New Periodical/Serial Orders Workflow

Scope: Below is the typical Electronic Resources & Serials Acquisitions Department workflow for placing a new periodical or serial order. Many of the steps may not occur in the order in which they are listed below due to the context around each individual order.

Contact: Bethany Blankemeyer

Unit: Electronic Resources & Serials Acquisitions

Date last reviewed: 1/5/2023

Date of next review: 1/5/2024

New Periodical/Serial Orders Workflow

Part I

1. Request for a new periodical order is received by ERSA staff via the lib-eresource-orders@duke.edu email list.
2. Order Approver creates a new card using the appropriate template in the New Periodicals/Serials Orders board in Trello, adds herself to the card, and moves it to the Pending Requests list. Order Approver adds the following information as relevant and available to card description:
   1. Subject specialist:
   2. Publisher:
   3. ISSN:
   4. Agent:
   5. Coverage dates/years purchased (online):
   6. Starts with/volumes purchased (print):
   7. Cost:
   8. Budget code:
   9. Notes:
3. Order Approver confirms that:
   1. the order will not be duplicative
   2. the necessary funds are available
   3. the pricing is correct
   4. (if there is an online component), that access options are as expected
4. Order Approver adds the Order Creator to the card and moves the card to the "In Process Ordering" list.

Part II
After Part I is completed, the workflow for new periodical and serial orders diverges depending on whether the order is being placed with a subscription agent or directly with the provider. Sometimes the Order Approver and Order Creator will do some or all of one another's steps depending on the context of the order.

For orders placed with a subscription agent:

1. The Order Creator creates an order in Aleph (see "Order Creation in Aleph" for more information about how to create new periodical and serial orders).
2. The Order Creator places the order with the subscription agent.
   1. Sent agent order number, budget and ship to/bill to information.
   2. Ask for confirmation of the order.
3. The Order Creator receives confirmation of the order and moves the card to the Awaiting Invoice list.
   1. If the agent is EBSCO or Harrassowitz, they usually supply the vendor reference number for the subscription.
4. The Order Creator receives the invoice.

For orders placed directly with the provider:

1. The Order Creator creates an order in Aleph (see "Order Creation in Aleph" for more information about how to create new periodical and serial orders).
2. The Order Approver places the order directly with the provider.
3. The Order Approver receives confirmation of the order and moves the card to the Awaiting Invoice list.
4. The Order Approver receives the invoice and adds it to the card.

Part III
After Part II is completed, the workflow for new periodical and serial orders diverges depending on the format and type of order.

For subscription orders with an online component:

1. The Order Approver completes the licensing workflow for the resource on the Licensing board, if necessary.
2. The Order Approver confirms with the Order Creator that the invoice is approved for payment.
3. If the title is not ordered through an agent and is an ongoing commitment, the Order Approver adds the title to the Recurring Payment Tracker spreadsheet.
4. The Order Creator processes the invoice for payment.
   1. Make sure vendor address information is correct and obtain any forms (e.g., W9, FVQ, or W8BENE) needed to make changes.
   2. Create invoice in Aleph.
   3. Submit invoice to Accounting for payment.
5. The Order Creator moves card to the Awaiting Access list and adds the Access Confirmer to the card.
6. The Order Creator adds the title to the FY Changes spreadsheet for the appropriate fiscal year.
7. The Access Confirmer confirms that access is available on the provider platform for the subscription coverage dates.
   1.  Search in the e-Catalog search in the Ex Libris Client Center. 
   2. Use the category “Journal” and either the “Title Begins With”, “ISSN Equals”, or “Title Equals” search function to find and open the title in Ex Libris.
       
   3. In the results list, click the link for the proper holding for the ejournal based on publisher and/or package subscription.
   4. In the Ex Libris record page, click the URL for the holding and confirm that we have access to the correct amount of content based on the coverage date listed on the Trello card.  Spot-check access by opening one full text article (PDF, or HTML file if PDF is unavailable) of the newest and oldest subscribed issue.
      
   5. If correct access is unavailable, contact the vendor from the Trello card
      
      1. If the vendor is the publisher, ask our provider contact via email to restore access. Find the contact information in FOLIO under ‘Organizations’.  If we do not have a contact, email the publisher’s customer service department.
      2. If the vendor is one of our vendors, email our contact to restore access. Contact information can be found in FOLIO under ‘Organizations’
         1. EBSCO
         2. Harrassowitz
8. The Access Confirmer retrieves the title list from the vendor and saves it in the Title Lists folder in the ERSA drive
   1. Check for a current-year journal subscription list from the publisher listed in Trello. Look in the ERSA folder at L:\ElectronicResourcesSerialsAcquisitions\Title Lists.
   2. If the subscription list is absent, ask our provider contact via email to send the current-year journal subscription list. Find the contact information in FOLIO under ‘Organizations’.  If we do not have a contact, email the publisher’s customer service department.
9. The Access Confirmer updates access in Ex Libris Serials Solutions knowledgebase.
   1. If we have the correct access, set holding to “Subscribed”.  Do this by clicking the “Edit” button on the top-right of the screen.  Select “Subscribed” from the drop-down menu under the heading “Status” using the pull-down menu:
      
