Acquiring Resources for the
Harvard Libraries Portal
Back to Resource Sponsorship
This document provides guidance to Harvard librarians wishing to propose commercially-available
electronic resources for the Harvard Libraries portal. This includes resources
being proposed for initial trial and evaluation before a purchase commitment has
been made, and resources whose acquisition has been approved either in whole or
in part with local library funds.
Procedures for electronic journals are not treated in this document. Online
journals are most often acquired as part of a publisher package or available for
registration as a concomitant to a print subscription ("free with print.") A separate
document describing electronic journal procedures is under development.
All other restricted resources intended for the portal - i.e. those resources
governed by a license agreement, for which a fee is paid, and/or whose access
must be restricted to members of the Harvard community - are vetted according
to the policies and procedures outlined below.
OVERVIEW
Individuals and Groups Involved in Resource Acquisition and Implementation
Interim Coordinator for Electronic Resource Licensing
(Kristin Stoklosa) coordinates the acquisition and implementation of new Harvard Libraries portal
resources, negotiates licenses for shared acquisitions, assists individual libraries
in cost-sharing arrangements and license negotiation, and manages the Harvard
Libraries portal release process. The Librarian also handles invoicing and prepares
annual budgets for resources that are funded by more than one faculty.
The Digital
Acquisitions and Collections Committee (DACC) establishes policies and
procedures for shared acquisition of licensed resources and reviews and approves
resource proposals requiring joint funding.
The Committee on Electronic
Resources and Services (COERS) coordinates the evaluation of prospective
shared resources and oversees the resource stewardship program.
Stewarding Libraries provide ongoing
curatorial management of individual resources and participate in renewal and retention
decisions.
The Office for Information Systems
provides ongoing development and technical support for the Harvard Libraries portal.
Who Can Initiate a Proposal?
Any Harvard librarian may initiate a resource proposal, but resources must
be formally sponsored by a Harvard library in order to be included in the Harvard
Libraries portal. Resources can be proposed for trial before an acquisition decision
is made, and/or can be proposed for cost-sharing with other libraries if the sponsoring
library so chooses. Libraries proposing a resource should be prepared to provide
some level of financial and curatorial sponsorship if acquisition is recommended.
End users may suggest resources through the Harvard
Libraries comment facility. Suggestions are forwarded by Kristin Stoklosa to an
appropriate Harvard library for consideration. A formal acknowledgement is sent
to the requestor.
Resource Sponsorship
Every new Harvard Libraries portal resource must be sponsored by a Harvard
library. Responsibilities of the sponsoring unit include:
- Providing financial support for the resource, either in whole or in part
- Providing ongoing curatorial responsibility for the resource by assigning
a librarian to serve as resource "steward"
Kristin Stoklosa will identify a potential sponsor if the library submitting the
proposal is not able to arrange for the necessary support. Resources proposed
for trial or cost-sharing will be reviewed by the Digital Acquisitions and Collections
Committee.
Factors to Consider When Sponsoring Resources for the Harvard Libraries Portal
Before resources can be added to the Harvard Libraries portal, compatibility
with Harvard Libraries licensing and access management requirements must be determined.
These factors should be evaluated in the request phase, before a license
agreement is signed.
- Licensing - If use of the resource is governed by a license agreement, the
license must permit site-wide access by the entire Harvard community. Remote access
from off-campus locations should also be permitted. License agreements should
follow the Guidelines
for Licensing Electronic Resources at Harvard University. A version of these
guidelines has been specifically prepared for vendors and is available on the
vendor information page of the Digital Acquisitions
website. Vendors should be asked to review the Harvard guidelines and to incorporate
relevant provisions in the license agreements that they prepare for Harvard. Kristin Stoklosa is available to assist libraries in reviewing and negotiating license
agreements upon request.
A copy of the signed license agreement must be deposited with OIS when the resource
is made available in the Harvard Libraries portal. In general, licenses should
not be signed before the following compatibility issues have also been investigated
with vendors and tested by OIS:
- Access Management
- Access control - Vendors must be able to authenticate access by ip address
(sometimes called ip authentication or ip filtering). The use of passwords to
control access is not supported on the Harvard Libraries portal.
