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General Procedures

Procedures for handling Internet resources

Identifying and Selecting

  • Scanning the Internet (What's new pages, using search engines, selected sites such as university and government homepages, etc)
  • Scanning publications, e.g. Internet.au, Online currents
  • Subscribing to discussion lists, e.g. Newjourn, Nethappenings
  • Online notification form on PANDORA - usually completed by publishers. Do not make rejection decisions on these titles - take them all to the next scheduled selection session. Only notify the publisher of a decision if the title is selected.
  • Alerts from the ISSN Agency
  • Alerts from other sections of the library, such as Australian Serials, Legal Deposit and Government Deposit
  • Searching AJOL database
  1. Identify potential titles using the above mechanisms.
  2. Apply selection and collection development policy guidelines. Use Libraries Australia to help determine if a title exists in print. Sometimes it may be necessary to contact the publisher for this information (email is a quick and productive way of contacting the publisher).
  3. Always check PANDAS to see whether a decision has already been made about a specific title. If the title is not recorded in PANDAS try to make a selection decision. Rejects can be decided by the individual but possible selections must be taken to a group selection session. A print-out (of the first page of the resource) can be annotated for most titles. The Serial/Non-serial Internet Publications (SNIP) form should be completed for those titles selected for National Preservation (NP). The SNIP form/print-out should be annotated with relevant information, e.g. whether the title is already listed on AJOL, whether a record exists on Libraries Australia and has/does not have NLA holdings, and whether the publisher has been contacted.
  4. Once a selection decision has been made, add a record to PANDAS. Complete a SNIP form for selected titles and those being monitored. Pass selected titles only to the APS6 Supervisor for inclusion in the monthly report. File SNIP forms for titles being monitored in the filing cabinet in folder: Monitoring site. All statistics are noted by individuals. The supervisor will add paperwork for selected titles to the appropriate folders in the filing cabinet after adding those titles to the monthly report.
  5. Individual staff members need to check AJOL for all serial titles found, whether they are selected, rejected or being monitored. Create a new brief record on AJOL for those serial titles not found.

Publisher Contact

  • While there is no Commonwealth legal deposit legislation that requires publishers to send a copy of their online publication to the National Library, we need to contact publishers to obtain permission to archive. NOTE: State libraries should check individual state legislation. Give special consideration to the fact that most partner agencies are archiving their publications on the National Library server.
  • Form letters have been set up to contact publishers regarding preservation of selected titles:

    Formlet1 for initial contact to request permission to archive;
    Formlet1A for intial contact to request permission to archive commercial titles requiring paid subscription
    Formlet2 for follow-up contact (to provide added information after permission to archive has been granted - serials, integrating and monos - use if there will be a reasonable gap between a grant of permission and notification of archival);
    Formlet2A for follow-up contact with publishers for commercial subscription titles once they have granted permission (use if there will be a reasonable gap between a grant of permission and notification of archival)
    Formlet3 to follow up the initial contact when no response has been received after 4 weeks;
    Formlet3A to follow up the initial contact with publishers for commercial subscription titles when no response has been received after 4 weeks;
    Formlet4 to notify publishers that the title has been successfully archived and is available for viewing - serials, integrating and monos;
    Formlet5 for follow-up contact (to provide added information after permission to archive has been granted - Collections);
    Formlet6 for follow-up contact including a request to send files;
    Formlet7 to notify publishers that the title has been successfully archived and is available for viewing - Collections; Only send notification if it has been requested by the publisher or if you have had significant contact with the publisher during the archiving process;
    Formlet8 to remind publishers of scheduled deposit of files
    Formlet9 to notify publisher of selection of title if notification was received via the Notification form on PANDORA and to formalise request for permission;
    Formlet10 to notify publisher that title has not been selected if notification was received via the Notification form on PANDORA. Only send this email if the publisher follows up with a query about the selection process;
    Formlet11 is the proforma letter sent to the Commonwealth Copyright Administration seeking permission to archive Commonwealth government web site domains
    Formlet12 is the notfication letter sent to the the Commonwealth Copyright Administration and the government department responsible for publishing a title when it has been archived in accordance with the licence agreement between the CCA and the NLA;
    Formlet13 to contact the publisher of a freely available database site to seek permission, flagging the likelihood that we will require the publisher's co-operation in archiving the site;
    Formlet14 to contact the publisher of a commercial database site to seek permission, flagging the likelihood that we will require the publisher's co-operation in archiving the site;

