CDLINFO Newsletter, October 27, 2005, Vol. 8, No. 20
CONTENTS
- Directory of CDL-Licensed Content Retiring
- Google Scholar Emphasized Links
- NISC Improves Its Interface
- For More Information
- News and Publications
- Contacts for Questions or Problems
- About CDLINFO
1. Directory of CDL-Licensed Content Retiring
Reminder: The Directory of CDL-Licensed Content http://www.cdlib.org/cgi-bin/directory_search will be retired October 31, 2005. At that time, please be prepared to remove any links to or mention of the Directory in campus web pages or guides. Users who have bookmarked the Directory will be redirected to a web page where they will find links to campus article database and e-journal lists.
Users who have signed up for Directory Updates via CDLALERT, informing them of changes reflected in the Directory, will continue to receive these CDLALERT updates. Instead of appearing weekly, however, the updates will arrive monthly. Users will be directed to a web page where they can see additions, updates, and deletions. The information on this page is drawn from the SFX KnowledgeBase update process and changes made by the CDL and your campus UC-eLinks Liaisons in the preceding month.
Background
Information in the Directory of CDL-Licensed Content is currently being replicated in several places: in campus lists of electronic resources; in the Melvyl Catalog; and in local campus catalogs. The UC-eLinks (SFX) campus A to Z lists are now available in version 3 at http://www.cdlib.org/inside/groups/uc-elinks/a2z.html. Version 3 has enhanced functionality that includes, among other things, searching by ISSN, category (or loose subjects), and journal title.
Most campuses no longer rely on the Directory, but on these other sources for verifying information about and accessing licensed content. Maintaining the Directory is not an automated process; it is updated manually. New digital packages have many titles, some held by multiple vendors. There is a great deal of change and churn among the titles, with new titles and dates of coverage being added to and deleted from Directory constantly. Staff time aimed at this labor-intensive process can be put to better use now that other sources duplicate most of what the Directory accomplishes.
What do you use it for?
An in-depth analysis of the hidden uses of the Directory was completed within the CDL, with remedies addressed for all issues raised. Consultation with campus library staff has taken place, as well as an investigation of how campus libraries link to the Directory. A survey of all users of the Directory to uncover other uses not yet addressed was conducted in April and May 2005. The results of that survey are available at http://www.cdlib.org/inside/assess/evaluation_activities/directory_usage.pdf.
To verify coverage dates for an electronic resource, the UC-eLinks/SFX A to Z list, which is updated on a regular basis by CDL staff, or Melvyl Catalog records, maintained by the UCSD Shared Cataloging Program (SCP) staff, can be used. The UC-eLinks list can also be used to determine the part of a vendor package a title belongs to, and to link to the journal at the vendor's site.
Results of a second survey, capturing the usage of the CDLALERT listserv for notifying recipients of changes to the Directory, are available at http://www.cdlib.org/inside/assess/evaluation_activities/cdlalert_usage.pdf.
And more
The UC Electronic Resources Management System (ERMS) Task Force has recommended Ex Libris' Verde system for managing electronic collections http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/verde.htm. UC is still in negotiations with Ex Libris. Verde will provide another place to find detailed information about e-resources (more information about this decision will be forthcoming).
Timeline
| August October 31 | Parallel service with UC-eLinks (SFX) A-Z lists began Patron access to the Directory will be turned off |
2. Google Scholar Emphasized Links
Now that UC-eLinks has migrated to Version 3 of SFX, the CDL has the necessary technical capability to share UC's ejournal holdings with Google Scholar. By doing so, Google Scholar will then be aware which journals and papers UC has subscribed to electronically, and will link to articles from those sources when they are available. Google Scholar will create emphasized links for those items in Google Scholar, which are included in full text. If an item is not available in full text, the link will still appear, but in a less prominent location. Both links will include the UC-eLinks services activated by the campuses, i.e., links to full text, catalogs, Request, etc. The link will appear as a text string, and not as the UC-eLinks graphic. To see an example of emphasized links in Harvard's collection, see http://scholar.google.com/scholar/librarylinks.html.
Why do it?
Although we are reluctant to some degree to share our holdings with Google (less because of data sharing issues than with the way the linking occurs), we believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Titles only -- not providers -- will be shared with Google. The advantages of sharing our holdings are:
- Making our licensed resources as visible as possible to our users; we want them to be used.
- The CDL has only been involved in Beta testing the UC-eLinks feature in Google Scholar thus far. If we decide not to share our holdings, the UC-eLinks links would be removed entirely in January 2006.
- By continuing to partner with Google in this effort, we continue to be able to leverage the voice of the UC libraries with Google.
- Finally, a recent survey of the UC campuses reveals that Google Scholar is beginning to be used as a serious research tool in their libraries, and that some even have Google Scholar information pages on campus library web sites. For the survey results, see
http://www.cdlib.org/inside/assess/evaluation_activities/googleScholar.pdf.
We want to continue to be involved in future Google innovations.
How will it work?
Margery Tibbetts will set up the process once with Google Scholar for the CDL and the campuses (except UC Davis, which has its own instance of UC-eLinks; Davis staff will set up their process). After that, records will be automatically updated every two weeks. The new linking will begin for CDL-licensed resources around November 1.
3. NISC Improves Its Interface
The database provider, NISC, has asked the CDL to move to a new interface as of November 1. UC licenses the following databases from NISC (Your campus may license additional databases as well.):
African Studies
Black Studies Database
Family and Society Studies Worldwide
Left Index
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
RIPM: Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals 1800-1950
RISM International Inventory of Musical Sources
Sexual Diversity Studies
Women's Studies International
The new interface solves some long-standing problems with the current interface. The primary reasons for the new interface are the following:
-
NISC has asked us to move to the new interface since this would resolve the majority of complaints they receive from UC users.
- The new interface presents UC-eLinks appropriately.
- The new interface allows users to locate Advanced Search easily.
- The new interface's use of tabs brings NISC in line with conventions used by other vendors.
- Because of the significant improvements in usability, we want the end users to have access to the new interface sooner rather than later.
You can preview the new interface by going to: http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/uc-elinks/uc-elinks_test.html and selecting NISC.
No changes are required on the part of campuses.
4. For More Information
a. News and Publications
News and events, press releases, reports and guidelines, and articles published by CDL staff are posted on the CDL web site. Please share news of this resource with your colleagues!
In addition, status information about CDL resources, reports, and working documents of particular interest to library staff are available on the Inside CDL web site.
b. Contacts for Questions or Problems
If you have problems accessing CDL resources or have questions, including questions about the status of electronic journal collections and Internet resources, contact the CDL:- For immediate assistance, call the CDL Helpline at 510-987-0555. Callers with TDD equipment, please call 1-800-735-2929 in California for the telephone relay operator.
- Or, send an email to cdl@www.cdlib.org.
For information about whether your UC campus has access to a particular electronic journal or Internet resource, contact your local collection development officer.
c. About CDLINFO
CDLINFO informs UC librarians and the UC community about the progress of the CDL, policy issues under discussion, and newly available electronic resources. Please share selected information from this newsletter with faculty, staff, and students on the campuses.
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