Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 09:59:00 -0500
From: SharonQuinn Fitzgerald <SharonQuinn_Fitzgerald@VOYAGER.UMERES.MAINE.EDU>
Subject: Managing E-journals

Hello Fellow Serials Librarians,

Here at the University of Maine we are starting to work with a plethora
of opportunities to provide access to e-journals as a by-product of our
paper subscriptions.  Managing this process is quite a challenge.  Here
are some of the steps we have been addressing:

1. Filling out registrations forms (each publisher has a slightly
different one of course)
2. Providing IP address lists (enlist help from our Systems Librarian
for this information)
3. Attaching "cyber" order records to our paper bib records (helpful
for review file in our III system)
4. Creating links from our bib records in our WebPac
5. Updating a web page devoted to e-journals for another point of
access.   This will include an evaluation form for our patrons so we
can make a more informed decision come the day we may have to choose
between paper and electronic subscriptions.  (Assuming we continue to
have that choice at least in the near future!)

In some cases we are working directly with publishers but in others the
"opportunity" has been brought to our attention by our vendor.   Titles
are selected for consideration by staff with collection development
responsibilities.

Some of my questions include the following:

Does your library handle e-journals through its Serials department or
does some other unit (eg. Systems) work out the mechanics?
Do you deal directly with publishers or prefer to work with a vendor?
Do you have procedures in place or in the works for integrating the
processing of e-journals with that of the more traditional mediums?
Do you provide links through your opac and/or through a web page
interface for your library?
If you provide both, does the maintenance process involve two steps or
do you have a system that
automatically makes the update at multiple access points?

I have gleaned a lot from other discussions on this list and if folks
would like to respond directly to me, I would be happy to summarize for
the list.

Thanks in advance for your insights and experiences!

Sincerely,
Sharon Quinn Fitzgerald
Head, Serials
Fogler Library
University fo Maine