'Tis a Far Far Better ThingMaybe

Electronic Selection in a Multi-Vendor EnvironmentCharleston Conference 2008 Dianne Keeping & Lisa GoddardMemorial University Libraries

'Tis a Far Far Better ThingMaybeWelcome, Im Lisa Goddard, and Im the Head of Systems for Memorial University Libraries. Were a medium-sized academic library located in Newfoundland, Canada. This is Dianne Keeping from our Collections unit. For the past two years weve been engaged in a migration from a completely paper-based monograph acquisitions workflow to a largely electronic environment. Im going to being the presentation by outlining the work that we did leading up to the decision to implement Worldcat Selection, then Dianne will introduce Worldcat Selection in detail. 1Memorial University LibrariesTotal collection of 1.7 million titlesAnnual monograph expenditure of 1.5 millionBuy ~20,000 new monographs annuallyBlackwell, YBP, Coutts, Harrassowitz, Casalini, TouzotNo major approval plans

Before 2006, there was paper.We have a collection of about 1.7 million titles, and we spend about 1.5 million annually on monograph acquisitions. No major approval plans. 2Paper Workflow: Selection Paper slips from multiple vendors (176,985 in 2007)Slips sorted manually, duplicate titles from vendors groupedSlips routed to faculty through campus mail for input.Selectors write fund numbers on paper slips, and send to acquisitions staff.

3Paper Workflow: AcquisitionsManual catalogue search for duplicatesManual OCLC search for cataloguing copyOrders and orderlines are manually created in UnicornOrders are placed manually through vendor site.

4Paper Workflow: InvoicesItem in hand checked against cataloguing copy. Invoice manually created in Unicorn based on paper invoice.Paper invoices are sent to administration office for manual entry into Banner.

5Paper Workflow: InefficienciesManual sorting of ~15,000 slips each month. Born-digital data shuffled around through snail mail.Data re-keyed about nine times during paper workflow.Offends my sensibilities as a Systems Librarian.6EDI Steering CommitteeComposed of individuals from Systems, Collections, Acquisitions, Cataloguing, and AdministrationBegan pilot project in May 20067Basic 9xx/EDI Workflow

For those of you who arent familiar with 9xx/EDI. The data is sent back and forth between systems, so its consistent and everyone has a copy.89xx/EDI Implementation ILS profiles must be set up for each vendor & currencyTraining in three interfaces:Gobi (YBP) Collection Manager (Blackwell) Oasis (Coutts)Configure EDI profiles in ILS for each vendor one for each currency in which orders will be placed.

9Implementation: Unicorn ReportsMARC Order Import Utility Wizard Load Bibs with Order Info (biborderload) *Load Flat Order Records (orderload) *Book X12 Orders (bookx12order) *EDI File TransmissionEDI FILE RETRIEVAL Via FTP (ediretrieveftp) EDI File Receiving (edireceive) Book X12 Invoices (BOOKX12INVOICE ) *

* report instance for each vendor and currency

All of this work will have to be done for each vendor with whom you wish to exchange electronic information, regardless of whether you are eventually planning to do all of your selecting in OCLC selection.

10 Acquisitions Workflow : KeystrokesPaper Workflow EDI Workflow Duplicate titles searched in UnicornDuplicate titles identified using resolver link Copy searched in OCLC or created manually Skeletal records provided, full MARC copy available Orders keyed into UnicornOrders loaded automatically Orders searched and placed in vendor systemOrders are placed with vendor automaticallyInvoices keyed into UnicornInvoices loaded automatically Invoices keyed into Banner Invoices can be automatically extracted for Banner feed Most of these are advantages accrue to Acquisitions, but electronic interfaces also offer advantages to selectors. 11Advantages: SelectionPrompt arrival of new title notificationsInterdisciplinary subject areas More information to aid with selectionIdentifies titles that have already been selected for purchaseProvides an electronic record of purchasesAllows 24/7 accessibility on and off campusCan quickly and easily be adjusted to meet changing needs and interestsUsing electronic selection interfaces like Worldcat, Gobi, Collection Manager12Workflow Analysis: Best of TimesFlow chart: Paper Processing Flow chart: Electronic Processing

Electronic workflow definitely reduces processing time for selecting and purchasing new monographs. God bless us, every one!

