FAQ

What is the Community Zone Updates Task List and how do I use it?

The Community Zone Updates Task List shows all the changes made to electronic resources you activated from the Community Zone (CZ). These changes consist of additions, updates, and deletions.

To work with the Community Zone Updates Task List, you must have the Repository Manager role.

 

Navigating the Community Zone Updates Task List

To get to the list, go to Resources > Manage Inventory > Community Zone Updates Task List.

 

Community Zone Updates Task List menu with numbers

As shown in the screenshot above, the menu on the Community Zone Updates Task List page has many features.

1. There are two tabs:

  • The Review tab shows changes that you can review and take action on. You should focus on this tab.
  • The All tab shows information for all changes that were made to your records or that are relevant to your institution. It might not make sense for you to review the titles on this tab. For instance, an ebook may have been added to an electronic collection where you don't own all the titles. This is a change that does not affect you, so it is on the All tab for information purposes only.

2. The range of dates is customizable. If you have never reviewed the list, you might want to start by looking at all changes since migration. If you review the list once a month, you only need to look at the last month or last 30 days.

3. The list can be searched by Collection Name, Identifier, MMS ID, Resource ID or Title.

4. Click the gear icon to display more or fewer headings in the list. For instance, if your institution only has one library, you might want to hide the library name to free up space on the screen.

5. The list can be filtered by:

  • Report Type
  • Available For: this filter only appears in the Network Zone
  • Electronic Service: All, Auto-Active, or Non Auto-Active
  • Resource Type: All, Electronic Service, Electronic Portfolio, or Electronic Collection
  • Has Order: All, No, or Yes
  • Is Free: All, No, or Yes
  • Has Local Information: All, No, or Yes
  • Library Name
  • Collection Content Type: All, Mixed Material Package, Abstract & Index Package, Web Service, Database, Book Package, or Journal Package
  • Collection Type: All, Selective package, Aggregator package, Database

6. The list can be sorted by Report Type, Electronic Collection Name, Title, Identifier, Submit Date, Resource ID, Resource Type, Is Free, Collection Type, Library Name, or Orders. Note that some of the sortable columns may be hidden.


You can dismiss tasks one at a time by clicking Dismiss:

 

You can dismiss multiple tasks at once by checking the boxes and clicking Dismiss Selected. Or you can click Dismiss All to dismiss all tasks at once.

Electronic Collection 'CDI full text linking' field updated

Explanation

The values for "CDI full text linking" may be blank, Hybrid, Linkresolver, or Link in record. Depending on the new value for this field, you should edit the "We subscribe to only some titles in the collection" setting on the CDI tab in the Electronic Collection Editor.

  • For Link in Record, set "We subscribe to only some titles in the collection" to "No."
  • For Linkresolver, set "We subscribe to only some titles in the collection" to "Yes."

 

Example

Grove Art Online CDI changed from Linkresolver to Link in record:

 

1. Go to Edit electronic collection

 

2. Go to the CDI tab.

 

3. Change "Yes" to "No."

 

4. Click Save.

 

Electronic Collection 'CDI full text rights' field updated

Explanation

The values for "CDI full text rights" may be blank, OpenAccess, Subscription (Collection Level), or Subscription (Linkresolver). If an electronic collection is no longer OpenAccess, you should check whether you need to deactivate it.

 

Example

Knowledge Unlatched Pilot Collection changed from OpenAccess to Subscription (Linkresolver):

The Knowledge Unlatched Pilot Collection is still available for free online, so this Community Zone Update seems like a mistake. Check with Ex Libris and the provider before deactivating an electronic collection if you suspect it's still open access.

 

Electronic Collection 'CDI search activation' field updated

Explanation

The values for "CDI search activation" may be "Available for CDI search activation" or "Not available for CDI search activation." If an electronic collection has changed from not available to available, check that you want CDI search turned on.

Electronic Collection 'CDI search rights' field updated

Explanation

The values for "CDI search rights" may be blank, Free, or Subscription. If CDI search rights have changed to Subscription, that means CUNY patrons will not get any results from the electronic collection unless they are logged in to OneSearch.

 

Example

Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800 changed from Free to Subscription:

 

You can check the Community Zone for a different version of the electronic collection that has different search rights, but that is unlikely. Check with Ex Libris and the provider if you think the electronic collection should be free to search. If you can't find a different version and the search rights are not in error, you have to decide whether it's worthwhile to have this electronic collection in your electronic inventory if patrons will only see results when they're logged in.

Electronic Collection 'CDI type' field updated

Explanation

The values for "CDI type" may be blank, Abstracting and Indexing database (A&I), or Full Text Collection.

Example

ERIC changed from Full Text Collection to Abstracting and Indexing database (A&I):

 

You can check the Community Zone for a different version of the electronic collection that has full text.

Electronic collection bibliographic record update

Explanation

When you activate an electronic collection from the Community Zone, a bibliographic record is automatically attached. The purpose of attaching bibliographic records to electronic collections is for better discovery in OneSearch. These records are usually suppressed and often contain limited metadata. Check whether the updated bibliographic record is of sufficient quality. You can replace it with a better bibliographic record, suppress it, or delete it.

 

Electronic collection deleted

Explanation

The name of this report is misleading. Although the electronic collection has been deleted from the Community Zone (CZ), it is still present in your Institution Zone (IZ). However, it has been unlinked from the CZ and deactivated. You may simply choose to reactivate the electronic collection and any electronic portfolios it may contain. A better option is to find and activate an equivalent electronic collection in the CZ.

