Similarly, we have started a project to modify the use of our
traditional print serial controls to allow us to routinely check the
online access for each electronic subscription title we carry at least
twice a year.

Yes, it is a lot of work to set this up, and to redirect staff toward
new workflows.

But in the end, it is worth it for two reasons.

First, given the amount of time it can often take to regain access once
lost, it would pay libraries to be proactive in resolving these before
it comes to the "crisis" point, meaning when the patron discovers a lack
of access at their point of need.  I believe routinely waiting for the
patron to discover the problem can seriously damage the library's
reputation for providing effective, timely, and consistent service.

And second, to my mind, given the amount of money spent on electronic
titles these days, it is simply financially irresponsible not to ensure
that these materials are "on the shelf."

Past that, I look forward to the day that librarians, serial vendors,
content/system providers, and publishers all agree to use a uniform set
of standards for this process!

Thanks!

Lila (Angie) Ohler
Acquisitions Librarian
University of Oklahoma Libraries
Serials Dept, LL211
401 West Brooks St.
Norman, OK 73019
Phone: (405) 325-2142
Fax: (405) 325-1893
Email:  lohler@ou.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Hutchens, Chad
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 4:21 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Constantly losing E-access in the beginning of
the year

I've been toying with the idea of doing a random access check every day.
Just drop a list of titles or packages (with access url's) to which you
subscribe into an array and have a php or perl script randomly select
one every day of the week and print it to a webpage where you could just
click on the link and go.  That way you'd be proactively checking access
year-round rather than reactively during problem periods.

In most cases I imagine all would be well and you could go on with your
day and other times, but less often, you'd discover a problem before it
became a problem.

Opinions?

Chad E. Hutchens
Electronic Resources Librarian
Montana State University Libraries
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT  59717-3320
(406) 994-4313 phone
(406) 994-2851 fax
chutchens@montana.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Andrea Serra
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 2:52 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Constantly losing E-access in the beginning of
the year

Patty,

I would be interested to hear how others are handling this problem. I
tend to check access as the confirmations come in as well as checking
the "worst offenders" at this time of the year but would love to hear if
someone's discovered a more efficient way. Of course, our reference
librarians and patrons will tell us if something is not working but it
would be nice to have a jump on it.

Andrea
Library Assistant, Electronic Serials
Vassar College Libraries
anserra@vassar.edu

At 04:16 PM 2/20/2007, you wrote:
>Hello Colleagues,
>
>Every beginning of the year (about January-March) our library loses
access to
>several online journals of which we actively subscribe.  We work
through a
>serials vendor, and they contact the publisher whenever we lose access.
The
>reason for lost access may be a  payment discrepancy, license signing
need,
>IP address question or some kind of incorrect information in the
publisher's
>record for our subscription.
>
>I know this problem of early-year lost access occurs with many
libraries. I
>would like to hear your ideas or best practices on how to avoid losing
online
>access.
>
>Some ideas that I have considered:
>--Requesting a letter from each publisher in December verifying that we
have
>paid for the subscription and that we will have access (we would have
our
>agent do this, but it is still time-consuming) --Requesting a refund
>for each day that we do not have access
>
>Please share your ideas.  I will summarize for the list.
>
>Patty Wood
>Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.