What libraries can do!
Although libraries want the content they subscribe to be available for users in their preferred discovery services, some vendors unfortunately still don’t allow general discovery services to index this licensed content.
To facilitate our users using rich (meta)data to discover the content we subscribe for them, IGeLU suggests always to include a clause in the content agreements with our current and future content providers.
The clause we suggest is:
“[Vendor] shall make / shall continue making the content listed below available through Discovery Service Provider such as Ex Libris’ Primo Central Index, Serial Solutions’ Summon, EBSCO’s EDS, OCLC’ WorldCat Local, etc. on a non-exclusive basis, to be used by such Discovery Service Providers for indexing and discovery purposes.
[Vendor] shall make reasonable efforts to provide the Discovery Service Provider, on an on-going basis, with as comprehensive content for indexing as possible – citation metadata (including without limitations subject headings and keywords), abstract and full-text, all as available – to facilitate optimal discovery of the content for the benefit of [Library] users.
[Vendor] shall not discriminate between the world’s leading Discovery Service Providers listed above. Discovery Service Providers should be treated equal, thus giving [Library] the freedom to contract their preferred Discovery Service Providers.
For each of the [databases/collections/packages] listed below, [Vendor] shall provide – in addition to basic citation metadata – also the following:
/[Database name] Subject headings / keywords / abstracts /full-text/
/[Database name] Subject headings / keywords / abstracts /full-text/
Etc.”
We encourage you all to include this clause in future agreements with your content providers in order to give our users the best benefit of the content we subscribe for them.
Jirka Kende
IGeLU Chair