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Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS)

Winter 2024 Update

General Updates

  • Five-year anniversary of Alma / Primo VE wrap-up: Thank you to everyone who made our Alma / Primo VE 5-year anniversary event a success. A recap of our celebration is available on Basecamp. 
  • Digital Initiatives Program Manager and Support Specialist opening: search is underway.
  • Moving on: Big thanks to Catherine Stollar Peters, our former Associate Director of Analytics and Data Assessment, for all her hard work on behalf of OLIS. If you don't already know, Catherine has moved to a new role as the Director for Research Data Strategy for ORIED. We wish her all the best and look forward to working with her on future endeavors.

Acquisitions

  • Health Checklist - Thanks to everyone who submitted reports. We're in the process of reviewing them.

Alma / Primo VE

  • Clarivate's AI Guiding principles: Clarivate / Ex Libris has been doing a lot of development in the AI space. Asaf Kline, VP for Product Solutions, recently shared Clarivate's Approach to AI, which includes both Principles as well as Clarivate-Environmental-Management-Statement.pdf.
  • ELUNA Alma & Primo Enhancement Process: NERS is now CERV: Community Enhancement Requests and Voting. Watch the Alma and Primo ELUNA listservs for information about 2025 voting.

Analytics

Cataloging / Metadata

  • AI Metadata Assistant: The AI Metadata Assistant is now available in Alma and can be used to create IZ-only bibliographic records. To learn more about this feature and how to use it at a SUNY campus, please check out the How can I use the AI Metadata Assistant FAQ.
  • Authority Control Jobs in Alma: SUNY chose not to run the Alma authority control jobs at implementation. However, due to improvements in how the authority control jobs work and the need to run them to support other features in Alma/Primo, we will start running the Link BIB Headings job in the NZ and in campus IZs. We expect to turn this job on in late December.
  • Government Document Bibliographic Records: With the demise of MARCIVE, we are interested in knowing how campuses are managing their government document bibliographic records and if there may be interest in centralized management options via the NZ. Please contact info@sunyolis.libanswers.com if you are interested or would like to discuss further.
  • Metadata Interest Group: Please join us for the final meeting of 2024! Register to meet on Wednesday, December 11 at 1:00 pm

Collections

  • Direct Charges for FY25 will be billed soon. If you have any questions, please reach out to info@sunyolis.libanswers.com.
  • SUNYConnect Core task group: The SUNYConnect Task Force has been meeting and evaluating the EBSCO and Gale SUNYConnect products, which are up for renewal at the end of this fiscal year. They have been reviewing data and drafting a rubric to use in the evaluation. They expect to make a recommendation to OLIS by the end of this calendar year.
  • Elsevier renewal task group: OLIS will be convening a task force in Spring 2025 to review the Elsevier ScienceDirect journal package. The current license expires on December 31, 2025. We will send an announcement in early spring semester and that describes the charge and calls for members

Discovery & E-Resources

  • EBSCOhost: Your campus will be automatically migrated to the new platform on January 7, 2025 unless you have explicitly asked EBSCO not to migrate you.
  • Title Boosting: SLS is considering asking Ex Libris to boost the MARC 245 subfield a across SUNY in order to improve search results for single word titles. We will be asking for input from the community in the Basecamp HQ.
  • Primo VE AI Research Assistant: The new AI Research Assistant continues to evolve. See our FAQ for information about how to set it up, and for links to Ex Libris documentation.
  • New Discovery Experience: The new discovery platform will go live for testing in May 2024. Consortial features like Get It from another library won't be configured until later in 2024. There is no rush to migrate, and you'll be able to run Primo VE and the NDE side by side if you want to test it. SLS will migrate all supported libraries at the same time, tentatively during the summer of 2026.
  • Mixpanel: the new Primo analytics module is currently being beta tested by a group of libraries, including University at Buffalo and Binghamton. 
  • Interest Groups: The next Discovery Interest Group meeting will be Friday, December 20 at 1 pm. The next eResources Interest Group meeting will be Thursday, December 19 at 10 am.​

Institutional Repositories

  • Institutional Repositories Interest Group: Join us for the final interest group meeting of 2024! Several campuses will demonstrate and discuss how they use and manage their IR. Register for the meeting on December 12 at 10:00 am.

