[Wactclc-primo] Link for Thursday 5/19/2022 call

[Abby Koehler]

Notes for May 19, 2022

My best shot at getting it all down... please respond with questions or need for clarification! I am pretty sure I don't have it 100%.

Activations
Managing database subscriptions in Alma is pretty similar to managing subscriptions for print periodicals. If you have collections of aggregator databases turned on in Alma, there's an activation task you have to take care of... when Alma creates a PO line for an electronic collection or electronic title, it auto creates an Activation Reminder, and you can't turn it off. Because in the normal order of things, once you purchase something, it says "don't forget to turn it on" -- but if you don't mark this reminder task as Done, when the period for renewal comes around it won't let you. So after you create the POL, go into the electronic task thing and mark it done. Look for Electronic Resource Activation Task List to either turn something on or mark it Done so that you can renew for next year.

Invoices and Reporting
Question: What happens when different databases are paid for by others and/or there are 6 different collections activated that are on one renewal invoice?
Kirsti has a system she will share... but consider manual creating a Technical POL, which allows you to keep track of the subscription period and things but doesn't have any money attached to it. Like for Films on Demand, on the invoice there are the Master Academic item and the freebie Archival and Newsreel lines. So they have one POL with price information and a separate Technical POL that points back to the payment (via cut-and-paste). So helpful because of packages, or lots of products listed out, etc. etc. Kirsti demonstrates! For one paid invoice, there is the money-POL and the technical-POL that shows all of the pieces -- so what's in Alma matches what's in hand for the invoice, but is also a reminder to activate/ renew all of the pieces.

Question: is there a way to get reminders of renewals of databases in all their weirdness to a Dean who gets the bills but not all the details?
Kirsti uses the Internal Description field of an Electronic Collection record that describes general What is it, Who has it, If it's part of a package deal, Who's paying for it (like department, program, etc)? Where are we getting the records? Takes awhile to get together, but this Internal Description field is reportable in Analytics. She demonstrates her Subscription EResources Analytics dashboard to get a sense of what's coming up for renewal, what the cost might look like with an estimated 5% increase for budget predictions for next fiscal year. In each fund in Alma there is a field called External ID, which is where Seattle Colleges puts their CTC budget string (so helpful to communicate to business office automagically, eventually maybe). If another department isn't sure of which string they might use, Kirsti uses a descriptive placeholder in the External ID so that it still shows nicely in the dashboard. Also in each invoice, you can specify whether the invoice has been paid in ctcLink or not -- it has to manually updated, but that helps to know if an invoice has not been received or if the invoice has been submitted to the business office but has not been paid. This dashboard is out there in the Consortium folder with this dashboard, but if you bring it in to your local, make sure each report of the dashboard is pointing not to the Consortium report but to the local folder with the copies of the report (use the gear to Edit the dashboard to drag over the local report and delete the Consortium version). Note that you have to have Alma Acquisitions and POLs established and all that -- a 3 year process for Kirsti and team to migrate information from Excel spreadsheets into the system.

Question: are other libraries having trouble with getting bills paid by the business office? Yes! There are reports in ctcLink that can show you whether something has been paid or not... but specifics are fuzzy at the moment. Getting access to it is also a barrier... but there are a lot of options there to potentially to tap into. George Babcock at Seattle Central College is a library person who has knowledge of the ctcLink reports -- Kirsti will reach out for info.

Idea: future conversation for those using Acquisitions on best practices for structuring funds to be able to understand or report out some of this. It's hard stuff, and complicated -- but once you can get it sorted, it's so much easier to manage!

Question: How do you budget for library supplies?
Kirsti saw that they use the Order Without Inventory feature for things like barcodes (and maybe even furniture) somewhere on the Alma listserv...



abby koehler

she/her/hers

Systems Librarian

Whatcom Community College

360.383.3287

________________________________
From: Wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> on behalf of Thomas, Kirsti <Kirsti.Thomas at seattlecolleges.edu>
Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2022 9:45 AM
To: WACTCLC Alma Discussion <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>; WACTCLC Primo discussions <wactclc-primo at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: [Wactclc-alma] Link for Thursday 5/19/2022 call


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Reminder that if anyone wants to meet today, while Wade is still on vacation, you can use the link below:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/2921730987?pwd=ZVBDdnNZZnZLb2k0aUtFQlRhUFgxQT09

Meeting ID: 292 173 0987
Passcode: eurbiquade

It will be ok!

Kirsti S. Thomas
Library Technical Services Manager
Seattle Colleges
kirsti.thomas at seattlecolleges.edu<mailto:kirsti.thomas at seattlecolleges.edu>



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