      1. Click “Save”.
   2. If the Default URL and/or coverage date is incorrect in Ex Libris, add the correct Custom URL and/or coverage date.
      1. Click “Edit”.
      2. When adding correct coverage dates, add the beginning date in the “Custom Coverage Date From” box. Add the end date in the “Custom Coverage Date To” box.  For an end date of “Present”, leave the “Custom Coverage Date To” box empty.  For more information on valid coverage dates to use, see https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Intota/Intota/0Product_Documentation/Resource_Management/Holdings/360_Core_and_Intota%3A_Valid_Date_Formats .
      3. Add the correct URL in the “Custom URL” box.
      4. Add notes in the “Public Note” box to explain the edits.  Do not click the “Display” box unless it is a note for library users.
         
      5. Note that the Output Coverage Date is the value that is visible in our catalog and our Online Journal Page.
         
      6. If time allows, send a support case to Ex Libris asking them to add the correct coverage date and/or URL to the holding in 360 KB.  See ProQuest/Ex Libris support case #05317578 as an example.
10. The Access Confirmer notifies the subject specialist that access to the title is now available and provides the URL where the title can be accessed.
    1. Send a notification to the listed subject specialist in Trello.
    2. Add additional information pertaining to the particular subscription to this email if necessary.
11. Add Admin Account Coordinator to card
    1. Notify the Admin Account Coordinator by tagging the staff member in a comment on the Trello card.
12. Admin Account Coordinator follows the steps of this workflow to verify that the platform has an admin account and to add the appropriate IPs, branding, contact information, etc.
1. Admin Account Coordinator Workflow steps

For subscription orders with a print component:

1. If the title is not ordered through an agent and is an ongoing commitment, the Order Approver adds the title to the Recurring Payment Tracker spreadsheet.
2. The Order Creator notifies the SM team of the new subscription in a comment.
3. The Order Creator processes the invoice for payment.
   1. Make sure vendor address information is correct and obtain any forms (e.g., W9, FVQ, or W8BENE) needed to make changes.
   2. Create invoice in Aleph.
   3. Submit invoice to Accounting for payment.
4. The Order Approver adds the title to the appropriate FY Changes spreadsheet.
5. The Order Approver moves the card to the Acquired list for the appropriate fiscal year.

For one-time purchases of online periodical or serial backfiles:

1. The Order Approver completes the licensing workflow for the resource on the Licensing board, if necessary.
2. The Order Approver confirms with the Order Creator that the invoice is approved for payment.
3. If the one-time purchase has an annual access fee, Order Approver adds it to the Recurring Payment Tracker.
4. The Order Creator processes the invoice for payment.
   1. Make sure vendor address information is correct and obtain any forms (e.g., W9, FVQ, or W8BENE) needed to make changes.
   2. Create invoice in Aleph.
   3. Submit invoice to Accounting for payment.
5. The Order Creator moves card to the Awaiting Access list and adds the Access Confirmer to the card.
6. The Order Creator closes the order after the invoice is paid in Aleph.
7. The Order Creator adds the title to the FY Changes spreadsheet for the appropriate fiscal year.
8. The Access Confirmer confirms that access is available on the provider platform for the one-time purchase coverage dates. 
   
   1. Spot check coverage by confirming access of the newest and oldest issues in the backfile.
9. The Access Confirmer updates access in Ex Libris knowledgebase (KB).
   
   1. If possible, track the holding(s) in an archival database for the provider in the Ex Libris KB (i.e. “American Chemical Society Legacy Archives” or “SpringerLINK Archive - Behavioral Science”). If none exist, use a database in the Ex Libris KB that includes all journals for the provider (i.e. “Springer Online Journals Complete”) and add a custom coverage date that displays the correct backfile access.
   2. Set holding to “Subscribed”.  Do this by clicking the “Edit” button on the top-right of the screen.  Select “Subscribed” from the drop-down menu under the heading “Status” using the pull-down menu:
      
   3. Click "Save".
10. The Access Confirmer notifies the subject specialist that access to the title is now available and provides the URL where the title can be accessed.
    1. Send a notification to the listed subject specialist in Trello.
    2. Add additional information pertaining to the particular subscription to this email if necessary.
11. Add Admin Account Coordinator to card
    1. Notify the Admin Account Coordinator by tagging the staff member in a comment on the Trello card.
12. Admin Account Coordinator follows the steps of this workflow to verify that the platform has an admin account and to add the appropriate IPs, branding, contact information, etc.
    1. Admin Account Coordinator Workflow steps

For one-time purchases of print periodical or serial backfiles:

1. The Order Creator notifies the SM team of the new purchase in a comment.
2. The Order Creator processes the invoice for payment.
   1. Make sure vendor address information is correct and obtain any forms (e.g., W9, FVQ, or W8BENE) needed to make changes.
   2. Create invoice in Aleph.
   3. Submit invoice to Accounting for payment.
3. The Order Creator closes the order after the invoice is paid in Aleph.
4. The Order Approver adds the title to the appropriate FY Changes spreadsheet.
5. The Order Approver moves the card to the Acquired list for the appropriate fiscal year.