- Proxy compatibility - All resources must be tested for compatibility with
the Harvard Libraries portal software used for proxying and user authentication
before they can be added to the portal. This testing is routinely performed when
a trial is initiated through OIS. If a trial has not been requested, testing must
be performed prior to implementation. If a given resource is not compatible with
the Harvard Libraries proxy, access can usually be provided by restricting access
to workstations located on the Harvard network.
- Special Technical Requirements - An increasing number of electronic resources
require specialized technologies such as plug-ins for viewing images or full-text,
special client or helper applications (e.g. for GIS support), or non-roman font
support in order to be used effectively. Any special requirements must be analyzed
and reviewed by other affected Harvard libraries before deployment in the portal
can proceed. The procedure for this is described more fully in a separate
paper.
Individual Harvard libraries may have additional procedures by which prospective
acquisitions must be authorized. For example, within HCL, electronic resource
expenditures over $500 must be approved by the Associate University Librarian
for Collections. For a fuller description of HCL electronic resource acquisition
procedures, click here. Consult your local library
for further information.
Making a Request
Libraries wishing to propose or formally sponsor a resource should complete
the Harvard Libraries Resource Acquisition Request
available on the Digital Acquisitions website and return it via email (preferred)
or fax to
Kristin Stoklosa, Interim Coordinator for Electronic Resource Licensing. Nomination forms from
College librarians can be submitted to Kristin
Stoklosa, E-Resource Coordinator for the Sciences in the Harvard College Library;
Laureen Esser, E-Resource Implementation
Coordinator for the Humanities in the Harvard College Library; or Meghan
Dolan, E-Resource Coordinator for the Social Sciences in the Harvard College
Library. Proposals submitted to OIS are logged in OIS and queued for further action.
Requests will normally fall into one of the following categories:
- Request for Trial - requesting library would like a formal trial period before
committing to financial support
- Request for cost-sharing partners - requesting library has authorized partial
financial support but would like to share the costs with other Harvard libraries
- Request to make resource available on the Harvard Libraries portal - acquisition
and funding will be subsidized in full by the requesting library (subject to technical
and license review).
What happens next depends on the category into which the request falls.
Resources Requested for Evaluation and/or Trial
Although trials may be undertaken on behalf of a library intending to provide
sole sponsorship for a resource, more commonly some level of joint funding is
envisioned. Such proposals are reviewed by the Digital Acquisitions and Collections
Committee and evaluated by the Committee on Electronic Resources and Services
(COERS) or by another appropriate group. Evaluations may be formal or informal
at the discretion of DACC. Informal evaluations are generally those in which the
resource's desirability and collection appropriateness are considered givens,
subject to manifest deficits in performance, usability, license terms, or technical
compatibility. In the case of formal evaluations, a written recommendation is
prepared at the end of the evaluation period. The evaluation
process is described more fully on the Digital Acquisitions website.
Resources Proposed for Cost-Sharing
Resources for which joint funding is sought are reviewed by the Digital Acquisitions
and Collections Committee or by a targeted group of funding libraries. If joint
funding cannot be secured, the sponsoring library is notified. The library may
withdraw consideration or sponsor the acquisition on its own.
Sole-Sponsored Resources
Sole-sponsored resources are generally first implemented as trials in order
to facilitate the technical review process. Exceptions can be made when urgent
access is needed. In all cases, resources must meet the Harvard Libraries portal
technical compatibility requirements and site-wide licensing guidelines described
above.
ONCE A RESOURCE IS APPROVED
This section will cover more fully the procedures for:
Approval and signoff
Signing and depositing the license
Placing the order
Providing ip addresses to vendors
Invoicing
Administrative information required by HUL
Assigning a resource steward
Completing the Harvard Libraries Resource Description Form
Creating a provisional cataloging record in HOLLIS
Completing HOLLIS cataloging and enabling public display
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