FAQs

At SUNY go-live in 2019, Ex Libris automatically activated Open Access content for campuses, and then that content was migrated to Alma during the switch from the Primo Central Index (PCI) to the Central Discovery Index (CDI) in November 2019. It is up to the individual campus to decide whether or not to leave these collections active. 

If you leave the Open Access content active, be aware that you may get content in your Primo VE search results that is not relevant for your patrons, or does not link correctly. This can include foreign language content, outdated content, and other material that can push your local holdings down in your search results.

Note that Open Access content is notoriously difficult to manage. Some journals are only partially open access, Open Access indications on Community Zone records may be inaccurate, etc.

References:

• 2019 SUNYLA Midwinter Presentation: Lacey Mamak (Normandale Community College) & Zorian Sasyk (Metropolitan State University) gave a presentation on Alternative Coverage and Open Access Collections in Primo Central: Guidelines and Recommendations at the 2019 SUNYLA Midwinter Conference (recording is available, along with the slides). Lacey and Zorian and their ER workgroup reviewed all of the Open Access options in the PCI and recommended the following activate options: no, optional, and yes. The only packages that they fully recommended activating were:
  • Wiley Open Access - Link via Linkresolver
  • OpenStax Digital Textbooks - Link in record
  • Oxford Journals Open Access - Link in record
  • Purdue University Press Open Access Journals - Link in record No longer in CZ
  • Open SUNY Textbooks - Link in record. Now called Milne Open Textbooks (Open SUNY Textbooks)
  • UMN Center for Open Education, Open Textbook Library - Link in record No longer in CZ
  • Taylor & Francis Online - Journals - Open Access - Link in record
  • JSTOR Journals: Open Access - Link in record
  • SAGE Open Access Journals - Link in record
• Ex Libris Documentation: Open Access Indication in Primo VE (includes how to hide it)