After working with 9xx/EDI, our acquisitions staff told us that they thought it was faster. Ultimately, the proof is in the processing time per item.36 potential actions in paper flowchart.29 potential actions in electronic flowchart.13Opportunities for StreamliningModify slip profilesSelectors check for duplicates/older editions Purchase full MARC records from vendorsShelf-ready books Single currency per vendor Parse invoice lines from Unicorn and cross-walk into Banner

Modify slip profiles with vendors to take better advantage of their strengths and reduce slip duplication.Selectors use title search link to check for duplicates/older editions before requesting.Purchase full MARC records from vendors to completely eliminate copy searching.Receive all order records and invoice records in a single currency per vendor, no matter how the book is listed.

14Workflow Analysis: Worst of TimesFlow chart: Optimal Electronic ProcessingFlow chart: Electronic Processing in Three Interfaces

Bah humbug!Dont forget that we have paper workflow happening simultaneously. 15The Three Vendors: ProblemsTraining in three interfacesMultiple workflowsChecking three interfaces for ordersDe-duping electronic slips from multiple vendors. Communicating with faculty Juggling over 40 different ILS reportsCommunicating with faculty across three different interfaces either cumbersome for you or confusing for them.

Each EDI vendor requires 3 vendor records, and each vendor record requires a set of Unicorn reports so a total of ~30 report templates to manage in Acquisitions workflow. Confusing.

16Where do we go from here?

Collection Development Division4 full-time3 liaison ( time collections & information services)8 part-time We need a solution that accommodates the differing needs and demands of the various collections constituencies at our institution. 17OptionsContinue with Paper SlipsUse One Primary VendorUse Multiple Vendors StrategicallyReview New Title Notices from Multiple Vendor Profiles in One Centralized System

The use of one primary vendor would be the easiest way to implement EDI. It is very difficult to get a consensus among collections librarians for a variety reasons (financial, political, practical, emotional), but mostly because of variations in the level of each vendors coverage for different subject areas. It might be the easiest solution, but is it the best solution for maintaining the high quality of our Librarys collection? It is a hotly debated topic in the Collections Division.

Using Multiple vendors strategically could work, but still problematic:Acquisitions and some librarians would still have to learn and monitor multiple vendor interfacesUnless youre using one vendor for a particular subject area, faculty feedback would still be a problem

18Enter WorldCat SelectionA new OCLC service based on Cornell Universitys ITSO CUL software, which:Allows selectors to view electronic slip notices from multiple vendors in one systemAllows all selectors using the service at your library to see their colleagues selection decisions which reduces the risk of accidental duplication of ordersProvides OCLC MARC records to be loaded into the ILS at the point of order, thereby eliminating the need to rekey and import records from multiple sourcesIncludes an option for automatic removal of duplicate slips

The automatic de-duping de-duplication of slips is the feature that really grabbed the attention of our collection librarians and staff.

Because we have a bit of a slip situation at our library...19Our Slip SituationIn 2006/2007 Memorial University Library system received:176,985 slips from our three main vendors7% resulted in orders93% of the slips received were either not appropriate to our needs or were duplicatesIntra-vendor duplication is estimated to be between 19-30% (usually between US and UK profiles, different formats, & interdisciplinary subject profiles)Inter-vendor duplication is very difficult to determine, but, based on the data available from two of our three main vendors, the best estimate is about a 60% duplication rate between our main vendor profiles

Slip duplication is a tricky problem because a certain amount is actually useful, especially for interdisciplinary areas. A psychology profile and a social work profile will get overlapping title notices and thats fine. What is annoying is when you get repeat title notices within the same subject profile from the same vendor. This is usually due to different formats. Selectors need to know in one title notice that the title is, or soon will be, available in different formats.

Its that 40% that causes some of the debate about the single primary vendor option.

