Cambridge University Library

eresources@cambridge

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Overview

1. Background

2. eresources@cambridge - demonstration

3. Federated search issues

4. OpenURL Linking from Google Scholar & CSA

5. Authentication update

6. Questions ?

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I) Background – problems with eresource access

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Growing collections

• 20,000 + ejournals• 1,000 + ebooks• 300 + databases (each with thousands of

records) • All held on various different websites

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Lots to search

• Searching everything – time consuming• Learning to use multiple interfaces - difficult• Authentication problems – still complex• ‘Just Google it’ ?

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Disconnection between citation and full text

• Users may just find the citation they need on Web of Science …

• But the link on Web of Science takes them to a ‘click here to purchase’ page instead the full text

• Title held on another provider’s site

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Two problems

• Lots of resources to search

• Ensuring links in databases point to journal holdings that we subscribe to

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Two solutions (hopefully)

• Lots of resources to search

Federated Searching: CrossSearch

• Ensuring links in databases point to journal holdings that we subscribe to

OpenURL Linking: ejournals@cambridge

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• eresources@cambridge

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eresources@cambridge

• Simple ‘portal’ to eresources via the UL website• Alphabetical and subject lists of titles• Links to CrossSearch and ejournals@cambridge A-Z at

subject level – steer people away from big searches• Integrated help

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Portal demonstration

• http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/electronicresources/

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Federated searching

• Passes your search term to multiple resources at once

• Returns and amalgamates results sets• Rely on access to and availiabity of third party

sites

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Federated Search - good for…

• Simple searching across a few multiple resources

• Indentifying which resources best cover your subject area

• Introducing users to the ‘native interface’• Drilling down through large results set with

clustering

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Issues with Federated Search

• Lost in translation – one system’s idea of an author index may not match another

• Lowest common denominator – the slowest resource will slow the whole search down

• Myth of complete access – takes a long time to search it all

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2) OpenURL Linking

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Open URL Linking

• Puts links in citation databases that point to our link resolver

• Our link resolver then passes the user to our specific full text holdings

• Requires the maintenance of a Link Resolver ‘knowledge base’

• Used to populate the ejournals@cambridge A-Z

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SFX

• We use SFX from Ex Libris • Market leader – used in 1,500 libraries

worldwide

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ejournals@cambridge demo

• http://www.scholar.google.com• http://csaweb102v.csa.com/ids70/

quick_search.php?SID=j8kkd608rohaqmklbbjqv151u0

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What happens ?

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Good points

• Increases value of A&I only resources - CSA, Google Scholar

• Good for enriching personal lists of citations• Means that if we change a journal supplier, the

link does not become ‘out of date’

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Not so good…

• Only as good as the knowledge base• Rely upon supplier to keep their knowledge base

up to date with developments in ejournal vendor supply

• Databases must also support the OpenURL format in order to embed links to our resolver

• Current problems getting links into Pubmed

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Questions …

• emc59@cam.ac.uk

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5) Authentication update

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On and Off-campus access

Only current staff and students of the university have access to electronic journals and online databases off campus

Requires a Raven password

In the library and elsewhere on campus most electronic resources (ejournals, online databases, ebooks etc.) are available to everyone so long as they are used on a non-commercial basis. Raven passwords are not normally required for this.

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Athens Raven

Athens passwords are being phased out by the UK academic community No Athens passwords have been issued in Cambridge since 1 September

2007 From 1 August this year Athens passwords still held by staff and students

will cease to work Raven passwords can be used wherever users are prompted for Athens

passwords Anyone having problems with Raven passwords or queries about them

should be asked to e-mail lib-raven@lists.cam.ac.uk

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OffCampus authentication• Athens• Alternative Login or Institutional login

– UK Access Management Federation– University of Cambridge– Raven login

• First time you access a particular resource on a PC. • This sets a cookie so that the site sill take you

directly to the Raven login page.

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Ejournal enquiries – email ejournals@lib.cam.ac.uk Raven passwords – email lib-raven@lib.cam.ac.uk

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Questions …

• Ed Chamberlain – Systems Librarian• emc59@cam.ac.uk