helping e-resources staff build reactive and proactive
TRANSCRIPT
Helping E-Resources Staff Build Reactive and Proactive
Troubleshooting SkillsSunshine Carter & Stacie Traill
June 26, 2016ALA Annual Conference
Collection Management Electronic Resources Interest Group
@sunshinejacinda @straikat
Our Environment
University of Minnesota
● 21 libraries on 5 campuses: Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Twin Cities, Rochester
● Share systems; but otherwise essentially autonomous
● Systems in Use○ Alma: Single Institution / Multi-campus○ Primo/Primo Central: Multiple institutions/views○ Premium Sandbox for Alma & Primo○ bX○ EZProxy/Shibboleth
Twin Cities
● Demographics @ Twin Cities○ 30,000 undergraduate students○ 16,000 graduate/professional students○ 17,000 faculty & staff
● E-Resources @ Twin Cities○ 91,000 e-journals○ 632,000 e-books○ 500 subject-specific databases
The Units Formerly Known as Technical Services
● Technical Services reorganization in 2012● E-Resource Management Unit (a part of
Acquisitions & E-Resource Management Dept.)○ 6 FTE managed by ERL○ E- acquisitions & access○ Licensing (~8/month)
● Data Management & Access Dept.○ Manages systems and metadata ○ 24 total FTE; ~2 FTE support e-
resources
Process
Identified knowledge & tools needed to troubleshoot
● Began by flowcharting common troubleshooting scenarios● Helped identify key concepts and tools needed to
troubleshoot● Concepts incorporated into curriculum● Tools demonstrated during Troubleshooting Workshops
and distributed via email, handouts, etc.● Created a toolkit: z.umn.edu/pcitoolkit
System Diagrams and Troubleshooting Workflows
● System diagrams to show relationships, communication paths, failure points
● Process flowcharting for common troubleshooting situations
● Useful for training and as a job aid● Systematizes process; allows for easy and consistent
application by many staff● Escalation points are clearly defined
System Context Diagram
Troubleshooting Process Flowcharts
Curriculum Outline
● Developed curriculum● Identified main points for
each subtopic● Article @ z.umn.
edu/ecurriculum*
1. Overview of discovery and access environment
2. Common points of failure
3. Authentication and authorization
4. OpenURL and link resolvers
5. Differences and similarities between access for OA/free resources and licensed/paid resources
6. Discovery index content, activations, and linking mechanisms
7. Metadata sources, quality, and impact on access
8. Detailed interaction between link resolver, discovery index, discovery layer, and LMS
9. Distinguishing isolated issues from widespread problems
10. Effective communication with system vendors and content providers
*Carter, S. and Traill, S. (2017). Developing a staff training program for access troubleshooting in a web-scale discovery environment. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship. This is a preprint of an article submitted for consideration in the Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship (2017; copyright Carter and Traill); Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship is available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/wacq20/current
Sample Subtopics: Authentication and Authorization
● Who the institution’s authorized users are.● Which users can access library resources remotely.● How off-campus access to library resources is offered.● Special allowances/restrictions of access: VPN, special credentials (e.g. flags).● Campus controlled IPs, including special locations (e.g. off-site facility).● The impact of IP addresses and IP ranges on access.● Designated library tool server IPs (e.g. proxy, metasearch).● Resources that don’t allow for IP authentication.● Which resources should be proxied (e.g., are free/open access resources proxied?)● How to verify/update IP ranges with vendors.● How to verify IP addresses of patrons/users experiencing issues.● How proxying works (including specific institutional configuration choices).
Pre-survey on familiarity with each topic
10 one-hour troubleshooting sessions
February 25, 2016 - May 25, 2016 ● Pre-readings● Practical/factual information● Concepts● Demonstrations● Diagrams & Workflows● Scenarios● Minute-surveys
Post-survey on familiarity with each topic
● Same questions as Pre-Survey● Preliminary results
○ Respondents■ Pre-Survey: 6■ Post-Survey: 5
○ Familiarity Average (Scale of 1 (not at all familiar) to 5 (extremely familiar)■ Pre-Survey = 2.68■ Post-Survey = 4.16■ Average Increase = 1.5
Outcome of Workshop
General Impressions
● Staff were receptive and engaged in topics● Generated a lot of questions & discussions during and after sessions● Impromptu teaching moments within the unit● Still, an overwhelming topic especially for less experienced staff● Preparing and presenting 10+ times in 3 months was a lot of work
under time pressure ● Minute surveys useful, but outstanding questions still need to be
addressed
Future of Troubleshooting Workshop
● Adapt content for other staff groups○ E-Resource staff on other campuses○ Metadata staff○ Public Services staff
● Adapt content for online tutorials (maybe?)● Reuse content in unanticipated ways
○ e.g. a presentation Stacie gave to a discovery steering committee on metadata in our discovery layer; some of the content was reused in her presentation, a huge time-saver
● Shared created content with other Alma/Primo customers
Next Steps
What questions are we trying to answer?
● How many linking issues exist in our current environment?● Does proactive troubleshooting increase confidence in
staff troubleshooting abilities?● Is proactive troubleshooting worth the effort?● Can we automate any of our troubleshooting processes?
Methods● Jeff Peterson & Sunshine Carter● July 2015● 400 random openURLs generated from third-party databases● 8 staff will test links● Testing full text availability of all 400 links
○ Online; or○ Print; or ○ ILL form population
● Fix identified issues● Categorize error, along with error impact (low or high)● Possibly repeat testing of new set of 400 random openURLs