We need a slip managment system that can help us filter this mass of title notices so we can quickly and efficiently locate the new publications that we need for our library. It sounds like WorldCat Selection could serve as that much needed filter.20Setting Up WorldCat SelectionNotify VendorsRequest User AuthorizationsSet Customized Institution DetailsEnter the Librarys Funds & LocationsDefine Collection AreasSet Up Record Distribution MappingLC and DDC call number rangesKeywords and phrases

3 autho levels: selector, acquisitions, administrator30 authos for MUN, 1 default phantom selector

70 funds 7 location codes

69 collection areas, more can be added as needed.

Record Distribution Mapping is the most complicated part of this initial set up process130 active slip profiles with 5 vendorsBlackwell total= 56Blackwell US = 53 subject sub-profiles distributed by keyword on the 981 marc fieldBlackwell UK = one big library profile distributed by LC/DDC call number range + 2 specialty subject profiles distributed by keywordCoutts total = 71 distributed by keyword on marc 910 Coutts North American = 46Coutts Nijhoff = 25Touzot = 1 big profile distributed by call numberCasalini = 1 profile by call numberHarrassowitz = Had one big profile, but they recommended that we add our subject fund numbers to the profile, so these records are distributed by fund number and keyword mapped on the 960 marc field21

22Using WorldCat SelectionSelector Functions23Main Inbox

I get more slip notices than most selectors because, as a full-time collections librarian, Im responsible for a lot of subject areas (9 funds) many of them very interdisciplinary.24Inbox Tabs

Close up view of the tabs in the main inbox.Most selectors will only have access to the searching, selector, preferences and logoff tabs.The preferences area is a particularly important area for selectors to get the most out of WorldCat Selection.25Selector PreferencesReject Items on Demand

Inbox Sorting

Deferred Reasons

Reject Items on Demand is extremely useful. It gets rid of the titles in your inbox or your deferred lists that have been added to the library or have already been selected by another librarian using this system. Obviously, the more selector you have using the system and the more frequently your librarys OCLC holdings are updated, the better this feature will work. We moved from updating every 3 to 6 months to monthly updates. It would be even better if that could be bumped up to weekly or, dare I say, daily.26Selector PreferencesSelect Your Funds

Select Your Location Codes

We have required all selectors to add fund and location information to their selections. If they dont, an error message will pop up reminding them to add it. These preferences allow selectors to add only those funds and location codes that they will be using to their drop down menus.27Selector PreferencesExclude by Keyword

Exclude by Language

Exclude by Country of Publication

The Exclude preferences is a very powerful feature in WorldCat Selection. The instructions added here will filter the slips according to the selectors personal criteria.

It is also possible to exclude title notices based on date or if theyre government publications, but those options were not applicable to Memorial.

Selectors also have the option to exclude all title notices from certain vendors. Its a rather extreme measure, but some selectors do take that decision.28Title Lists

There are a series of labels along the bottom of the tabs in the main inbox:* Inbox* Selected only includes your own selections. They sit here until acquisitions exports them.* Forwarded to Me titles that other selectors have passed on to you. Cant forward to someone who already has the title in their inbox, deferred list or rejects.* Deferred* Rejected* Exported titles that acquisitions have exported into the ILS for ordering.

The number in the bracket is the number of titles currently held in the list. Clicking on the label will open up each title list.

29Searching

There is a searching feature which allows selectors to search all of these lists individually by several fields. The subject searching is by LCSH.30Notification Details: OCLC Data

You open up the Notification details by clicking on the number to the left of the title in the list.The title notifications in WCS contain a lot of information. The upper left corner includes the local holdings information (but only as reliable as the frequency of your librarys OCLC updating schedule) and the price. The box contains the OCLC data for the title. This area includes several useful hotlinks.31Resolver Link

The ISBNs are linked to our librarys resolver, which then links to our local catalogue. Thanks to Lisas efforts OCLC will be adding a title search to the resolver link, so selectors can quickly check the catalogue for earlier editions or different formats of the title.

OCLC has been very good about making recommended enhancements to WCS. Easy modifications will be there within weeks. Recommendations requiring more substantial changes in the architecture of the system will take a little longer. If the demand is there, theyll do their best to deliver.32FirstSearch Link

There is a FirstSearch link in the OCLC part of the notification. We added our librarys FirstSearch login and password to the administrative setup for WCS, so hitting this link will take you directly to that record in our FirstSearch account.33WorldCat.org Link

The OCLC part of the notification record also has a link to WorldCat.org, which has a lot of wonderfully useful features. If you register for your own personal account you can create your own favorites lists that you can share with colleagues. Your colleagues can even bookmark or add an RSS feed to your list.