Professional Development

Resource Sharing and Fulfillment

  • Fulfillment Health Checklist: The Fulfillment health checklist is now available. It can be found here. Please limit responses to one per campus. 
  • New Interface for Manage Patron Services: The November 2024 Alma update contained an updated version of the Manage Patron Services and Return Items interfaces. The old interfaces are still the default interfaces, so you'll need to opt in to use the new interfaces.  Information on how to opt in to using the new interfaces and a demo of the new interfaces can be found here. Ex Libris currently plans to make the new interfaces the default interfaces in May 2025. 

Fall 2024 Start of Semester Update

General Updates

  • September OLIS Update: Thursday, Sept 12 at 10:00 AM, Register here.
  • December OLIS Update: Wednesday, December 11 at 10:00 am. Register here.   
  • OLIS Service Level Agreement - We recently posted the OLIS Service Level Agreement for 2024/2025. This document includes all services under the OLIS umbrella.
  • SUNY OER Summit - Please join us on October 16-17 for the second annual SUNY OER Summit. The agenda is posted and registration is open! 
  • AI LibGuide Working Group: Emerging from the 23/24 Fact2 AI Task Group, OLIS will be helping support the development of an internal LibGuide designed to serve as a resource SUNY libraries can use to populate their own guides. We will conduct regular meetings to coalesce around definitions, concepts and best practices related to AI and document these outcomes so they can be shared. If you are interested in participating in this working group, please contact Ken Fujiuchi, Emerging Technologies Librarian at Buffalo State.
  • OLIS Blog: We've archived the OLIS blog and will be using our other established communications such as basecamp and the listservs going forward.

Acquisitions

  • Amazon Order It! browser plug-in: after a few bumps in the road, this Alma acquisitions feature is fully functional. Please put in a ticket if you'd like help setting it up.  
  • Rialto: If you are planning to implement Rialto, let us know. We can assist you. 

Alma / Primo VE

Analytics

  • Analytics 6-part series: Join the SUNY Library Services Team this Fall for a series of webinars designed to demonstrate how to best use Alma Analytics to address common questions across SUNY. The webinars will be held on Tuesdays at 11 am, except for the week of October 21. ​
  • SUSHI for Core: In preparation for contract renewals, SLS has been working on gathering better usage statistics for SUNYConnect resources. We recently contacted vendors and received a list of all campus SUSHI credentials for AVON and Sciencedirect. We set this up for most campuses, and along with EBSCO and Gale SUSHI, we're now able to extract campus usage for SUNYConnect resources through Alma Analytics."
  • ELUNA Alma Analytics COP: Michelle Eichelberger will be representing SUNY libraries within this community of practice and will share out development and information as it becomes available. 

Cataloging / Metadata

  • OCLC Data Sync: On Friday, September 6, OCLC implemented a change to their FTP security that prevented all the campus publishing jobs from completing as scheduled. SLS tried to identify any holdings changes made during this time (September 5) and sent those records to OCLC manually. However, if you added or deleted a large number of holdings, you may want to check WorldCat and verify that those changes were communicated. The FTP issue was resolved Friday evening and data sync is working as expected now.
  • AI Metadata Assistant: ExLibris will be debuting the Alma AI Metadata Assistant in the November release. SLS is planning to have a conversation about this feature and implications of its use in the November Metadata Interest Group meeting.
  • SUNY Metadata Standards and Policies (SMSP) Working Group: The SMSP is engaged in a review of the shared SUNY metadata policies and should complete that review in November. The results and recommendations from this process will be presented in early 2025.
  • Metadata Interest Group: Interested in what's happening with metadata across SUNY? Join us for the following sessions, all held on the second Wednesday of the month at 1pm. Register by selecting the date.
    • September 11: Edric Mesmer and Lilly Reynolds from the Poetry Collection at the University at Buffalo will discuss items from their collection and how they are cataloged. 
    • October 9: Join Leslie Feldballe, Brian Morse, and Maria Planansky as they discuss their experience working on the SUNY 'Change the Subject' project and we consider the future of inclusive and reparative cataloging in the SUNY environment.
    • November 13: Catch up with the latest Alma release and chat about what's new in resource management, with a focus on the AI Metadata Assistant.

Collections

  • PIAs for Core and Opt-in: 
    • Deadline for CORE PIAs for EBSCO, Proquest's AVON, Gale and Ex Libris pushed to September 30.
  • Collections Summit: This fall we're hosting a two-part session to talk about all things SUNYConnect.
    • September 26, 2024 - Consortial purchasing, SUNYConnect Core Renewal Task Group review, SUNYConnect IFB updates, future planning. 
    • October 3, 2024 - Review of December 2024 charges, updates to the May 2023 charges, the SUNYConnect CORE percentage calculations and subsidy formulas, SUNYConnect Core statements and PIAs. 
  • SUNYConnect Core Task Group: This task group will be evaluating the current EBSCO and Gale components of the SUNYConnect Core program, and make a recommendation for renewal or non-renewal for the next 2-year period. Thank you to the following volunteers for serving: Andrew Heinz (Orange CC), Brigette Miskell (Brockport), Joe Riggie (Buffalo State), Kimberly Kennedy (Stony Brook), Lauren Bradley (Maritime), Susanna Van Sant (Tompkins Cortland CC).

