU libraries in setting up custom designed
>>web pages that will search the Periodicals List and retrieve results
>>relevant to their campus.  Chico is also willing to include print title
>>holdings information for each campus.
>>
>>What will it cost?
>>We want to do this as a service for CSU campuses, but we have to break even.
>>Here is a draft model, comments and suggestions would be appreciated.
>>
>>Base price is $1500 per year with no local holdings.  If you are
>>contributing two or more vendor databases to the list, it is only $1000 per
>>year.
>>Local holding can be added for $500 per year additional, but it is the
>>campus' responsibility to extract the information from their local system
>>and send it in Excel format.
>>
>>These costs are based on accepting data from the vendor as is.  We could
>>clean it up, but then the costs of the project would grow significantly and,
>>in the end, we would still be dependent on the vendor data.
>>
>>
>>
>>William E. Post
>>Director of Academic Resources
>>CSU, Chico
>>bpost@csuchico.edu