Electronic Resource Availability Studies: An Effective Way to Discover Access Errors

Abstract

the terms of the Creative Commons-AttributionNoncommercial-Share Alike License 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, not used for commercial purposes, and, if transformed, the resulting work is redistributed under the same or similar license to this one. AbstractObjective -The availability study is a systems research method that has recently been used to test whether library users can access electronic resources. This study evaluates the availability study's effectiveness as a troubleshooting tool by comparing the results of two availability studies conducted at the same library before and after fixing access problems identified by the initial study.Methods -The researcher developed a six-category conceptual model of the causes of electronic resource errors, modified Nisonger's e-resource availability method to more closely approximate student information-seeking behaviour, and conducted an availability study at the University of Redlands Armacost Library to estimate how many resources suffered from errors. After conducting troubleshooting over a period of several months, he replicated the study and found increased overall availability and fewer incidences of most error categories. He used Z tests for the difference of two proportions to determine whether the changes were statistically significant.Results -The 62.5% availability rate in the first study increased after troubleshooting to 86.5% in the second study. Z tests showed that troubleshooting had produced statistically significant improvements in overall availability, in the number of items that could be downloaded from the library's online collection or requested through interlibrary loan (ILL), and in three of six error categories (proxy, target database and ILL).Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2015, 10.3 31 Conclusion -Availability studies can contribute to successful troubleshooting initiatives by making librarians aware of technical problems that might otherwise go unreported. Problems uncovered by an availability study can be resolved through collaboration between librarians and systems vendors, though the present study did not demonstrate equally significant improvements across all types of errors. This study offers guidance to librarians seeking to focus troubleshooting efforts where they will have the greatest impact in improving access to full-text. It also advances the availability research method and is the first attempt to quantify its effectiveness as a troubleshooting tool.

The assessment and analysis of materials availability

“…As catalogue technology developed, transaction log analysis has been extended to openURL link resolvers (Crum, 2011). Investigation of link resolver performance has also been combined with survey or sampling methods (Mann, 2015;Mann & Sutton 2015;Stuart et al, 2015). Other recent studies which have focussed on a single aspect of the materials availability question include Nisonger (2009), which used a citation sampling technique to test the electronic availability of journal articles; and Rosenberg (2015), which analysed the availability of bibliographic references from graduate dissertations.…”

Essential skills and knowledge for troubleshooting e-resources access issues in a web-scale discovery environment

“…Electronic resource access problems, a perennial concern for libraries, continue to receive much attention in the literature (Ashmore, Allee, & Wood, 2015;Glasser, 2012;Graham & Hosburgh, 2014;Headlee & Lahtinen, 2014;Mann, 2015;Pan, Bradbeer, & Jurries, 2011;Stuart, Varnum, & Ahronheim, 2015). The tenuous environment of e-resource access issues is well illustrated by article titles such as "Who Ya Gonna Call?"…”

“…(Mann & Sutton, 2015), and "Maintaining the Magic of Access" (Samples & Healy, 2014). Studies investigating linking rates have found error rates ranging from 2% to nearly 40% (Collins & Murray, 2009;Mann, 2015;Trainor & Price, 2010;Wakimoto, Walker, & Dabbour, 2006).…”