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E-book & Streaming Media Management

This guide describes E-book and streaming media collection management resources and tips.

What is an EBA Collection

EBA stands for Evidence Based Acquisition (EBA). The EBA model gives libraries the ability to provide patrons with access to a broader range of titles for their research needs, while also allowing libraries to make the final determination of which titles to purchase for their collection based on a year of usage analytics.

At the end of each EBA 12-month subscription term, a report will be sent out to the liaisons with titles, costs, purchasing, usage, and other miscellaneous information collected during the EBA subscription period. From that report, the titles with the most usage will be purchased. Liaisons, however, also have the option to contact the Head of R&DS with any title they would like to purchase permanently, regardless of usage, and it will be purchased.

At SDSU, we have two EBA collections: one is JSTOR, and the other is Elsevier. The Elsevier EBA collection is managed by the Ebook Librarian.

Purchasing Process and Resource Management

At the beginning of EBA 12 month subscription term:

  1. Between April and July, Collections select the packages/titles to be included in the EBA and negotiate the license. Collections usually share the title list with Acquisitions before the contract is signed.
  2. Acquisitions may share the list and vendor's instructions on getting the MARC records with the Ebook Librarian to start preparing the bib records.The Ebook Librarian should not activate the portfolios or the collection before Procurement signs the contract.
  3. Once the campus procurement signs off on the license, Acquisitions sends the following information to the Ebook Librarian:
    • Confirmed final subscribed title list
    • Vendor's instructions on getting the MARC records
  4. The Ebook Librarian shall activate the collection and the portfolios. The access type for the subscribed EBA titles should be current.

At the end of EBA 12 month subscription term:

  1. Between April and July in the following year, Collections select the titles they want to keep for perpetual access. They usually share the title list with Acquisitions before the contract is signed.
  2. Acquisitions may share the list with the Ebook Librarian to start preparing the changes on the portfolios and collections. The Ebook Librarian should deactivate the whole EBA packages for the current academic year until they are notified that the final contract is signed.
  3. Once the campus procurement signs off the license, Acquisitions sends the confirmed final purchase title list to the Ebook librarian.
  4. The Ebook Librarian shall:
    • Delete the non-purchased portfolios from the collection
    • Change the access type for the final purchased titles to perpetual.
    • Activate the final purchased titles
    • Set holdings in OCLC for those titles
    • Update the reclamation set if any is set for the collection

Example: Parent Elsevier EBA collection, multiple services

Why have one parent collection?

SDSU implemented the Elsevier EBA purchase model in 2020, and the license and contract terms have remained unchanged from 2020 to 2023, with the same PO Line used for each year's EBA contract. There are two approaches to manage this EBA collection: (1) creating a parent Elsevier EBA collection with multiple services representing each year's titles, or (2) establishing separate collections for different years' EBA titles.

Initially, we discussed the idea of setting up individual collections for each year's EBA titles. However, Acquisitions raised concerns about this approach due to certain challenges in Alma. While it is possible to link several Electronic Collections to one PO line, it is not feasible to do the vice versa – to link the order to multiple electronic collections from within the order.

Hence, considering the limitations in Alma, we have decided to move forward with the first approach.

How to create a new service and describe the service?

To set up the collection in Alma, follow these steps:

  • Find the collection in Alma, then edit it.
  • Click on the Additional tab and navigate to the services section.
  • Click on "Add Local Service."
  • Depending on whether the EBA contract is signed or not, you can either deactivate or activate the service accordingly.

Next, move to the service description tab:

  • Ensure the service type is "Full Text" for all Elsevier ebooks.
  • For now, select "Selected Full Text" to distinguish the new service from others.
  • In the internal description, add the year of the Elsevier EBA term and provide details on the status of the EBA titles. Here are some examples of how to format the internal description:
    • Elsevier EBA Project for Fiscal Year 21-22
    • Wait for the final purchase list in summer 2024.
  • Enable the proxy and fill in information in the Linking tab
How to import and update the bib records and manage portfolios?
  • Bib Source and Tips:
    • Elsevier bib records are obtained from Worldcat Collection Manager.
    • The new subscribed packages might include titles purchased perpetually from the previous year's EBA.
    • Maintain a local backup of all downloaded MARC records, facilitating easy reuse for next year's reselected packages in Alma. Data sync can help keep these records updated.
  • Import profile: here are some important settings for import profiles:
    • match method: unique OCLC identifier match 
    • match method: merge and check the box for single match
    • merge and combine: disabled
    • preferred record: record with the most items
    • merge method: overlay all fields but local
    • Select the selected full text service for the Elsevier EBA collection in the inventory information 
  • Manage portfolios:
    • At the start of the EBA term:
      • All titles should have the current access type by default.
      • Check for duplicate that might occur due to the aforementioned reasons. Always deactivate the subscribed title, not the perpetual title.
      • After importing all portfolios, change the service type to "Full Text."
    • At the end of the EBA term:
      • Deactivate all titles in that year's EBA contract if requested.
      • Export the portfolio information from Alma and have the final title list's ISBN ready.
      • Run the provided Jupyter notebook and make necessary changes to mark the titles purchased for perpetual access.
      • Create a logic set with criteria provided below:
        • portfolios with the same service ID you set for this year's EBA
        • portfolios without the perpetual access type
      • Run a job to remove the portfolios in the logic set
  • OCLC holdings
    • Claim holdings for the books we have perpetual access to
    • Update the set created for the reclamation project if needed