Is the Journal of Tree Frogs Online?
Access to Online Journals
Ken Irwin, Wittenberg University
Online Journal Lists: The Need
• Following up on citations • Browsing available titles, preferably by subject • Evaluating subject collections & need for print titles
Online Journal Lists: The Product
“Tell me what what you want, what you really, really…” (ahem)
In order of difficulty: • An alphabetical list • Holdings dates • Direct links to titles where possible • A searchable database • Integration with print holdings • Lists by subject area http://www6.wittenberg.edu/lib/research/ejournals/
Online Journal Lists: The Data
• Available for most fulltext databases • Not always pretty or easy
Pretty/Easy Proquest (ABI, PerAbs) OhioLINK EJC Between Wilson (EducAbs, HumAbs, et al.) JSTOR See handout for data source URLs: http://userpages.wittenberg.edu/kirwin/alao.doc Ugly/Difficult Gale (CWI, B&I) Softline (*Watch)
Online Journal Lists: The Options
• Do it manually -- been there, done that, cannot recommend it. • Automate most of it -- there, doing that, something to be said for it. • Outsource most of it -- thinking about it, and you should too.
The Options: Do It Yourself
Good: • Automate data collection data downloading • Use scripts to tidy & add data • Use a real database management system (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.) instead of a flatfile
The Options: Do It Yourself
Tools: • Perl (+Shell scripts)-- to automate data collection and manipulation • some SQL database • PHP, ColdFusion, etc.
The Options: Outsource
Serials Solutions http://www.serialssolutions.com/ Static A-Z web pages, plus printouts if desired Soon: Searchable PHP flatfile DB. Soonish: Subject Categorization
The Options: Outsource
Serials Solutions (cont) Pro: • Usually higher-quality data • Less work for you • Founded by a librarian
The Options: Outsource
Serials Solutions (cont) Con: • Pay for it (but pricing isn’t too bad) • Only in a searchable database if you import the data yourself • Limited ability to format the list
The Future of Online Journal Access
“Maybe asking for one-click access to everything is a bit like asking for Peace on Earth, but it's very much worth striving for.”
- Eric Hellman, Openly Informatics
The Future of Online Journal Access
• OpenURL, Digital Object Identifier (DOI), and CrossRef playing together.
• Direct links from many A&I databases to fulltext periodicals, starting with OhioLINK EJC and ISI Indexes.