There are several reasons why you may find the same e-resources in your Institution Zone (IZ) as well as in the Network Zone (NZ).
ExLibris and the PMO advise a best practice of eliminating any duplication between the zones for cutover, but how to go about doing this depends on where the content in your IZ came from. Please find a list of possible reasons for duplication below as well as suggestions for next steps.
Table of Contents
General Troubleshooting Tips
How to distinguish between IZ and NZ content in Primo
When troubleshooting e-resource access issues in Primo, it can be useful to identify whether the record you’re testing is in your IZ or the NZ.
If the record is in the NZ, the URL in Primo will start with “ca01.alma.” Most browsers display the URL in the bottom-left corner when you hover your mouse over the link. If yours does not, try right-clicking the link and selecting “copy link” or something comparable from the drop-down menu.
How to determine which e-resources will be handled for you in the NZ
Helpful Tools
Export a list of your ERMA e-resources by filtering the All College Subscriptions index by your college and clicking on the orange export icon at the bottom of the page
Find matches in Alma for your ERMA e-resources and/or known cases of missing/problematic collections in NZ Collections (Known Issues & ERMA Mapping)
If you have any questions or experience any issues with these tools, please contact Nicole Morgan nmorgan@ocls.ca.
Backgrounder
OCLS’s strategy for go-live is to manage access in the NZ for all the e-resources represented in ERMA. To summarize the current state:
We’ve activated in the NZ test environment all the potential matches for ERMA e-resources we could find, although most of these collections are not in a testable state (e.g. they're not distributed to any colleges, proxy server access is not enabled, or they're missing customer parameters). We're working with the E-Resources/Acquisitions Subcommittee to develop a test plan for the colleges.
There are approximately 150 e-resources we couldn’t find any CZ collections for, and some of the collections we did activate have been identified as false positives. We expect the list of false positives to grow as we and the colleges continue testing. We’re also investigating the workflows and structures involved in creating records in the NZ for these missing eresoruces.
We continue to investigate larger ERM workflows in Alma, in particular how the management of a collection in the NZ impacts college workflows in their IZ.
As our tests and investigations progress over the coming months, we expect our strategy to grow. Updates will be shared with the colleges as new developments unfold.
Causes & Solutions for Duplication
Four possible causes may have led to duplication of e-resources. These are the Physical to Electronic process, the e-resources activation form, 360 Migration, and PQIS and EBC Activations. The next section describes these causes and provides potential solutions to avoid duplication at cutover.
Physical to Electronic (P2E) Input File
Duplication will result if you have MARC file(s) for the e-resource in your catalogue, included them in your P2E file but that same e-resource is already represented by the other processes identified on this page.
We recommend removing those records from your ILS Migration extract file before sending to ExL and therefore not including in your P2E file.
This can be done by identifying how they can be excluded upon extraction ex: 996 tag, url OR removing the records from your ILS before the freeze (May 20th). If the former, OCLS will need to know how to exclude these records from your ILS Migration extract file by April 26th.
If you have more questions on P2E, extract files please contact Stacey Boileau sboileau@ocls.ca.
E-Resource Activation Form
Duplication will result if you mark a collection for activation in your E-Resource Activation Form which also maps to one of your ERMA e-resources.
We recommend a best practice of only using your E-Resource Activation Form to activate e-resources you’ve acquired independently, outside of OCLS.
Consider the tools listed above as you fill out your Activation Form. If you have any questions about your ERMA e-resources, please contact Nicole Morgan nmorgan@ocls.ca.
360 Migration
Duplication will also result if items in your 360 Report also map to one of your ERMA e-resources.
We recommend a best practice of removing items from your 360 Report after it is pulled from the client center. You can find instructions for Editing 360 Reports - CLSP Alma Primo VE Implementation Project for OCLS in Basecamp.
PQIS Activations
As part of ExLibris' “PQIS enrichment process,” your ProQuest holdings are automatically activated during your IZ data load, including free content, your acquisitions through OCLS/ERMA, and your independent acquisitions.
To review your PQIS holdings list:
Open My Electronic Resources by Provider in Alma (Resources > Manage Inventory > My Electronic Resources by Provider).
Enter your ProQuest Client ID in the “Provider Account ID” field and click “Populate.”
See ExLibris' knowledgebase article “My Electronic Resources by Provider” for more information. If you have questions about the resources in your PQIS holdings list, please contact ProQuest support email.technicalsupport@proquest.com.
We recommend a best practice of opting out of the PQIS enrichment process and running the PQIS activation manually after go-live instead. You can activate in bulk by checking the boxes My Electronic Resources by Provider for any collections that aren't already distributed to you from the NZ, and then clicking "Activate Selected."
Alternatively, you can opt into the PQIS enrichment process and clean up the resulting duplication after go-live. Duplication can result if you imported MARC records for the eresource from your ILS, or if the collection is activated and distributed to you from the NZ. If you subscribe to the collection through OCLS, then it will be activated and distributed to you from the NZ unless your request otherwise. You may want to compile a list of duplicated collections in advance so that you're ready to quickly remove them from your IZ after go-live.
Ebook Central (EBC) Activations
As part of implementation, ExLibris activates the EBC integration profile in your IZ, which leads to duplication for any Ebook Central content you subscribe to through OCLS. ExLibris also recommends running the EBC synchronization job daily after go-live. See the EBC section of ExLibris' “Electronic Resource Migration General” article for more information.
Because the EBC integration profile has ongoing benefits if you acquire Ebook Central titles outside of OCLS, we recommend a best practice of manually removing duplication caused by the EBC integration profile after go-live. You may want to compile a list of collections in advance so you're ready to remove them quickly after go-live. OCLS plans to manage the following Ebook Central collections in the CZ and distribute them to subscribing colleges (unless requested otherwise):
Canada Ebook Collection
College Complete
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Collection