  • Correspondence to/from publishers seeking permission to archive their publications and all follow-up correspondence is kept on electronic files created and maintained on TRIM (Records management system).
  • Email to publishers is sent from the EU mail address to facilitate communication if an individual staff member is absent on leave, sick etc. This enables another EU staff member to attend to queries, if required. An alternative contact name is also given in initial contact letters: EL1 naming APS6; APS6 naming EL1; other staff naming APS6.
  1. Send Formlet1 to the publisher from the EU mailbox.
  2. Check TRIM to ensure that no file already exists for the title.
  3. If no file exists, complete the request for a new file in TRIM. The request includes a suggested title for the file and the first folio.
  4. Notification of the new file will be received via email.
  5. Update PANDAS with file number and contact information.
  6. Update statistics.
  7. When a response is received from the publisher, attach the response to the TRIM file.
  8. If permission to archive is granted, update statistics and PANDAS record.

Request via notification form

  • If a title notified by one of the notification forms is selected for preservation, send Formlet9 which acknowledges the notification and also includes the text of the formal request for permission.

Follow-up Publisher Contact

  • There are four main types of follow-up contact (form letters), although publishers may require separate individual responses to queries:

    a) when the publisher has given permission to archive, the second form letter is sent giving more detail and answering any queries posed by the publisher;
    b) when there is no response from the publisher, another form letter is sent after approximately 4 weeks to try and initiate a response;
    c) when we request the publisher to send files;
    d) when the title has been successfully archived, the fourth or seventh form letter is sent giving details of the publication's URL in the Archive and requesting feedback from the publisher regarding the display in the Archive;
    e) other correspondence as required.

  • Individuals need to take responsibility for monitoring their titles on a regular basis. Use PANDAS reports to assist management of titles.
Permission granted
  1. Send Formlet2 or Formlet5 to the publisher from the EU mailbox.
  2. Attach correspondence to TRIM file.
  3. Update PANDAS record to indicate permission granted and follow-up contact with publisher.
  4. The title should now be evaluated and gathered.
No response from publisher
  1. Send Formlet3 to the publisher from the EU mailbox.
  2. Attach correspondence to TRIM file.
  3. Update PANDAS re last contact date.
  4. If a response is received, follow procedures for Permission granted. If no response is received, after another 4 weeks, follow up with publisher by phone, mail or whatever method is appropriate and available. If unable to make contact after a reasonable number of attempts, update Standing in PANDAS to Unable to gain permission and file paperwork collected in the "Not Archived" section of the filing cabinet.
Archiving complete - title ready for public access
  1. Send Formlet4 or Formlet7 from the EU mailbox to notify the publisher that their publication is now available in the Archive. These letters should only be sent if the publisher requests notification, if there has been considerable liaison during the archiving process or if the publisher has supplied the files.
  2. Attach correspondence to TRIM file.
  3. Annotate and file SNIP in filing cabinet.

Title Evaluation

  • Titles are evaluated according to the sections of the Evaluation form. This is an important procedure in the archiving process and should be carried out prior to submitting a gathering request. It is at this time that you can determine the structure of the title, for example, are there files residing on another server; note whether there is a copyright or disclaimer statement and where it is; do you need to apply filter rules to the gatherer in order to collect all the files.

Cataloguing

New titles
  • Titles are not catalogued until permission to archive is granted. If permission is denied or not received, do not catalogue the title. See cataloguing procedures for details on how to catalogue various types of Internet publications.
  1. Create/edit bibliographic records and add holdings.
  2. Pass print-outs to supervisor for review (where applicable).
  3. Update statistics sheet.
ISSN
  • The only electronic titles to be allocated ISSN are:
(a) Serials selected for NP (that are published in Australia). These should be registered at the point of cataloguing and the publisher notified of the ISSN.
(b) Serials for which the publisher requests an ISSN. These should be registered at the point of allocation, providing the title is available for online viewing. This is usually carried out by ISSN Agency staff.

Archiving

Comparison of Publisher and Archived Sites

  • To ensure that the archived site has been captured correctly, it is necessary to compare both sites. At this point we need to identify problems with the archived instance, for example, broken links, missing images and the general look and feel of the publication.
  • If the archived version contains lots of problems, it may be preferable to try re-archiving. Sometimes it may be necessary to ask IT for assistance with setting filters so that all files will gather correctly. Or you may need to contact the publisher and request files be sent.
  1. See procedures for processing titles in PANDAS manual.
  2. Compare site, creating an error report in PANDAS as problems/comments are noted.
  3. Only submit error report to IT when the site has been fully compared and all problems identified.
  4. Update statistics sheet.

