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Recommendation

AEFG is recommending the following for electronic resources troubleshooting, acknowledging that some processes will be more thoroughly defined and formalized. AEFG assumes that the path for campuses to report issues via CDL Helpline will persist, unless an alternative support path for reporting Alma content problems to CDL is identified, and that routing to the appropriate CDL work group will occur depending on the issue.

For the purposes of being in place for Go-Live, AEFG recommends establishing the following mechanisms for broad, systemwide, collaborative, and assistive troubleshooting that includes all relevant electronic resources subject matter experts:

• A dedicated Slack channel for emerging issues to include designated campus and CDL electronic resources staff, as well as AEFG members. UPDATE NOTE: This Slack channel has been established as a communication mechanism for the Electronic Resources Subgroup, described below.

• Weekly office hours for review of specific cases, record infrastructure issues, and any electronic resource related topic, hosted by AEFG, to continue during the immediate post-go-live period (reviewed at 30-60-90 days for any modification). UPDATE NOTE: These sessions are not yet established, but will be proposed as part of the AEFG Electronic Resources Subgroup Launch Session on 7/21. Weekly Workshop sessions have been scheduled for the Outbound Linking update project.

UPDATED FOR GO-LIVE: An AEFG Electronic Resources Project/Consultation Subgroup has been created to include those who work on electronic resources troubleshooting, manage administrative credentials and settings, and manage electronic inventory records. This subgroup will be consulting as needed on local campus Institution Zone (IZ)-level and CDL Network Zone (NZ)-level issues related to electronic resources.

Managing E-Resources Troubleshooting at the IZ Level - Reporting Problems

The scope of this recommendation extends to troubleshooting steps taken at the campus level and assessing that the issue is within the IZ.

AEFG recommends that IZs have a local response team consisting of metadata, e-resources, and discovery subject matter experts who can advise on urgent access and display issues after Go-Live. Issues may become more routine and less acute after a period following Go-Live.

• Staff need to be able to identify search scopes/strategies being used while encountering problems

  • AEFG recommends that campuses explore methods of capturing the search metadata from Primo that would be useful in troubleshooting: i.e.: capturing IP addresses, search strings, keywords, etc.

  • AEFG informally assessed the campuses' mechanisms for troubleshooting: some have ticket systems, others are using general email accounts or other methods. AEFG notes that campuses may want to consider the benefits of a ticket system in tracking issues and capturing search metadata for troubleshooting. See the screenshot from UCD’s RT ticket system, with display of metadata captured including IP address, whether patron is using VPN, browser information, bibliographic title information, Source ID (showing path using Primo or other service), etc.

    

SalesForce: Issues in the IZ or CZ (not NZ) not able to be resolved internally at the campus level should be raised via the systemwide Slack channel for input and advice before opening a SalesForce case. Local campus preferred practices regarding submitting SalesForce tickets should also be followed. UPDATED FOR GO-LIVE: With the development of SILS-wide practices for reporting a problem, AEFG advises that recommendations for cross-campus consultation represent the “due diligence” in consultation before escalating to a SalesForce case.

Opening Support Cases for E-Inventory from Within Alma: It is possible to configure the CRM contacts form in Alma to be able to use the Report to Ex Libris link to open a support case for an electronic collection or electronic portfolio from within Alma. This is more appropriate for issues related to adjusting electronic inventory in the CZ, and may not be appropriate for other kinds of issues.

Reporting Problems at the NZ Level

The scope of this recommendation extends to troubleshooting determining that the issue resides at the NZ-level for CDL resolution. See the CDL Report a Problem Page.

• Until the outbound linking is updated with content providers from using SFX to using the Alma Link Resolver, resources may still route via UC-eLinks, and so via the CDL Helpline before routing to campuses. This is planned as an immediate post-go-live project. See AEFG Decision Page 006 Outbound Linking.

• Once the outbound linking is updated to route via the Alma Link Resolver along with the new Get It at UC image button, issues will likely route first to campuses for assessment.

• Cases that are determined to be related to resources managed by CDL in the NZ should be submitted via the CDL Helpline. CDL will take the lead on submitting tickets to SalesForce for NZ issues related to electronic resources management.

• AEFG recommends a page detailing known recurring problems resulting from migration and/or clean-up projects. This “Known Issues” page is for resolution within electronic resources scope and is to be distinguished from the “Known Issues” page for Alma/Primo VE follow-up with Ex Libris regarding functionality post-migration.

Reasoning

Recommendations represent up-to-date development and understanding of staffing and mechanisms at both CDL and campuses. AEFG acknowledges that shared practices will evolve as systemwide familiarity is gained of how electronic resources are managed in Alma/Primo. It is anticipated that additional training and documentation will follow this initial decision page, both for go-live and prospectively as issues are gathered.

Training / Documentation

[This section will include links to internal training sessions, other documentation, etc.]

• Training for campus and CDL staff to differentiate between what is a local/IZ issue vs. NZ:

  • CDL permalinks end with = 6530

• CDL e-resources tracking page: https://cdlib.org/services/collections/scp/tracking/e-resources-tracking-cdl-licensed-electronic-resources/

Background

Some CDL records have a broken link that easy to fix. The question is what would be a best practice in this case? Currently, an IZ campus can just fix it locally in the portfolio and wait for SCP to catch up. Since we don't have access to NZ portfolios, how do we handle easy broken links vs. hard ones? (especially in the case of a faculty member needing a resource for a class and a staffer was able to find the correct link.)

Resources for Alma/Primo at other consortia:

CSU Troubleshooting and Reporting Problems

SUNY: Troubleshooting Strategies for Electronic Resources

Dependencies

• CDL assessing any changes made to issue reporting infrastructure or related CDL webpages

• Creation of dedicated Slack channel for electronic resources troubleshooting consultation, will entail gathering of relevant members, whether in the SILS Cohort or not

Other Considerations

Is there a process for informing users via the interface and/or (temporarily) correcting linking issues?

What about problems with CZ-provided content that will need to ultimately be corrected by ExL?

CDL has Helpline to track and respond to issues with e-resources; local campuses may not have a similar system.

Important distinction on the use of SCP and ERT at CDL. In Alma, CDL will be a part of this fix process, but it may not involve SCP. Alison at CDL indicates that any routing across teams will be managed at the CDL end, so not necessary for campuses to discern this routing ahead of time.

Action Log