When trying to manage their electronic resources, librarians spend a significant amount of time in vendor knowledgebases to make sure that content is integrated properly. This is often a tedious and painful process, which--extrapolated out to each content provider--can be a drain on library resources. Thankfully, there is a way to mitigate this pain point, through the use of KBART automation. By using a NISO Recommended Practice, librarians can now have publishers transfer their institutional holdings information directly into vendor knowledgebases. The result is no more messy and time-consuming manual title management. In this session, we'll hear from those involved with enabling KBART automation at the publisher and vendor level. This will specifically detail the work required to actually make this happen. The case will also be made for library adoption of this feature and how it will help end library headaches related to electronic resources management once and for all. There will be time for questions at the end to discuss the benefits and pitfalls of KBART automation. This session is co-sponsored by the NASIG Standards Committee.

1. Don’t Wait, Automate!
Industry Perspectives on KBART Automation
Andrée Rathemacher
Matthew Ragucci
Stephanie Doellinger

2. Agenda
1. Introduction & Background
2. Publisher Perspective
3. Library Perspective
4. Vendor Perspective
5. Questions

3. Introduction &
Background

4. NISO KBART Automation
• KBART Automation Working Group began in 2017
• Focused on Automated Exchange of Title Lists and
Library Holdings
• June 18, 2019 recommendation published
• http://www.niso.org/publications/niso-rp-26-2019-kbart-
automation

5. NISO KBART Automation Phase 1
Purpose of Phase 1
• Facilitates the automatic transfer and retrieval of holdings data
between content providers and institutional knowledge bases, with
the goal of automatically and regularly updating institutional
holdings via an API.
• Includes recommendations for both eBook and Journals
• Reduces workload on library staff and reduces human error
• Increased usage for content providers, increasing customer
satisfaction
• Eliminating the need to re-develop automation procedures for each
content provider separately for knowledge bases

6. NISO KBART Automation… what’s next
• Knowledge Bases And Related Tools (KBART) standing group is working
on Phase III of recommendations.
• KBART Automation Working Group is on hold until Phase III
recommendations are approved
• Recommended updates will help guide Phase II of KBART
Automation
• Potential Topics of Phase II
• Recommendation for including historical titles (prename changes)
• Recommendation for including perpetual titles
• Consortia-level reports
• Item-level access type (paid, open access, perpetual access, etc.)

7. Publisher perspective
Matthew Ragucci, Wiley

8. KBART in practice
From “KBART: Knowledge Bases and Related Tools” (p. 6), by NISO/UKSG KBART Working Group. 2010
(https://www.uksg.org/sites/uksg.org/files/KBART_Phase_I_Recommended_Practice.pdf ).
Copyright 2010 by the National Information Standards Organization and the UKSG.

9. KBART at Wiley
• Monthly, system-generated, for sales
packages (2010)
• KBART page on Wiley Online Library
(2019)
• Vendors harvest data and updates
• Correct reported data integrity issues
• Hundreds of collections to maintain
• Erratic update schedules
• KB transparency variance
• What about bespoke title libraries ???
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/library-info/resources/discovery/kbart2019

10. Use case and move towards automation
• Providing bespoke KBART files, via CAR
• Recommended practice released in 2019
• Institutional KBART functionality
launched early 2020
• Atypon collaboration began mid-2020
• Vendor collaboration (OCLC & Ex Libris)
for preliminary testing and roadmap
inclusion
• Additional work required, slowing down
launch…

11. Before we could flip the switch…
Required work
Design UX and instructions
Translating KBART and Automation RPs
Identifying issues and their prioritization
Global title lists updates & alignment
with package KBARTs
Integrity of institutional files
Inclusion of consortia entitlements
End date, volume, and issue exclusion
Open Access inclusion
ISSN, DOIs, character & diacritic
corrections
Cochrane title condensation

12. How do I enable this for my institution?
• Generate a vendor-specific, API token
(on platform, in admin dashboard)
• Deposit token with vendor
• Establishes weekly institutional holdings feed
with vendor
• Vendor maps titles to global holdings file for
activation
• No more manual title management in the
knowledgebase!
• Improved MARC record delivery through OCLC

13. A look ahead
• Complete necessary work and test with partners
• Broad communication to library community
• Planned rollout in Fall of 2021
• Planned KBART automation improvements:
 Journal history improvements
 Post-cancellation rights
 Perpetual access for books
 Update frequency
• Availability with all Atypon publishers
• Build trust and get wider adoption with libraries
and vendor partners

14. Andrée Rathemacher, University of Rhode Island
Library perspective

15. My perspective...

16. See the NISO KBART Automation
Recommended Practice:
http://www.niso.org/publications/niso-rp-
26-2019-kbart-automation
What is KBART Automation? (from the librarian’s perspective)
• Publisher creates KBART-formatted files
(usually one for journals and one for
books) of everything your institution can
access at that moment, a “snapshot” that
includes licensed as well as free content.
• File is retrieved automatically by the
library’s knowledge base supplier on a
weekly or monthly basis.
• Your holdings in the knowledge base are
automatically updated.