 

Examples

African Journal Archive Free and CQ Researcher have been deleted:

 

The Alma Central KnowledgeBase release notes for this time period say that content from the African Journal Archive Free can be found in African Journal Archive. Therefore you should consider deleting African Journal Archive Free and activating African Journal Archive.

 

Clicking on CQ Researcher takes you to the electronic collection where you can see there were two portfolios for CQ Researcher. There is no electronic collection in the CZ with both versions of the title, so you will have to delete the old electronic collection and activate each title in a different electronic collection.

 

Electronic service base url updated

Explanation

Many electronic collections in Alma generate links based on a general link ("base URL") for the electronic collection and identifiers ("parser parameters") for the electronic portfolios. The base URL and the parser parameters work together to make a unique link for a specific title. You only need to take action in these scenarios:

  • It might be necessary to update the EZproxy stanza with the new URL. If your EZproxy is hosted by OLS, open a ticket to request this update.
  • If you have overridden the base URL or the parser parameters, the links may no longer work. Check that the links in OneSearch still work.

 

Example

The electronic service base URL for Criminology & Criminal Justice Videos (Sage) was changed from http://sk.sagepub.com/ to https://methods.sagepub.com/:

 

This is a major change, so you should ensure that the new URLs work by spot checking a few titles in OneSearch. EZproxy for SAGE may need to be updated.

 

Electronic service deleted

Explanation

If an electronic service is deleted, it is extremely likely the electronic collection has been deleted as well. Follow the instructions for "Electronic collection deleted" above.

 

Electronic service linking parameters update

Explanation

Electronic service linking parameters contain information that is needed to make URLs work. It is unlikely that you will need to take any action regarding them, so you can dismiss the titles on this report.

Portfolio added to auto-active package

This is only present in the All tab.

Explanation

When you activate an electronic collection from the Community Zone, you are given the choice to have Alma automatically activate any new titles added to that collection. If you choose yes, it indicates that you are not closely monitoring the content, so you don't need to pay attention to the titles that have been added. They should already be activated in your Institution Zone.

Portfolio added to non auto-active package

This is only present in the All tab.

Explanation

When you activate an electronic collection from the Community Zone, you are given the choice to have Alma automatically activate any new titles added to that collection. If you choose no, it indicates that you have carefully chosen which titles should be available, so you are not interested in adding other titles.

Example

Portfolio bibliographic record updated

Explanation

Bibliographic records in the Community Zone are notoriously poor quality. If the record has been updated, there has probably been an improvement or a correction. It's not worth your time to check on these updates, so disregard them. If you're really curious, you can use "View Versions" in the Metadata Editor to see what was changed.

Portfolio coverage update

Explanation

A portfolio coverage update means the "From" and/or "To" date has been changed. Sometimes the change is minor, such as when "Available from 2014" becomes "Available from 03/01/2014" (the month and date were added to the year). Sometimes the change is major, such as when "Available from 2004 until 2004" becomes "Available from 1987 until 2012" (the years are completely different).

In general, approach this report by dismissing the updates from aggregator packages and concentrating on selective packages. Providers add, remove, and change the content available in aggregator packages frequently. In contrast, you probably paid for each individual title in a selective package and are entitled to certain years of content.

 

Examples

After you have dismissed the portfolios in aggregator packages, consider the remaining selective packages. This screenshot shows four electronic collections: Walter De Gruyter: Open Access Journals, Nature, Wiley Online Library, and African Journals Online (Open Access):

  • Walter De Gruyter: Open Access Journals and African Journals Online (Open Access) are both free electronic collections, so it's not worth your time to focus on them. Filter the report by collections whose names contain "open access" and dismiss those titles.
  • Wiley Online Library holdings are automatically updated in Alma by Wiley, so you can trust that the changes are correct. Filter the report by collections whose names contain "Wiley Online Library" and dismiss those titles.
  • Nature content is not currently covered by the Springer automatic updates, so you need to check whether the coverage date update for Nature Communications is correct.
  • Some electronic collections are not categorized as either aggregator or selective packages, so don't forget to change the filter back to "All" to show those results.
  • If you find an error, report it to Ex Libris.

 

Portfolio deleted from auto active electronic service

Explanation

When you activate an electronic collection from the Community Zone, you are given the choice to have Alma automatically activate any new titles added to that collection. If you choose yes, it indicates that you are not closely monitoring the content, so it's not a problem if an electronic portfolio is deleted. You can dismiss all of these.

Portfolio deleted from non auto-active electronic service

Explanation

When you activate an electronic collection from the Community Zone, you are given the choice to have Alma automatically activate any new titles added to that collection. If you choose no, it indicates that you have carefully chosen which titles should be available, so any deletions need to be analyzed carefully.

Examples

This screenshot shows electronic portfolios from four electronic collections: DOAB Directory of Open Access Books, African Journal Archive Free, eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) (eBook Collection (EbscoHOST)), and Open Library of Humanities.

  • DOAB Directory of Open Access Books, African Journal Archive Free, and Open Library of Humanities are all free or open access. Dismiss the titles from this report.
  • Check if you should have access to the title in eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) (eBook Collection (EbscoHOST)). It's possible a different electronic portfolio for this title has already been activated, but you might need to activate one yourself.

 

Portfolio linking parameters update

Explanation

Portfolio linking parameters contain information that is needed to make URLs work. It is unlikely that you will need to take any action regarding them, so you can dismiss the titles on this report.


Metadata


Answered By:
Kristen Fredericksen
Last Updated:
2023-07-06
Views:
110

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