Springer Nature advances its library services by offering KBART Automated Holdings Feeds for discovery services

Librarians to benefit from streamlined process to automatically upload their licensed Springer Nature Link content to OCLC, Ex Libris’ SFX and Alma

New York | London | Heidelberg, 31 January 2019

As of now, Springer Nature provides its customers with KBART Automation for knowledge bases and discovery services. KBART Automation is a highly beneficial service for libraries and research institutions, which helps to streamline their processes with minimum manual work involved. Springer Nature currently allows for KBART Automation of Springer Nature Link content to OCLC, Ex Libris’ SFX and Alma. KBART Automation for Nature.com content is currently under development and will pave the way to a seamless one stop solution for Springer Nature automated holdings.

Libraries utilize discovery services to allow their users to easily search for and access licensed content. Typically, uploading and managing title lists is a manual process for librarians which is time consuming and may even lead to access inconsistencies between the

discovery services they use and the publisher’s content platform. Providing KBART Automation as an innovative service, Springer Nature is streamlining the customer experience of accessing content. Utilizing the upcoming NISO KBART Automation Working Group Recommended Practices, Springer Nature is able to automatically send library specific holdings to the discovery services on a weekly basis.

After a one time set-up, librarians will benefit from these unique holdings feeds from Springer Nature which are automatically uploaded to the libraries’ knowledge base and discovery service. The customer logs onto the Springer Admin Portal, copies and pastes their institutional token and sends it to their discovery service. The institution’s licensed content will be automatically and correctly accessible for discovery. Librarians will no longer need to manually manage their lists and title-by-title exceptions for licensed Springer Nature content.

Noah Levin, Metadata Manager at Springer Nature and Co-chair of the NISO KBART Standing Committee said: “For librarians, trying to manually load every title list from every purchase for every publisher to their discovery service is a daunting task leading to hours of work, while wondering if every title is being correctly included. KBART Automation completely revolutionizes this practice by turning it into an easy and streamlined process which involves minimal work for librarians. Meanwhile, the age old question of ‘what do I have access to?’ is made immediately transparent. Therefore, I am very pleased that we can now offer KBART Automation, as it offers huge benefits for both librarians and everyone involved.”

Charlie Remy, Electronic Resources and Serials Librarian at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library and member of the NISO KBART Automation Working Group, uses the Ex Libris Alma service and has been an active supporter of KBART Automation.  Mr. Remy said: “It’s wonderful to see another large publisher like Springer Nature support automated KBART holdings feeds in the Ex Libris Alma system. This will greatly improve the accuracy and completeness of UTC Library’s Springer Nature journal and eBook holdings and, as a result, facilitate end user access to full text content. It’s a win for libraries, content providers, and discovery services.”

Jason Price, Director of Licensing Operations, SCELC Library Consortium and member of the NISO KBART Automation Working Group said: “KBART automation employs specificity to increase accuracy. Instead of manual exchange of multiple, generic, one-size-fits-few metadata sets that require customization after the fact, it delivers a single, customer-specific list of accessible content per provider.“

Image: KBART Automated Holdings Feeds involve minimal work for librarians to manage their licensed content | © Shutterstock