VIVA ad hoc Technical Issues Committee on Content Linking and Management for Electronic Serials and other Digital Materials
Minutes for May 20, 2002
Lynchburg, VA

Present: Elaine Day (Averett, Chair), Glenn Bunton (ODU), Linda Carder (Lynchburg), Mary Ann Chappell (JMU), Deanna Chavez (RMU), Liz Linton (Sweet Briar), Katherine McKenzie (W&M), Leslie O'Brien (VT), Jamie Redwine (Hollins), Gary Stottlemyer (UVA).

• Reports on electronic serials management software vendors, Journal WebCite, SerialsSolutions, and TDNet.
• Leslie described a Fall 2001 demo of TDnet at Va Tech.
• Linda noted that responsiveness of JournalWebCite staff was good at early stages of Lynchburg College implementation, but has fallen off. JournalWebCite has not yet added Dow Jones titles.
• Susan was unable to attend the meeting, but forwarded information on the Longwood College experience with SerialsSolutions. Coverage is comparable to TDnet, but with fewer special features. SerialsSolutions offers a print report option and is testing output of full MARC records.
• [A detailed comparison of the three products was published in Serials Review, 28/1 (2002) 49-51. "E-journal Package-Content Tracking Services," Ellen Finnie Duranceau, ed.]

The committee is interested in demonstrations by SerialsSolutions and TDNet.

Mary Ann and Jamie gave a brief presentation on linking standards and concepts, including slides and a printed glossary. It was suggested that their presentation might be a good starting point for the training component of the committee's charge. Discussion about whether VIVA should/could manage a centralized resolution service followed. Possible alternatives are coordinated technology and metadata profiles, with distributed servers and responsibility for resolution services at each institution.

Gary offered a brief report on content linking at other consortia-OhioLink is writing their own software for electronic serials management, similar to SerialsSolutions. This is feasible because they have in-house resources and share a common OPAC.

Elaine suggested dividing the committee's report to the Steering Committee into three segments: e-serials management, reference/citation linking, and access integration/ federated searching. Our literature search is well underway and vendor demos are planned. We also need data from a VIVA needs assessment to evaluate technology and products in the VIVA context.

Glenn introduced ideas for the needs assessment. To reduce the burden on respondents and ensure that the survey gets to the right personnel, members suggested administering it in three parts, e-serials management, reference linking, and access integration. We brainstormed for an hour and came up with a long list of survey questions. Glenn will work on the questions and come back to the committee for input on wording. Questions for software vendors were also discussed.

Discussion of readings: the University of California libraries article, papers on the scholars portal and thoughts on linking locally created content, such as that in UVa's Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH) generated the most discussion. Several people had seen the OCLC webcast, "Reconceptualizing Cataloging."

Improving Access to Electronic Resources: report of the Task Force on Access Integration. [University of California Libraries] Oct. 2001. <http://www.slp.ucop.edu/sopag/TFAIReport1.pdf>

Campbell, Jerry D. "The Case for Creating a Scholars Portal to the Web: A White Paper." portal: Libraries and the Academy 1.1 (2001) 15-21. <http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/pla/1.1campbell.html>

Action items:

• Jamie will set up a Blackboard course for the committee's working papers, drafts of surveys, glossary, bibliography, and online discussions.
• Jamie will continue to develop the glossary.
• Elaine will ask Kathy Perry about protocols for distributing surveys to VIVA libraries and current or potential vendors. She will find out whether anyone else in VIVA is planning vendor demonstrations.
• Gary will try to arrange for someone at the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities to give a presentation at our July meeting.
• Glenn will draft the e-serials management survey to questions
• Elaine will set up a public web page for minutes and final reports.

Our next meeting will be late July in Charlottesville. Readers and members are invited to attend. Gary will suggest possible dates. [Scheduled for July 10, UVa Law Library, 10 A.M.]

Leslie O'Brien
Virginia Tech