Digital Transformation Fund Projects

15 initial projects were selected in the first cohort for implementing and planning​.

  • Projects to increase SUNY enrollment: ​
    • Digital Front Door ​
    • Innovation Center ​
    • Enrollment Engine ​
  • Projects to support student success: ​
    • eTranscript ​
    • Advising and Early Alerts ​
    • AI Tutor ​
    • Digital Backpack ​
  • Projects to support SUNY’s infrastructure foundation: ​
    • Non-Credit System ​
    • Extended Detection & Response (XDR) ​
    • Vulnerability Management Platform ​
    • HRIS ​
    • Procurement COE ​
    • Data Management Platform, Incorporating Research Information Management and the Research Data Repository ​(these Data Pillar projects are developing rosters for Working and Advisory Groups)
      • Co-Leads Research Information Management project: Kevin Gardner (Stony Brook University) and Drew Wallsh (ORIED)
      • Co-Leads Research Data Repository project: Evviva Weinraub Lajoie (University at Buffalo) and Catherine Stollar Peters (OLIS)

Discovery & E-Resources

Institutional Repositories

  • Institutional Repositories Interest Group: Reminder that there will be a meeting on September 26 at 10. Register here!
  • SOAR infrastructure updates: Investigating DataCite membership and minting DOI's; configuring OAI harvesting and potential for record population in OCLC

Professional Development

Research Data Management

  • ORCID: There are many ways to support your researchers as they adopt and use ORCID. 
    • A System-wide ORCID Task Force is working to encourage research adoption of ORCID iDs, researcher sharing of ORCID iDs with SUNY systems, and updating researcher ORCID profiles by SUNY institutions and systems. 
    • Campuses can have their researchers authenticate with their individual campus through a campus ORCID membership OR campuses can use the SUNY ORCID Portal to leverage the System Admin membership. Reach out to info@sunyolis.libanswers.com with questions.
  • Dryad: Seven campuses have set up research dataset deposit under the OLIS Dryad Consortial Membership. See our Dryad LibGuide to find out if the researchers on your campus are covered under the OLIS membership and how to start enabling dataset deposit.

Resource Sharing and Fulfillment

  • SUNY Resource Sharing Platform Task Force: A task force is being formed to investigate potential alternatives to OCLC resource sharing for SUNY libraries who can no longer afford to use ILLiad and/or WorldShare ILL.  For more information, please see this Basecamp post.  If you are interested in serving on this task force, please email info@sunyolis.libanswers.com.
  • Fulfillment Health Checklist: SLS is currently working on a health checklist for fulfillment.  The Access Services and Resource Sharing working group will be providing input on the checklist, and we hope to make it available sometime in October. 
  • New Interface for Manage Patron Services: The November 2024 Alma update will contain an updated version of the Manage Patron Services interface.  Staff will need to opt in to use that new interface once it is available. It is currently scheduled to become the default interface in February 2025. SLS will update all relevant FAQs and provide training sessions on the new interface once it is available

Summer 2024 Update

General Updates

  • September OLIS Update: Thursday, Sept 12 at 10:00 AM, Register here.
  • LARS reporting: SUNY has requested submission of LARS data by 8/14/24 (state ops only). SLS team members have been communicating with campuses individually. Please let us know if you have any questions!
  • ProQuest Ebook Pilot Project: Proquest is ending the Ebook ILL Pilot Project in preparation for the full launch of a commercial ebook ILL product in early November. SUNY Library Services will be turning off the Network Zone collection of requestable ebooks on Friday, August 16. Users will not be able to submit new ebook ILL requests after that date. Any ebook ILL links created before August 16 will continue to work for the full two week loan period. SLS will provide additional information about Proquest's commercial ebook ILL November launch once that information is available. Please contact info@sunyolis.libanswers.com if you have questions or concerns about any of these upcoming changes to the ebook ILL pilot project.
  • Orientation: SLS provides provides courtesy orientation for staff and librarians who are new to SUNY Libraries, as well as staff and librarians who move to new positions within their existing library. We welcome the opportunity to onboard new and existing hires. Please fill out the Orientation Request Form to schedule an introductory session if you have any new staff joining your library.

