Tuesday, January 17, 2006, 12:09:39 PM, you wrote:

HR> Electronic checkin is different from print
HR> checkin because with
HR> electronics, you really are only paying for
HR> access. You don't really have a claim on the
HR> issues.

That isn't universally true.  For some you have continuing electronic
access to the issues you paid for, just as if you were putting them on
the shelf.

HR> The issues aren't
HR> yours to keep, they are only there
HR> for the allotted time that you have a valid
HR> subscription and for as long
HR> as the publisher or database wants to
HR> archive them.

LOCKSS is also may become the answer to archiving electronic journals.
It handles only a few titles so far, but we hope it will grow.

HR> This is especially heightened for libraries that
HR> assume that all their
HR> electronic subs are fine, and then
HR> they are horrified to accidentally find out that
HR> their $5,000 sub. or
HR> that $20,000 database has not been accessible
HR> for weeks, or even months,

Well, if it has taken months for anyone to notice that either of these
has been dysfunctional, then they would immediately move to the top of
my list for possible cancellation. The "don't know it isn't working"
test for an electronic resource is similar to the "how deep is the
dust on the journals" test for print items.

HR> year. These are all problems that we have
HR> encountered, and I'm sure that
HR> others could name more.

Yes, there are as many possible reasons for an electronic subscription
to have problems as there are a print one.

HR> the line? I don't know. How often should
HR> you do it, annually? monthly? I don't know. These
HR> are all issues that we are just starting to discuss.

I'm waiting to see the solution on this one, particularly when a
library has twenty thousand ejournals.  You could complicate it
further by wanting to check whether all the years you paid for. Even
an automated link checker won't solve those problems.

It will continue to be ever more interesting every month....

dan

--
Dan Lester, Data Wrangler  dan@RiverOfData.com 208-283-7711
3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho  83716-7115 USA
www.riverofdata.com  The Road Goes On Forever....