SFSU Background

• Number of Databases?• Number of E-journals?• E-resources budget• Member of the CSU consortium, which

negotiates contracts for e-resources and for products such as SFX

Our Dilemma – Torn between two Vendors; Don’t know what to do

• Our ERM and ILS software is produced by Innovative Interfaces

• Our OpenURL and Knowldgebase software is produced by Ex Libris and purchased through a consortium

• III’s ERM and Ex Libris’s SFX don’t play well together

Our Options for getting coverage data into our ERM system.

• Manually create a coverage file using data provided by our database vendors

• Use a third party provider such as Serials Solutions, CASE, or TDNet

• Figure out a way to get Coverage data out of SFX so that we can import it into ERM

Third Party Option – PROs and CONs

PRO• Serials Solutions, CASE, and TDNet provide

data files that are ready-made for loading into ERM

CONs• We would be paying twice for the same data• We would be maintaining the same data in

two different databases

Using SFX for Coverage data –Pros and Cons

PROs• Efficiently reuse data in SFX knowledgebase• Not paying twice for the same data• Free MARC records (through our CSU contract)• Better ERM matching using the SFX object IDCON• No easy way to get the data out of SFX in the

right format for ERM

The Fundamental Problem – ERM needs Direct URLs for each Journal/Vendor combo

The Fundamental Problem – no direct URLs in SFX Databases

OpenURL

A Solution – The SFX API

• Show a URL that calls the API• Show some XML that gets returned

Two Iterations

1. Saskatchewan Script• Written by Darryl Friesen at the University of Saskatchewan• Just in case solution (gathers all of the direct URLs in one

session)

2. CSU Script• Adapted from the Saskatchewan script by David Walker

(California State University)• Just in time solution (creates a direct URL when you ask for

it)• Used by SFSU, Chico, Sonoma?

Saskatchewan Script – Pros and Cons

Pros

• Easier to implement for non-technical staff

• Saskatchewan allows other libraries to use the script housed on its server

• Innovative Interfaces developed a simple GUI interface to the script: see http://saskscript.usask.ca/

Cons

• It takes a looong time to run the script

• It can put a heavy load on the SFX server

• CSU doesn’t want us to use it

CSU Script – Pros and Cons

Pros• Script runs quickly and

provides data about the SFX knowledgebase

• Smaller load on the SFX server

Cons• Harder to implement for

non-technical staff

• Currently, you need to be able to run Perl script locally

• Also requires a server to run the “resolver script”

“Hybrid” URL

Object IDTarget ID