Title Entry Page Creation and PI

  • See procedures for creating title entry pages in PANDAS manual.
  • At the bottom of the title entry page, a URL is provided for citation purposes. If the title has already been catalogued edit the catalogue record and add another 856 field for the URL containing the PI. Notify the publisher if necessary.
  • When the archived title is complete, the accumulated information for each title is filed in the EU filing cabinet.
  1. Create the title entry page.
  2. Add the PANDORA URL containing PI to the catalogue record if necessary.
  3. Create an entry for each new title on the g drive New archiving list.

Maintenance

  • URL changes for titles in PANDORA should be picked up by regular checking performed through PANDAS. A report will be generated every six months. Titles being gathered on a regular schedule are also checked at the time of re-gathering.
  • It has been agreed that only URLs in titles selected for NP will be maintained on a regular basis.
Titles selected for NP
  1. Try to establish whether the title has simply changed URL or has actually disappeared. Methods for this include: checking the Australian Journals Online List; searching at the server name level of the URL; searching for the title using search engines; emailing the publisher.
  2. If the URL has simply changed, edit the Libraries Australia record to reflect the new URL. Change the URL on the PANDAS record. For serial titles, alert APS6, Web Services, so that the Australian Journals Online List can be updated.
  3. If the title has actually disappeared amend PANDAS and Libraries Australia records. For serial titles, also alert APS6 Web Services so that the entry can be amended on the Australian Journals Online List. Make appropriate changes to bibliographic and holdings records.
  4. Update statistics sheet where applicable.

Statistics Sheet

  • All relevant selection decisions, cataloguing and archiving activity should be noted on the Digital Archiving Section Statistics Sheet.
Part A: Identification of electronic titles
  • Estimate the number of hours spent each month scanning the Internet, searching for titles and making selection decisions.
Part B: Selections of electronic titles for national preservation
  • Individual staff are responsible for adding new titles to PANDAS and for noting selection statistics. There are separate categories for serials, monographs and ephemera, and - within these - selections, rejections and sites to be monitored.
Part C: Cataloguing of electronic titles
  • Original cataloguing: creating original records for Internet publications.
  • Copy cataloguing: usually adding holdings to existing records that do not currently have NLA holdings.
  • Adding to print record: for the possibility of adding electronic access fields and holdings to print records.
  • Revisions: amending URLs, editing existing records that currently have NLA holdings, including titles that have ceased or disappeared and adding the second URL for the archived version.
Part D: Preservation of electronic titles
  • Statistics for the number of publishers contacted, archive permissions granted, titles catalogued and revised, titles compared, new titles successfully archived, scheduled titles re-gathered and whether they are successfully archived or not retained are kept by each individual staff member each month.

Digital Archiving Section Group Mailbox

  • A separate group mailbox has been established for messages relating to the handling of Internet resources. Most publisher email is sent from and received via this mailbox. The online notification form on PANDORA and email contact on the TEPs are also connected to this mailbox. Most correspondence between partner agencies and the EU is also carried out via the group mailbox.
  • The mailbox needs to be checked regularly (i.e. daily) for messages. This is carried out by staff on a weekly roster basis.
  • Messages should be dealt with by the person checking the mailbox where possible. This includes archiving issues of titles received via email, answering queries, checking alerts of new titles from notification form, ISSN Agency, other library work units. Most messages can be deleted, although all emails relating to notification of titles for selection should be kept until a selection decision has been made and recorded in PANDAS. These messages should be moved to the appropriate sub-folder under Selection Assessment. However, if it has been necessary to subscribe to a title in order to make a selection decision, received issues should be moved into the 'Subs (Collection)' folder. It is not necessary to keep copies of Sofcom news and other working tools once they have been printed.
  • Folders entitled SLV Correspondence etc have been established to file important emails sent to and from staff of PANDORA partner agencies.

Internet Hints

Searching hints
  • The NLA Server homepage has a section called Electronic Australiana. This is a useful starting point for searching.
  • Various search engines are available. They work quite differently and will produce varying results so some time should be spent acquainting oneself with the differences.

Copy and Paste

  • Copy and paste URLs where possible, e.g. from sites into catalogue and PANDAS records, from catalogue records and selection lists into the URL searching box on Internet Explorer or Netscape and when creating TEPs. Using the copy and paste method is not only quicker, but also reduces errors.
  • Be careful when copying and pasting an URL from a catalogue record in Libraries Australia - sometimes the last character of the URL drops off.