Drawbacks:Your lists have to be made public for colleagues to view them, which means that they are open to everyone. It would be better to have more control over who can view your lists (ie Google Notebooks).It would be really nice if OCLC could incorporate WorldCat.org and Google Notebooks type features directly into Worldcat Selection.34Notification Details: Vendor Data

The second part of the WCS title notification record contains the vendors data about that title. The vendor control number is hotlinked to the vendors database.35Vendor Link

When you provide your login information the vendors database will open to that record.Especially useful for electronic book notices because you can actually look inside the book on the vendors site.

Blackwell doesnt have this linking feature in their Worldcat Selection records yet, but they are working on it.36Notification Details: Notes & Status

The last two areas of the WCS title notification record are the notes area and the Selector status area, which lets you know if anyone else in the library received a copy of the title notice and what sort of action theyve taken on the item. If theyve rejected, deferred or havent taken any sort of action on the title, that will show up in the status column.37

When you open up the title notification record all of this information is on one page with a scroll bar down the right side and the blue buttons for taking action on the title prominently featured next to the OCLC data box.38Problem AreasThe system is slow & there are frequent internal server errors The automatic slip rejection feature is inconsistentMore sort options are needed in the InboxThe price should be visible in the main Inbox screenSelectors should be able to keep a list of items that have been forwarded to colleaguesThe system does not yet have a built in user friendly faculty feedback option

39Using WorldCat SelectionAcquisitions Functions40Selected Items Summary

41Problem AreasSirsi Unicorn is not yet completely EDIFACT compliant, so 9xx/x12 orders cannot be processed with the European vendorsPossible solutions:Patience! Enhancements to Unicorns EDIFACT functions are expected within the next year or twoInterim measure: records can be exported from WCS by vendor and the order placed in the usual pre-EDI manner42Problem AreasAcquisitions staff are not able to review and modify selections before exporting the records to the Librarys ILSPossible solutions:The addition of a title list feature to the Acquisitions Selected Items screen, so staff could view the list of selections by vendor, fund, selector, etc. Proposed enhancements to the WCS Forwarding function would allow Selectors to simply forward their selections to the Acquisitions supervisor, but still retain a record of what they intend to purchase. Acquisitions would then make the selection in WCS and export to the ILSAdd Acquisitions authorizations to Selectors accounts so staff can review and export title selections directly from the Selectors accountIf all of the Worldcat Selection partners had hotlinks to their databases, then selections could be made directly in the vendors databaseSirsi Unicorn Selection module (maybe?!)

This acquisitions problem is the biggest roadblock that we have encountered with the implementation of WorldCat Selection. What is the point of getting selectors to make selections, if acquisitions cant check them and ensure that the orders are placed properly? Our staff checks for things that wont necessarily show up in the OCLC holdings information (ie. standing orders, serials orders, intentional duplicate copies for different branches, and special collections areas).

Possible solution number 1 would be the best one. The rest are work arounds.

The Selection List Module in Sirsi Unicorn has never been used at our Library, so were not sure how it works, or even if it works at all. Theres nothing published in the library literature describing how libraries have used it, but the Sirsi documentation says that its basically a holding place for information about things that library might purchase. Sounds interesting, but we dont want to go down a blind alley if we dont have to. If anyone out there can offer any insight about this module, we would love to hear from you!43Problem AreasVendors sometimes cancel intentional duplicate EDI orders that have been placed for branch librariesIf this problem is occurring when placing orders in the vendors own system, what sort of problems will occur if branch library selectors are using WorldCat Selection?The branch libraries issueWhere do the Librarys branches fit into the EDI flow? What sort of problems are likely to come up if they are brought into WorldCat Selection? 44This is a world of action, and not for moping and droning in.

Charles Dickens, David CopperfieldIn spite of the difficulties, we should take inspiration from this Dickens quote:

45ConclusionIs electronic selection a far, far better thing?

Maybe

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