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.
At the beginning of EBA 12 month subscription term:
At the end of EBA 12 month subscription term:
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:
Next, move to the service description tab:
How to import and update the bib records and manage portfolios?