Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q What is Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System?
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Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System is a powerful tool for library and research center professionals who need to identify, analyze, evaluate and create reports about their institutions� print and electronic serials holdings. Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System provides serials librarians, acquisitions and subject specialists, collection managers, electronic resource librarians, and other library professionals with detailed information on the print and electronic serials their libraries have - and don�t have. Working with the library�s own serials collections, Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System integrates internal and evaluative, external information library professionals need to make collection-critical decisions. Plus, the library�s subscription to Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System includes site-wide access to Ulrichsweb.com�, the authoritative OpenURL-compliant serials search and discovery resource.

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Q What types of evaluative information does Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System provide?
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Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System provides you with evaluative content from a number of authoritative sources and key industry benchmarks. Your library�s serials holdings can be compared against the Ulrich�s universe of serials and a core collection of must-have journals to identify your collection�s gaps and redundancies in more than 900 subject classifications. Detailed bibliographic information for individual titles is provided from the Ulrich�s database and your own holdings data. Using tools to expand or narrow your analysis, you can isolate peer-reviewed and electronic titles, identify abstracting & indexing availability, see which titles have an ISI� Impact Factor (subscribers of JCR� Web can view actual Impact Factor reports), and identify recommended titles from Magazines for Libraries. With built-in links to Ulrichsweb.com, Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System also gives you access to tables of contents, journal full-text, Open Access publications, and your library�s local catalog and link resolver. You can build collection-specific reports that can be printed or downloaded to spreadsheets.

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Q What types of reports can I generate with Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System?
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You can generate a number of different collection-specific and publisher-specific reports using Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System. Individual reports about your current serials subscriptions, Comparison & Overlap Reports, Aggregator Comparison Reports, Top Publisher Reports and other options allow you to customize analysis to meet your institution�s individual needs. For example, you may create and share reports based on subject area, country of publication, language of publication, publisher, or electronic availability. You can also create and share reports about your collection�s invalid, duplicate, or other non-matched ISSN for further review and catalog clean-up. Reports at the consortium level give you a system-wide view of your institution�s collection and the collections of other consortium members. All Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System reports can be downloaded in spreadsheet-ready formats.

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Q How are my library�s serials holdings compared to the Ulrich�s Universe and Ulrich�s Core?
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It�s easy. Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System compares a file of your serials titles� ISSN and e-ISSN to the Ulrich�s Universe of more than 200,000 active status titles and to an Ulrich�s Core of some 60,000 active titles representing academic and scholarly journals and major consumer and trade publications. Using a plain-text file you upload in one easy step, Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System creates reports based on your collection that you can tailor, save, and share.

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Q Can I include electronic journals from my library�s A-to-Z list?
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Yes. You may include the ISSN and e-ISSN from your library�s A-to-Z list, your subscription agent�s reports, OPAC, aggregator collections, and other sources. You may update your library�s ISSN file within Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System at any time. You may also delete records for items your library no longer holds, or upload new records for titles newly acquired by your library.

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Q Can I use Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System to analyze and evaluate more than one collection?
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Yes. If you would like to analyze separate serials collections (e.g., a main collection and also a special or endowed collection), Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System allows you to load multiple serials collections for any single subscribing institution. The Comparison & Overlap Reports feature lets you compare any two files, or any number of files to determine gaps and redundancies within your collection. You may also compare aggregator or publisher holdings using these tools.

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Q Will our library�s patrons, students, and faculty be able to run and access the library�s reports?
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Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System is designed for password-protected use by library professionals only, and is not a patron-interface product. Access to the library�s collection reports is available only to authorized individuals through username and password. Authorized username and password access to the reporting modules also allows the library professional to utilize functionality in Ulrichsweb.com, but patrons, students, faculty and others using the Ulrichsweb.com patron interface cannot utilize the functionality of the reporting modules.

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Q Must my library already subscribe to Ulrichsweb.com� to have access?
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No. Your library may subscribe to Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System even if you are not currently subscribing to Ulrichsweb.com. Your subscription to Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System will include password-protected access to this powerful tool for library professionals, plus campus-wide access to Ulrichsweb.com for your students, faculty, and patrons.

