[Eril-l] link checking best practices

Tue Jun 19 13:20:05 PDT 2018

I think it's important to distinguish between link checking and access
checking, which are two different things.  A simple free link checker
online won't tell you whether you have access to the material, but it will
tell you if you have bad links (I've used this before when vendors send a
list of DOIs, where some end up pointing to "DOI not found"s).

Patricia mentioned a few tools on Github, which is great. I've also used
this tool before: https://github.com/UNC-Libraries/Access-Checker  It only
works on ebooks and on the platforms it's built to work with (meaning I'm
not sure there is a magic access checker that could ever work with
*everything*).

We have so many e-resources that we have to mainly rely more on reactive
troubleshooting when problems are reported. Although when we get word that
platforms are changing, we will of course look into whether the links are
also changing and what needs to be done on our end, and then spot check for
access. For large ebook packages, we spot check access to titles when we
first buy them; for smaller purchases we check everything when we initially
set it up. It's always encouraged that whenever you're looking at a record
for anything, go ahead and check the access at the same time.

We have started trying to have a staff member proactively go through our
orders systematically and look for problems like this; however it is very
slow work and tends to be lower priority than other daily work. And this is
someone who doesn't work within our eresources unit, so they don't solve
the problems they report, other staff do.

I'm also curious about any formal procedures or processes anyone has about
this and are willing to share!

-Sherry

Sherry Lochhaas
Electronic Resources Specialist
Technical Services, Moffitt Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA. 94720-6500
phone 510-643-8420
slochhaas at berkeley.edu

On Tue, Jun 19, 2018 at 6:20 AM, Beth M. Johns <bmjohns at svsu.edu> wrote:

> Thanks Patricia!
>
>
> I've received a few responses, not overwhelming thankfully, to my
> question. I'll compile a summary later this week.
>
>
> Thank you everyone.
>
>
>
>
> Beth M. Johns, MLIS
>
> E-Resources Librarian
>
> Saginaw Valley State University
>
> Melvin J. Zahnow Library
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Patricia Pang <ppang at uvic.ca>
> *Sent:* Monday, June 18, 2018 7:48 PM
> *To:* Beth M. Johns; ERIL-L
> *Subject:* RE: link checking best practices
>
>
> Hi all,
>
>
>
> I use a Python script so I can run a KBART list or any title list with
> URLS from the same publisher though and it exports a csv file to let me
> know which titles aren’t working. The script works by scraping the HTML of
> the page and looking for elements on the page that are unique to having
> access. For example if my institution has access to an Ingenta title there
> will be a small  icon so I ask the script to tell me if it see the icon to
> return “Right on!”. If the page doesn’t have the icon, the script will
> output “Look into this” and I can filter those titles and investigate.
>
>
>
> The script requires each publisher platform to be defined individually and
> unfortunately can’t check entitlement years but it has been so much better
> than spot-checking for access. If we purchase or subscribe to a collection
> of hundreds of ebooks or journals I can run the list through and ask the
> publisher to restore access to titles we should have. The University of
> Victoria uses Serials Solutions so I export title lists from their
> knowledgebase.
>
>
>
> The code for the one I’m maintaining can be found here https://github.com/
> UVicLibrary/KrakenAccessChecker
> <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2FUVicLibrary%2FKrakenAccessChecker&data=02%7C01%7Cbmjohns%40SVSU.edu%7C7f7f31aacb784894619a08d5d5761744%7C550f45ff3e8342a197d970ad8935b0c5%7C0%7C1%7C636649625547634656&sdata=8jNEicdy3C41uP7Tgt4kNwGyqLY771PculjXG%2Fzhz28%3D&reserved=0>
> and it was taken and modified from another access checker here
> https://github.com/telezoic/Inquisitor-Python-Wx
> <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Ftelezoic%2FInquisitor-Python-Wx&data=02%7C01%7Cbmjohns%40SVSU.edu%7C7f7f31aacb784894619a08d5d5761744%7C550f45ff3e8342a197d970ad8935b0c5%7C0%7C1%7C636649625547634656&sdata=6iaiE%2FUyfSB8OSsKdRojo4LLBK2x%2BdzQXRSiZQDP7ac%3D&reserved=0>
> I knew nothing of Python or XML before I started looking into this access
> checker so it is not difficult to get running, although it takes a bit more
> knowledge to troubleshoot error messages and write the publisher
> definitions. I’m happy to answer any questions or elaborate. I like this
> method because I can control the results and refine my criteria. I find
> with a lot of commercial link checkers there are too many false results or
> they only check for 404 errors.
>
>
>
> We also have a different workflow for our individual subscriptions which
> we have been incorporating in our annual renewal process. Before approving
> a subscription for renewal, Acquisitions staff check the records for each
> title listed with our subscription agent and determine if receipt has been
> okay for print, note change of publishers and price increases, and if there
> are any other reasons to hold our renewal. The last two years we’ve had 5
> staff members check a bit under 2000 titles in the summer on top of their
> other work and it took around 3 months.
>
>
>
> Last year I asked staff to check the online titles when going through this
> annual renewal process. They searched each title in our catalogue to make
> sure it was represented and that we have access to the latest issue. This
> year I’m requesting staff to also check each print title in the Serials
> Solutions knowledgebase and see if there is online access available
> anywhere. This is to catch free open access titles for our print
> subscription titles, titles we might want to move online, and if the title
> is included in an online package deal.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Patricia
>
>
>
>
>
> [image: LIBR_comb_v_4c_rgb.jpg]
>
> Patricia Pang, Electronic Resources
>
> William C. Mearns Centre for Learning-McPherson Library Acquisitions
>
> 3800 Finnerty Road PO Box 1800 STN CSC, Victoria, BC  V8W 3H5 Canada
>
> P: 250-721-8246| F: 250-721-8240 | ppang at uvic.ca | uvic.ca/library
> <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uvic.ca%2Flibrary&data=02%7C01%7Cbmjohns%40SVSU.edu%7C7f7f31aacb784894619a08d5d5761744%7C550f45ff3e8342a197d970ad8935b0c5%7C0%7C1%7C636649625547634656&sdata=4Q7VnG5QjenMGvr4%2FenZ1UHBNj93zNhrbS0YM38qegc%3D&reserved=0>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Eril-l [mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org] *On Behalf Of *Beth
> M. Johns
> *Sent:* Friday, June 15, 2018 5:24 AM
> *To:* ERIL-L
> *Subject:* [Eril-l] link checking best practices
>
>
>
> Hello,
>
>
>
> I am developing procedures for link checking e-journals, both individually
> subscribed titles and links within aggregators. We would like to have our
> student workers do this for us on a regular basis.
>
>
>
> If you do link checking of your e-journals, how often do the student
> workers / staff do this?
>
>
>
> Do any of you have guidelines / best practices that you can share?
>
>
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
> Beth
>
>
>
>
>
> Beth M. Johns, MLIS
>
> E-Resources Librarian
>
> Saginaw Valley State University
>
> Melvin J. Zahnow Library
>
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> http://lists.eril-l.org/listinfo.cgi/eril-l-eril-l.org
>
>
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