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    How to – Add an Unpaywall General Electronic Service to Alma, for Open Access links in Primo

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    Created By: Stacey van Groll
    Created on: 3/01/2019



    Background

    • Unpaywall is a free and non-profit service which harvests Open Access Articles with DOIs from reputable services and platforms such as Crossref and DOAJ
    • Utilising this service in Primo means that we can offer an additional pathway to Open Access content for all users (both guest or authenticated)
    • We also fulfill a broader university strategic goal of facilitating access to and promoting Open Access content
    • Adding this General Electronic Service (GES) to Primo, via Alma configuration, gives users a chance for immediate access, rather than submitting a document delivery request if the content is not available or if our other links do not provide access for any other reason
    • Our Document Delivery staff will also be able to utilise this quick link in Primo, speeding up their initial processes for mediated document delivery requests
    • The label of 'Look for Open Access version' was chosen specifically to avoid setting up a user expectation that success is guaranteed, as the link may sometimes lead to content which is not actually freely available.  This is due to the nature of the OpenURL functioning solely to build a link to possible content via Unpaywall, rather than preemptively checking for available Open Access content prior to the link being displayed to a user
    • Update: An OTB Unpaywall service was introduced by Ex Libris in the November 2019 Alma Release, which has a key benefit of functioning by API call which first checks if there is an Open Access URL to a PDF available prior to displaying the link, unlike the GES which does no such live check.  However, sites may choose to maintain this GES rather than moving to the OTB, as UQ has done, for several bugs yet unresolved (including that the API fails regularly), inability to utilise Online Services Order or Display Logic Rules, and also for the undesirable but expected 'by design' behaviour of the link displaying only in View It rather than both View It and Get It, which removes the vital aspect of appearing in the 'no holdings' Get It

     

    Expected display

    • In the Full Record, under Get It Request options or View It Additional Services
    • Both directly in Primo and via the Primo Services Page for users on external platforms such as PubMed or Google Scholar
    • Label: Look for Open Access version
    • The link will appear for records which
      • are not Books
      • have a DOI
      • use the Alma Link Resolver

     

    Details

    • Configuration time: 15 minutes
    • Configuration difficulty: Very low

     

    Systems Specs

     

    Alma Configuration Menus

    • Configuration Menu > Fulfillment > Discovery Interface Display Logic > General Electronic Services
    • Configuration Menu > Fulfillment > Discovery Interface Display Logic > Display Logic Rules
      • Only necessary if you choose to hide the links in some scenarios

     

    Setting up your General Electronic Service

    • Configuration Menu > Fulfillment > Discovery Interface Display Logic > General Electronic Services

    All these settings are up to you, in terms of how you want to display this link, but make sure the URL Template is http://oadoi.org/{rft.doi}

     

    Additional Configuration for Display Logic Rules

    Configuration Menu > Fulfillment > Discovery Interface Display Logic > Display Logic Rules

    This is only necessary if you choose to hide the links for any other reason, such as when you have Full Text available.

    We chose not to do this because we’d like the service to be available to all users who visit Primo who may not be active members of our Library, and we also like to have strong visibility of our commitment to Open Access.

     

    Example outcomes in Primo Back Office on New UI

     

    Additional information

     

    Feedback or suggestions

    Stacey van Groll

    Discovery and Access Coordinator

    University of Queensland

    s.vangroll@library.uq.edu.au




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