(Initial Post-Go-Live) Outbound Linking from Vendor Platforms (AEFG MVP 006)

Legend: not started IN PROGRESS STALLED decided

Recommendation

AEFG recommends a coordinated project between CDL and campuses to assess which content providers may be updated by campuses or CDL (note that how the resource is managed, by CDL or campus, does not necessarily map to how the administrative credentials are managed at the content provider’s end). Note that the scope of this decision page outlines the contours of the project, with implementation documentation to be developed after approval and before holding a Launch Session with relevant UC project participants. This is indicated in the Action Log with some items to be completed after the approval of this Decision Page.

• AEFG has assessed this work as being best implemented through a coordinated project with relevant campus and CDL personnel. The AEFG-managed Electronic Resources Project and Consultation Subgroup was proposed to PPC and SILS WG as a means of managing and supporting issues related to these updates. Subgroup approved by SILS WG on 6/25/2021.

• AEFG Co-Chairs and CDL representatives are developing project documentation infrastructure based on SFX Report Query 2, for shared spreadsheets to coordinate details of content providers between CDL and campuses (e.g., a CDL Tier 1 resource with a content provider that has administrative credentials separated by campus). See Meeting Notes for details.

• The project will be launched through a session with the E-Resources Subgroup to introduce the project scope, deliverables and timeline. Campuses will also be able to review SFX reports to identify priorities (i.e., if a content provider may need to be attended to earlier in the timeline than others), as well as any local resources with content providers that have no overlap with the content providers list of the AEFG project.

• AEFG recommends weekly workshop sessions after the Launch Session from go-live to post-90-days. This provides an opportunity to review and confirm updates, identify any issues, and plan for the next round of updates.

• Project Phases should be set to identify the high-impact resources to update in the first 30 days; 31-60 days for the second set of resources; 61-90 days any remaining resources and final troubleshooting before sunset of SFX at 90 days from go-live.

Reasoning

Based on the experience of UC Davis, who implemented this change with their migration in 2016, the update of content providers with new base URLs and linking images was very involved, and not easily completed through a blanket email to content providers. The resulting project entailed iterative communications between CDL and UCD and the respective content providers. For the consortial migration, managing the updates with content providers needs to scale across multiple campuses in order to manage UC-side communications, better track communications between UC and content providers, and ensure thorough testing of the changes and resolution of any issues along the way.

The recommended project model provides support and guidance to campus personnel needing to do this work, a way to batch the updates with the content providers to manage changes both in Alma and for the end user, and a means of surfacing any bigger issues through AEFG and the Phase 4 working infrastructure as needed.

Background

In migrating from using SFX to using the Alma Link Resolver, CDL and campuses will need to update administrative settings with content providers to include a new base URL, using either the Ex Libris-provided URL or a custom domain campus URL that passes through the Alma Link Resolver. This outbound linking facilitates patrons' search paths from within a database to assess access, authenticate, and link to the target resource. This is typically a project managed by those with roles that include access to administrative login credentials and vendor contact information. Based on the UC Davis migration, this project is best scheduled for after go-live so these changes are timed for updating in the new production environment, thus avoiding premature changes before migration. It is also a somewhat involved project, as it is not a quick “flip the switch” kind of project, and involves working with various content providers' account management systems and record infrastructure for consortial accounts. In some cases, CDL may be able to make these changes for all of the campuses; in other cases campuses would be updating this information directly. Given this complexity, this decision page will include a coordination and communication plan with a goal of scalability (i.e., multiple campuses needing to make these updates at once) and efficiency (i.e., a fairly short timeline to getting as close to completion as possible after Go-Live for the production environment, acknowledging some content providers may be more complicated than others).

Dependencies

• Confirming campuses' custom domain URLs for this functionality (search URL), if a campus is using a custom domain vs. the Ex Libris-provided URL.

• Actions from the Discovery FG Decision Page re: changing UC-elinks to Get It at UC: confirming that image files are created in anticipated pixel sizes based on content provider requirements. 6/9 update: Lisa S. is working to coordinate the needed image file sizes. TBD: where these images need to live: In “Resource Lake” per Discovery FG and then copied to campus server location to provide local campus URL to providers if they request a URL for image vs. the image file itself? Would it still be functional (and make sense, if image path is not the campus domain/url)?

Questions to consider

• Should work smoothly for larger content providers, with local campus migrations with cautionary/advising input (based on UCD project).

• Note: PubMed has additional layers of set-up with Outside Tool (or OTool).

• Ensure Google Scholar service (via publishing profile) also covered.

• Intersecting with Discovery FG decision to update UC-elinks to Get It at UC - ensuring image file conforms to content providers' image size requirements (mostly standard, with some exceptions). Note: alt-text should be included for accessibility.

• Campuses currently using SFX for their local partition should consult Query 2. Number of SFX requests and clickthroughs per source on CDL’s UC-eLinks Usage Statistics Reporting page.

• What is the best way to identify local resources needing outbound linking updating vs. those that would be included in the CDL/campus coordination project?

• What is out of scope for this updating and may fall into other groups' scopes, for example configuration of citation linkers?

Action Log