Alma / Primo VE

  • August 2024 Quarterly Release notes: Ex Libris releases quarterly updates to its software (Release notes: Alma and Primo VE). The SLS team will post release note highlights in Basecamp HQ early this month.
  • New Consortia Central Configuration Dashboard: Ex Libris is improving the ability for consortia to push out system-wide configuration from the NZ rather than consortia staff needing to log into each institution's Alma to make changes. As SUNY Library Services does very little centralized configuration beyond Resource Sharing settings, this enhancement should not impact SUNY Libraries. We plan to review during our September OLIS update.
  • Fiscal Year Roll Overs: For FYE 6/30/24 or 8/31/24, we're happy to help complete the rollover process.

Cataloging / Metadata

  • SMSP: The SUNY Metadata Standards and Policies Working Group (SMSP) is half-way through evaluating the approved policies, with a goal of completing this work and making recommendations by the end of the year.
  • Metadata Interest Group: Please join the Metadata Interest Group the second Wednesday of every month at 1pm. On August 14 we will have an open discussion, and on September 11, Edric Mesmer and Lilly Reynolds from the Poetry Collection at the University at Buffalo will discuss items from their collection and how they are cataloged.

Collections

  • PIAs for Core and Opt-in: 
    • Chronicle PIAs are due as soon as possible. 
    • Proquest PIAs have been sent, along with the renewals for FY25. If you have not received, please reach out to info@sunyolis.libanswers.com
    • JSTOR PIAs expire on December 31. We will not be sending PIAs at this time.
    • Deadline for CORE PIAs for EBSCO, Proquest's AVON, Gale and Ex Libris pushed to September 30.
  • SUNYConnect Core Task Group:  Thank you to everyone who volunteered for the SUNYConnect Core Task Group to review EBSCO and Gale. We will be in touch mid-August to conduct a doodle pool for our first meeting.

Discovery & E-Resources

  • New Discovery Experience (NDE): Ex Libris has provided a sneak peek of the new platform, subject to change: 
    https://suny-bro-psb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/nde/search?vid=01SUNY_BRO:01SUNY_BRO  See the post about the beta site in Basecamp HQ for more information.
  • Alma Community Zone: collections that are in the process of being added to the CZ will now be indicated with "Pre-Release” to indicate that Ex Libris has enough information to create the collections’ shell – name, material type, collection type etc., and will not be available for activation. Once the title list is vetted, the collection will be populated, and you will be able to activate it. 
  • Recent Ex Libris Webinars: 
    • Data Excellence Updates (June 20, 2024) - PDF, YouTube
    • What's New with Primo (July 22, 2024) - YouTube

Institutional Repositories

  • DSpace and Authentication: The SUNY Digital Repository, or SDR, is currently running on a version of DSpace that is not supporting EZproxy or OpenAthens redirect links. This means certain collections in SDR, like the Binghamton University Visual Resources Collection and SUNY Press Ebook Collection cannot be viewed from off-campus using a proxied link. This content is still available for users on campus. SLS is investigating options for improving access to these materials.
  • Institutional Repositories Interest Group: SLS will be hosting a few IR interest group meetings this fall. This will be an opportunity for anyone interested in repository work and/or related activities to meet with SUNY peers and discuss what's happening. The meetings are currently scheduled for the following Thursdays: September 26 at 10, October 24 at 10, and December 12 at 10. Please RSVP!

Professional Development

Resource Sharing and Fulfillment

  • Article Resource Sharing: Five SUNY libraries have recently implemented Alma article resource sharing. The total number of SUNY libraries participating in Alma article resource sharing is now 42. If your library would like to implement Alma article resource sharing, please email info@sunyolis.libanswers.com.  
  • Resource Sharing Loan Period Policy: The recent Alma resource sharing health checklist contained questions about proposed changes to our Alma resource sharing loan period policy. Unfortunately, the response rate to the resource sharing health checklist was too low for us to move forward with any changes to that policy. Every campus that responded voted for at least some changes to the current policy, so SLS will work with the ASRS working group this fall on developing a new Alma resource sharing loan period policy proposal.  
  • Manage Patron Services Interface: The November 2024 Alma update will contain an updated version of the Manage Patron Services interface.  Staff will need to opt in to use that new interface once it is available. It is currently scheduled to become the default interface in February 2025. SLS will update all relevant FAQs and provide training session on the new interface once it is available.