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Q How often is Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System data updated?
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The bibliographic and publisher data behind Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System is updated on an ongoing basis and is refreshed weekly. You may update your library�s serials holdings file at any time by editing your library�s ISSN list, uploading additional records to the list, or by deleting records from the list. You may generate updated reports on a weekly, monthly or other basis, using your library�s original file or your library�s updated file.

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Q Can Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System be used in a consortium setting?
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Yes. Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System can be used in a consortium setting because it provides the tools for system-wide analysis of member libraries� serials collections and the consortium as a whole. You may compare one member library to another, to Ulrich�s Universe or Ulrich�s Core, or to the consortium catalog. You may even compare the entire consortium to Ulrich�s Universe and Ulrich�s Core.

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Q Can I compare my collection to peer institutions?
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Yes. Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System�s aggregate Peer Group Reports let you compare your library�s collection to comparable peer institutions or to institutions to which you may aspire. You may also compare Peer Groups to the Ulrich�s Universe and Ulrich�s Core to learn what titles other Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System subscribers are buying � or not buying.

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Q What kind of information is provided in the �Top Publishers� reports?
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The Top Publishers reports module within Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System provides comparative information on the offerings of major serials publishers in more than 900 Ulrich�s Subject classifications. You can use these reports to evaluate the print and electronic holdings of publishers, learn about how those offerings are priced, whether they are peer-reviewed, and more.

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Q What does the �Ulrich�s Universe� consist of?
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The �Ulrich�s Universe� consists of the approximately 200,000 active status titles that are included in the Ulrich�s database. The Ulrich�s Universe does not include ceased or suspended print titles, or titles that are �forthcoming� (such as those announced for publication or announced but never published), but it does include the electronic editions of ceased print titles. Reports using the Ulrich�s Universe may be customized to create subsets of Ulrich�s data by language, country of publication, and other criteria.

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Q What does the �Ulrich�s Core� consist of?
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The �Ulrich�s Core� consists of approximately 60,000 active titles that represent academic and scholarly journals and major consumer and trade publications. The Ulrich�s Core is a useful baseline of measurement for any library that wants to compare its serials collection against a smaller, ready-made subset of Ulrich�s data.

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Q How are titles classified under Ulrich�s Subject classifications?
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Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System classifies a title under its primary Ulrich�s Subject category. As a result, a report generated for a library�s collection will only count an individual title once � under that title�s primary Ulrich�s Subject. This is done to ensure that reports reflect accurate counts and that the same title is not counted under multiple subjects within a collection. Dewey Decimal Classification� may also be displayed in reports, and multi-subject reports for multi-disciplinary titles are in development.

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Q Is an �Ulrich�s Subject� the same as a Dewey or LC Subject?
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No. Ulrich�s has developed more than 900 proprietary subjects under which entries in Ulrich�s Periodicals Directory are classified. These same Ulrich�s Subjects are used in Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System to create both title-level and detailed reports of the library�s print and electronic serials holdings. Ulrich�s Subjects are known and respected in the library community and provide an easy-to-utilize, flexible alternative to Dewey Decimal Classification� and Library of Congress subject classifications for serials.

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Q What is a refereed serial?
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As used in the Ulrich�s database, the term refereed is applied to a journal that has been peer-reviewed. Refereed serials include articles that have been reviewed by experts and respected researchers in specific fields of study including the sciences, technology, the social sciences, arts and humanities.

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Q What is Magazines for Libraries?
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Magazines for Libraries is a well-respected industry publication with full-text reviews and profiles of nearly 7,000 top-rated periodicals selected by more than 180 subject specialists. With its serials industry data and publisher analysis, Magazines for Libraries provides professional guidance to collection managers seeking the best titles for their libraries� collections.

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Q Whom may I contact for more information?
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Please contact sales@proquest.com for more information about how Ulrich�s Serials Analysis System can benefit your library or your consortium. We would be pleased to provide you with a personal demonstration of this powerful and effective collection analysis tool. If you would like to contact your regional account executive directly, please visit http://www.csa.com/contactus/sales.php for a list of account executives worldwide. You may also contact us by phone toll-free at 1-800-843-7751 option 5, or direct at 1-301-961-6700.

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