[Eril-l] Pervasive problems discovered in Springer Nature LYRASIS 2019 database

[Nancy Donahoo]

Serials staff at Boise State University first noticed problems with scope
and access to a specific title in the *Springer Nature LYRASIS 2019*
database in late July.  Information was sent to Springer Nature
representatives providing details about problems locating/accessing the
e-journal *Current Pain and Headache Reports*, and its previous title
iteration -- *Current Review of Pain* -- in the *Springer Nature LYRASIS
2019* database in our ERMS accessed through Ex Libris.  We then decided to
look further into possible problems.

Albertsons Library Serials staff looked at 544 bibliographic records in the
Library's Voyager Catalog to determine if the titles were present in both
the 2017 and 2018 *Springer Nature LYRASIS* databases.  Of those 544
Springer Nature bibliographic records, 149 e-journal titles had at least
one, if not more, previous title iterations.

*Here is a summary of the problems we found with the Springer Nature
LYRASIS 2019 database titles in Ex Libris 360 Services:*



1.    Ex Libris 360 Resource Manager/KB is showing a single scope coverage
for *ALL TITLE ITERATIONS* *under the most current title*.  Since the data
is provided to Ex Libris from Springer Nature, and the e-journal landing
page on Springer-Link is the same, it would seem that Springer Nature is
the only entity to resolve the problems.

2.    Previous title iterations are neither listed, nor indexed for
discovery, in the *Springer Nature LYRASIS 2019* database.

3.    URLs listed in Ex Libris 360 Services for the *Springer Nature
LYRASIS 2019 *titles go to a landing page on Springer-Link that merely
summarizes the full scope of coverage under the most current title.  No
distinction is made as to ‘*what scope was published under what title’*.

4.    There is only a minimal attempt to acknowledge previous title
iterations in a section called “Journal History” which lists previous
titles and ISSNs – but no indication of scope associated with each title.

5.    The problems were pervasive throughout the list of 149 previous title
iterations we reviewed.  However, from time to time, opening the actual
article PDF showed the correct citation in spite of no clear information on
the e-journal landing page for a specific volume/issue.  Other times, the
citation was incorrect and was tied only to the most current title
iteration.

6.    Specific articles from earlier e-journal title iterations were
searched in *Worldcat Discovery* to ascertain the impact of these problems
on public front-facing searching for resources and information.  In the
first case, the article citation in Worldcat Discovery was correct.  Other
problems existed, however -- related to e-journals not included or indexed
in the OCLC Collection Manager/KB for the* Springer Nature LYRASIS
2019* collection
which Albertsons Library has 'turned on'.

Albertsons Library has configured OCLC Collection Manager so the knowledge
base full text coverage is used to determine whether or not an article is
held and shown in *Worldcat Discovery*.  All articles outside our library's
coverage range will display as held by the next appropriate relevancy
level. The journal *Economics of Planning* does not appear in any of the
OCLC KB collections we have selected including *Springer Nature LYRASIS
2019 *and ProQuest Central. That is why it isn't displaying that Boise
State University owns the title. It also is not included in the OCLC KB for
the *Springer Nature LYRASIS 2018* collection either.  It does appear in
the Ex Libris 360 Services (ERMS) *Springer Nature LYRASIS 2018* database.
In the second case, the citation attributed the article, *NOT *to the
correct title it was published in, but to the most current title iteration
found in the *Springer Nature LYRASIS 2019* database.  This creates a real
problem because students, etc. will have no framework or knowledge to
understand that the citation is incorrect, or what the appropriate title
should be.



Here is a link where you will find a PDF providing screen shots of online
content and an indication of the resource used to review the information
addressed:


*https://drive.google.com/a/boisestate.edu/file/d/1OuBZad_xDzIqGSBXUh7c0nBX54lUrqOV/view?usp=sharing
<https://drive.google.com/a/boisestate.edu/file/d/1OuBZad_xDzIqGSBXUh7c0nBX54lUrqOV/view?usp=sharing>*


You will also find a copy of the spreadsheet which contains the 149
previous title iterations, and our notes here:


*https://drive.google.com/a/boisestate.edu/file/d/1HvOYh2wbueqHuHF7DDhdUcgtEdJXBdKS/view?usp=sharing
<https://drive.google.com/a/boisestate.edu/file/d/1HvOYh2wbueqHuHF7DDhdUcgtEdJXBdKS/view?usp=sharing>*


The information (544 eBIBs) used to examine various issues only represents
about 25% of the titles in the *Springer Nature LYRASIS 2019* database.
However, we felt this was enough to identify a '*problematic pattern*'.



*Steps we have taken to mitigate the problems with limited success:*



ü  Re-subscribed to the *Springer Nature LYRASIS 2018* database in Ex
Libris 360 Resource Manager/KB because, at the very least, previous title
iterations are indexed, can be searched in the Journals A-Z link, and get
the researcher close.  One major problem – even the *Springer Nature
LYRASIS 2018* links 'go out' to the existing Springer-Link landing pages
that have all scope content aggregated under the most current title
iteration.  So, from this point forward, the same problems exist.



ü  Communicate with those that serve the University community on the ‘front
lines’ that this is an ongoing problem that we cannot ‘fix’ in-house.

Given the apparent scope of the problem, I have asked that someone at
Springer Nature please provide an indication of what steps are being taken
to address the issues.  The last email I received simply stated that "*A
query has been sent to the licensing manager, account development, and
product/meta data manager for review. Details on proceeding will be
provided once received.*"  I am concerned that this pervasive problem will
not get the 'urgent attention' that is appropriate in this case.
Just wanted to get 'our experience' out there in case you needed to check
your own access to Springer Nature e-journals!

Thanks!

*Nancy Donahoo*

*Serials Manager*

*Acquisitions & Collections*

*Albertsons Library*

*Boise State University*

*1910 University Drive, MS1430*

*Boise, Idaho 83725-1430*

*208.426.4038*

*nancydonahoo at boisestate.edu <nancydonahoo at boisestate.edu>*
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