April 11, 2002 Columbia University Libraries has signed a unique agreement with Serials Solutions to provide full cataloging and holdings data, with regular updates, for e-journals acquired through aggregators and packages. Although Serials Solutions has been providing part of this service to several hundred libraries for some time, this is the first agreement that provides full catalog records as opposed to abbreviated listings.
Robert Wolven, Director of Library Systems and Bibliographic Control at Columbia Libraries, said "I believe this model holds the promise of becoming the dominant mode of e-journal cataloging rather quickly. It offers a single solution to the problems of tracking the frequent changes in large e-journal sets, providing high-quality cataloging, and consolidating access to holdings information for multiple versions."
Columbia, an institutional member of the CONSER (Cooperative Online Serials) Program, met with Serials Solutions and Jean Hirons, CONSER Coordinator, at ALA mid-winter to discuss the details and come up with standards that will not only meet Columbia's requirements but be generalizable to other customers.
Hirons noted that "it is in CONSER's interest to form partnerships with companies, such as Serials Solutions, that are providing alternatives to traditional cataloging. By working with such companies we can assure that the quality of the product is sound while saving time for everyone."
"The collaboration with Columbia University Libraries and CONSER has been tremendous," commented Peter McCracken, Co-Founder and Director of Product Development for Serials Solutions. "They played a crucial role in helping us develop this service to the highest standards."
Serials Solutions is beta-testing this service with other institutions around the country and is planning to offer the service at the ALA conference in Atlanta.
Serials Solutions LLC is the premier provider of comprehensive e-journal tracking services. Founded by a librarian for librarians, Serials Solutions helps librarians find and use all of the electronic journals that are available at their library. http://www.serialssolutions.com
Columbia University Libraries is the nation's eighth largest academic library system, with 7.5 million volumes, 84,000 serials, as well as extensive collections of electronic resources, manuscripts, rare books, microforms and other non-print formats. The collections are particularly strong in humanities and history, architecture, East Asian and other Area Studies materials, oral history, theater, and original materials in English and American literature and history.
The collections and services are organized into 22 libraries, supporting specific academic or professional disciplines. The Library's web site at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/ is a gateway to the print and electronic collections and services.
