August 05, 2024

In This Issue

• FY 2025 WRLC Strategic Planning Process
• Alma Network Zone Consortia Webinar Series
• Community Highlights
• WRLC Job Listings

Latest News

At their March meeting, the Library Directors Council approved a WRLC strategic planning process for FY25 that includes temporary changes to the current committee structure (see chart below). There will be opportunities for all library staff to provide input and comments on strategic planning later in the fall. In order to align and optimize the work of WRLC and our partners, committee structure will be determined during Spring 2025 after the strategic plan priorities are finalized. 
 

During FY25, all continuing committees will provide quarterly updates to their WRLC Staff Liaisons. The updates will be compiled for LDC discussion and review. Any additional committee questions that would have been handled by the Steering Committee can also be sent to LDC through the WRLC Staff Liaison. Continuing committees are expected to meet as necessary to complete any remaining tasks from previous initiatives and address normal annual operations in their relevant areas. During FY25, APAC will address a small number of ongoing responsibilities (ex. NERS voting)  via asynchronous engagement on Basecamp.

Washington Research Library Consortium

2024 Strategic Planning Process
 

The intended outcome of this process is a strategic plan document that (a) includes, and aligns with, the  WRLC vision, mission, and strategic priorities and that (b) defines 3-5 high level initiatives that reflect what WRLC partner institutions aspire to accomplish together through 2028.

Ex Libris is presenting a summer webinar series focused on network zone configurations for consortia. Sessions include:

• The Alma collaborative network and the shared catalog in a network zone consortia

• Automated Fulfillment Network in a Network Zone Consortia

• How to Manage Electronic Resources in a Network Zone Consortia Using Inventory Network Groups

• Using a Shared User file in a Network Zone Consortia

• Consortia Central Configuration dashboard for distributing shared configuration across members

• Alma Analytics for Network Zone Consortia

• How to Restrict Editing Bibliographic Fields by Network Zone Members

• How to Control Where to Save New Records Templates and Rules From a Member Institution of a Network Zone Consortia

• How to Combine Institution and Network Zone Search Results in the Member Institution

• How to Use Local Extensions for Member Institutions of a Network Zone consortia

• An overview of collaborative network configurations in Primo VE

Reparative Cataloging at the WRLC

The Library of Congress does not have any updates or changes for LCSH for June 2024, however, there are a few interesting subject headings proposed by SACO libraries for review by the Library of Congress.  There is a proposal to cancel Asperger’s syndrome because it is covered by the subject heading Autism spectrum disorders. There are also proposals to add the following subject headings:

• Gender-based violence in art

• Queer criticism

• Ultra-Orthodox Judaism

Recent network zone corrections in Alma include :

• Deaf changed to Deaf people (9,721 bib records)

• Hearing impaired changed to Hard of hearing people (2,857 bib records)

• Cerebral palsied changed to People with cerebral palsy (105 bib records)

Alma Sandbox Refresh

Twice per year, Ex Libris refreshes all Sandbox environments. A refresh means that all data and configurations are copied from the corresponding production environment to the sandbox; these replace any data and configurations already existing in the sandbox. 

Our second refresh of the year is scheduled for Sunday, August 11th, 2024.

WRLC will do its best to recreate all consortial user accounts created in the past six months (login information will be emailed to all applicable users), but if you find that you do not have access to the sandbox after Tuesday, August 13th, you can fill out the WRLC Sandbox Access Request Form to request a new sandbox user account.

APAC's Idea of the Month:
Do not create activation task if portfolios are activated on import and do move POL into waiting for invoice status

The Alma/Primo Advisory Committee's (APAC) Idea of the Month seeks a new setting for ordering and ebooks using the GOBI API.

Right now, ebook records added to Alma via a new order import profile offer a "Do not create electronic activation task" checkbox. This allows the entire activation and POL closure process to happen automatically because no e-activation task items are created.

Ebooks added via the GOBI API, on the other hand, do not have an equivalent setting. This means every one of them ends up on the e-activation task list, which prevents the automatic closure of the POL. E-activation task list entries cannot be marked 'Done' in batch, so we either have to manually mark each task list item as 'Done' (we currently have over 8000 items on this task list as a result), or we have to run a job to force the POLs to close.

Either method requires staff time and attention to what ought to be a hands-off workflow. This could easily be avoided if a "Do not create electronic activation task" setting was available for GOBI API ebook orders.

If you don't have an Idea Exchange account, just find the "New here? Create an account" link on the idea page. Then enter your email address to start the account creation process.

APAC welcomes nominations for future Ideas of the Month. Anyone can highlight an idea on the WRLC Idea Exchange Basecamp or you can submit ideas to your APAC representative.

• Head of Legal Technology Services - Jacob Burns Law Library

• Acquisitions Librarian - Jacob Burns Law Library

• Reference/Subject Specialty Law Librarians - 2 Positions - Jacob Burns Law Library

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