Alexander Street Reload

We are excited to announce a major project underway to improve the Alexander Street content currently represented in the SFX Knowledgebase.

Following extensive analysis, we have determined that the most efficient way to update and maintain the Alexander Street content will be to remove the existing targets (including portfolios and objects) and load new versions. In this way we can ensure that our new mechanism for matching these records can be implemented properly and will not retain any residual items that may have been corrupted in the past.

Our plan has also been discussed with the Content Working Group to confirm that it is viable from the community perspective.

Our plan is to roll out this enhancement in two phases that will ensure as seamless a transition as possible while not affecting Discovery usage:

• (Phase 1) Create new DB Type (zero-title database) Targets in SFX that will represent the current and accurate list of Alexander Street offerings. Note that the Interface will be updated to the newly named “Alexander Street” as well.  
  IMPORTANT: the DB Type targets will only be visible to institutions who have transitioned to the Central Discovery Index (CDI).

  In parallel we will begin to remove the existing “Alexander Street Press” targets.

• (Phase 2) Once all of the corrupt targets have been removed and only the most current targets are available as DB Type targets, we will enhance these targets and add the relevant titles. The targets will transition from DB Type to Full Text, and will be made available to the entire SFX community.

While the process itself will be lengthy, at its conclusion we will be able to confidently maintain the Alexander Street targets on a weekly basis with high levels of confidence in our updates.

Note that this plan will not affect Discovery usage in any way.

Phase 1 removal process has completed successfully. 

Phase 2 title reload has completed successfully.

All information on the progress of this project will be available in the SFX Release Notes and within this Article.

We have taken many aspects into consideration, not least of which is the effect on the community members who have activated this content. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation throughout this process of improvement.

If you have any further issues throughout this process, please submit a support case.