CREATING AN ISSN LIST
Ulrich’s Serials
Analysis System™ reports on your current serials subscriptions by using
a list of the ISSN in your serials collection and comparing them to the
active-status ISSN for currently published titles found in the Ulrich’s™
database. As a result, only items for
which you supply an ISSN can be analyzed.
You may create an ISSN
list of your collection’s print, electronic, microform, or other format serials
titles. To create an ISSN list, you
will need to extract from your Library’s catalog (OPAC) all the records you
would like to include in your analysis. Or, you may create an ISSN list using
your library’s A-to-Z List or other source of ISSN in your library.
There is currently no
limit to the number of ISSN files that you may load to your Ulrich’s Serials
Analysis System account. However, at
least one list must be loaded in order to view analytical reports.
In addition to ISSN,
you may include other item-specific fields that will display in your analytical
reports. For example, you may include
the title from your local holdings, usage statistics for a particular journal,
notes related to aggregator packages in which the titles are found, department
or fund codes, or other information.
Only the ISSN from your list is used for matching against Ulrich’s.
GETTING STARTED
§
Creating an ISSN list from your library’s OPAC
An ISSN list can often be easily created using your OPAC’s
“report writer”* feature. The specific
name of the feature will depend on your library automation system. However, “report writer” features operate
similarly across library automation systems by allowing you to specify the MARC
fields from OPAC records which you would like extract to a file. The format of
that extracted output file of MARC fields may be tab-delimited,
comma-delimited, or pipe-delimited depending on your automation system.
Ulrich’s Serials Analysis System requires an ISSN for each
item in your serials collection that you would like to include in your
analytical reports. In most OPAC
records, the current ISSN is found in the MARC 022 $a. It may be repeated in other fields (e.g.,
760 $x). Other ISSN may be stored
elsewhere in your OPAC record, including previous-title ISSN and canceled
ISSN. Be sure to export the current
ISSN, so that your analytical reports reflect your current serials
subscriptions and can be matched against the ISSN of active,
currently-published titles in Ulrich’s.
If you would like to include additional data elements from
your OPAC records, such as the title or Notes, you will need to create your
extracted output file of MARC fields in tab-delimited or pipe-delimited
format. If you include only ISSN, you
may create your file in tab-delimited, pipe-delimited, or comma-delimited
format.
*Your OPAC’s “report writer” feature can often facilitate the
quick creation of an ISSN list. If you need help creating an ISSN list from
your catalog, please contact your library’s technical services department or
your ILS vendor for technical support.
For format definitions,
or for help in formatting an ISSN list file for loading, please refer to the
Help document titled “Selecting an Upload File
Format for an ISSN List”.
§
Creating an ISSN list from Your A-to-Z List
Your library’s A-to-Z List of e-journals and/or print titles
can also be a source of ISSN for your analytical reports. Whether you generate your own A-to-Z list
using your library’s link resolver (such as SFX or 1cate), or have an A-to-Z
List supplied by a serials management service company (such as Serials Solutions,
EBSCO or TDNet), you may choose to include the ISSN from it in your ISSN list
for Ulrich’s Serials Analysis System.
Be sure to export the current ISSN for each item in
your A-to-Z List so that your analytical reports reflect your current serials subscriptions
and so that your ISSN list can be matched against the ISSN of active,
currently-published titles in Ulrich’s.
§
Creating an ISSN list from Other Sources
In addition to your OPAC or A-to-Z List, you may have ISSN
in other databases (such as Microsoft Access), in spreadsheet files (such as
Microsoft Excel), or stored in your Electronic Rights Management (ERM)
system. You may choose to include the
ISSN and other data elements from those sources in your ISSN list for Ulrich’s
Serials Analysis System.
Be sure to export the current ISSN from these files
so that your analytical reports reflect your current serials subscriptions and
so that your ISSN list can be matched against the ISSN of active,
currently-published titles in Ulrich’s.
If you would like to include additional data elements such
as the title or local Notes from a database, spreadsheet file, or ERM system,
you will need to create an output file from that source in either tab-delimited
or pipe-delimited format. (If you
include only ISSN, you may create your file in tab-delimited, pipe-delimited,
or comma-delimited format.)
FORMATTING YOUR ISSN LIST
You may upload a file
to Ulrich’s Serials Analysis System in any one of several upload formats:
·
Plain-text,
Tab-delimited – ISSN and other data elements
·
Plain-text,
Pipe-delimited – ISSN and other data elements
·
Plain-text,
Comma-delimited – ISSN only
·
Files created in Excel
– ISSN and other data elements
For format definitions,
or for help in formatting an ISSN list file for loading, please refer to the
Help document titled “Selecting an Upload File
Format for an ISSN List”.
Note: Access to some features of Ulrich’s Serials Analysis System is
restricted, based on User Type. Check with your Ulrich’s Serials Analysis
System license administrator to determine whether your User Type grants you
permission to use this feature.
Ulrichsweb.com technical support is available from Serials Solutions. Library Client Services can be contacted via the Support Center or email, clients@serialssolutions.com. For assistance via telephone, North American clients please call +1 (866) SERIALS extension 4, and clients outside of North America please call our UK office at +44 12 2312 5512.