17. Check OCLC: https://bit.ly/3ufRaRJ
Check Ex Libris: https://bit.ly/3nIa0OO
Check other knowledge base suppliers as they enable KBART Automation
Who offers KBART Automation?
Publisher Knowledge base supplier
Elsevier (journals, books) Ex Libris, OCLC
Springer Nature (journals, books) Ex Libris, OCLC
Taylor & Francis (books) OCLC
Wiley (books, journals) -- in process Ex Libris, OCLC
Wolters Kluwer / OVID (books, journals) Ex Libris, OCLC

18. • Contact publisher to request the service. They provide a token or other access
credential.
• Select designated collection(s) in the knowledge base, e.g. “Elsevier
ScienceDirect Journals Complete” or “SpringerLink Books - AutoHoldings”.
• Configure connection to content provider system in knowledge base (Ex Libris)
or request collection loading (OCLC).
• Updates are monthly, weekly, or on demand (depends on system).
Set up - general outline

19. • Routine e-journal management
• Perpetual access rights post-cancellation
• Custom purchases of any kind
• EBAs
• Journal backfile purchases, especially if you
don’t update annually
• E-book standing orders
• Maintaining multiple knowledge bases
• OA content
• Lag in knowledge base updates
KBART Automation helps with...

20. • Less time spent on tedious e-
resource holdings management
• More time for higher-level work,
e.g. collection analysis
• Improved accuracy of knowledge
base
• Fewer access problems to
troubleshoot
• Better discovery experience for
library users
KBART Automation benefits librarians and library users...

21. • KBART Automation would
not be a good choice in the
case where a significant
number of the MARC records
in the knowledge base’s
KBART Automation collection
do not meet the library’s
standards.
Possible problem… inadequate MARC records

22. • This collection contains all of our Elsevier journals, including subscribed
titles, Freedom Collection titles, and multiple backfile purchases.
• Multiple payment records are attached to the collection, so not possible to
connect individual payments to a specific set of content.
Possible problem… single “all titles” collections (for all journals, for all
books)

23. Possible problem… serial and book records for same title
In the case of records for:
• Book series
• Conference proceedings

24. Possible problem… coverage gaps
• How to handle gap coverage is
a KBART issue, not a KBART
Automation issue.
• With Automation, holdings are
more accurate but may be
confusing. Library edits will be
overwritten with next upload.

25. • Are publisher records on the
library’s entitlements
accurate?
• If KBART Automation
removes a holding in error,
so that it no longer appears
in the library’s discovery
system, will the mistake be
noticed?
Possible problem… reliance on publisher system data

26. “After you’ve wished once for food, you can stop using your other wishes on food.”

27. Stephanie Doellinger, OCLC
Vendor Perspective

28. Where we started
• Needed to support programs such as Demand Driven Acquisition and Evidence
Based Acquisition purchase models.
 Automation addresses speed of updates
 Automation addresses accuracy of holdings, MARC records and URLs in
Discovery services
• Saves staff time on collection management with shift
in e-resource management
 Publisher tracks when an item is purchased
 KBART automated holding feeds supplies
updates directly to vendors

29. Where we are today
• Most popular with eBook resources, but a few providers do automation for journals

30. KBART Automation and knowledge bases
• KBART Automation recommendation should eliminate the need to
re-develop automation procedures for each content provider
separately:
• Each provider onboarded is still a project
• They are similar, but not cookie cutter
• Helps reduce support calls related holdings inaccuracy issues
• In most cases API access is available for global KBART title list and
automated holdings feeds

31. Most common automation questions
• The most common asked question regarding automated
holdings:
1. Where are the historical titles (prename changes)?
2. Where are my perpetual titles?
3. Will it select the collections my library has
purchased?
• How do I ensure I have enabled correct collections?
4. Can I have two feeds one for my library and one for
my consortia?

32. How automation improves accuracy
• Prerequisite publisher must have
good quality global KBART files,
updated consistently
• Publisher must generate accurate
KBART automated holdings
routinely. Preferred weekly
• API’s have improved the speed and
accuracy of updates for KBART
automation
• Correctness is vital, OCLC does pilot
test runs prior to going live
• If feeds are not accurate, they
are not enabled by libraries

33. OCLC & Wiley Automated holding feeds
• OCLC is working closely with
Wiley to ensure the KBART
automation feed will meet
accuracy needs at go live
• Have pilot libraries supplying
feedback
• OCLC and Wiley want a
successful launch to ensure the
automated feeds are wildly
adapted.

34. Questions?
Stephanie Doellinger
doellins@oclc.org
Andrée Rathemacher
andree@uri.edu
Matthew Ragucci
mragucci@wiley.com