Tracking repetitive use of electronic reserve items

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to share findings on how to track the recurring use of items placed on electronic reserve over a period of time using the Create Lists application in Innovative's Millennium software, in order to help determine copyright compliance with regard to electronic reserves.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of use of the Create Lists application in Innovative's Millennium ILS software to track repetitive use of electronic reserves over time and the creation of search statements using both Boolean and regular expressions to capture relevant data in the Create Lists application. Repetitive use of electronic reserve items was tracked over a four‐year period, with repetitive use initially rising, and then declining over the past year for Fort Lewis College.FindingsUsing both Boolean and regular expressions, it is possible to create a series of search statements that will retrieve information from item records in Millennium that identify materials that have been placed on electronic reserves over a series of semesters.Research limitations/implicationsResearch was conducted using the Create Lists application of Innovative's Millennium software. It is unknown whether other ILS systems have similar functionality or capability. The implications of the findings indicate that it is possible to track general electronic reserve copyright compliance over time.Originality/valueThe paper offers a methodology for gauging copyright compliance.