Incoming!: Surviving the Barrage of Vendor Communications

For those in collection management, dealing with vendors is an integral part of the job. Yet the sheer volume of e-mails, phone calls, and other communications can sometimes leave one feeling as though under assault. This paper analyzes real-world examples of vendor communications and assesses their relevance and usefulness. It also provides tips and strategies for managing such communications effectively. Conveying library needs and expectations back to vendors, for example, is a critical step. For their part, vendors will have an opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t from a librarian’s perspective so that they may in turn learn how to communicate more efficiently with their customers

Taking the Long View: A Case Study of E-Book Usage at a Comprehensive Research University

The University Libraries at Virginia Tech made their first major acquisition of e-books in 2008 with a purchase of new e-book collections from Springer. While the business relationship has evolved over time, it has continued forward to the present day. Currently, the library’s online holdings include most of the frontlist subject collections available from what is now Springer Nature, as well as the Springer book series and the Springer Book Archives. In all, the University Libraries make over 120,000 e-books available to patrons through the SpringerLink platform. The cumulative usage of this material represents over two million chapter downloads by the university community just since 2012. The large number of titles available and the long-term nature of the acquisitions provide unique opportunities for in-depth analysis. The Springer Nature e-book collections also offer a variety of material types including monographs, textbooks, and reference works integrated onto the same platform. This session provides a case study of Springer Nature e-book usage at Virginia Tech and shows how working directly with a vendor partner can provide an enhanced and more multifaceted view of usage

ILL as Acquisitions: Implementing and Integrating POD in a Research Library

This paper describes Virginia Tech\u27s implementation of a purchase‐on‐demand (POD) program designed to complement the traditional interlibrary loan workflow. POD can offer a way to obtain otherwise unavailable or unlendable content or to get many items at lower cost than a typical borrowing transaction. POD also offers another means of building the collection through purchases of materials we know will get at least one use. We share key details of our program from pilot phase to its broader integration into the acquisitions workflow

Hosting a Library Vendor Week: A Better Way to Manage Site Visits?

Scheduling meetings between vendors and the appropriate library staff members is often a challenge, and the number of requests for site visits can quickly overwhelm any library calendar. The University Libraries at Virginia Tech recently held its first library vendor week in an attempt to address such concerns. Nearly two dozen vendors took part in the five-day event. This paper provides key lessons we learned during this experience and shares tips and strategies for libraries that may be interested in hosting their own multivendor event. With one perspective provided by the host library, and another from a vendor who took part, readers will learn from both sides about this uncommon approach to organizing vendor visits

Thirty Days and Counting: Conducting Effective Product Trials for Library Resources

Product trials for evaluating potential new resources can be a challenge for any library. To be most effective, several key elements must be addressed including determining suitable trial dates, establishing and confirming access, creating appropriate links, publicizing product availability, collecting usage data, and gathering feedback from participants. If one or more of these steps is missed, it is all too easy for trial access to run out before much useful data is gathered. The University Libraries at Virginia Tech have developed a method for managing this process through a Trials Workflow team and the use of free, Web-based project management software from Trello. Readers will learn about our workflow for conducting trials and discover how we work with our vendors to better manage the process for product trials

Functional roles of carboxylate residues comprising the DNA polymerase active site triad of Ty3 reverse transcriptase

Aspartic acid residues comprising the -D-(aa)(n)-Y-L-D-D- DNA polymerase active site triad of reverse transcriptase from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae long terminal repeat-retrotransposon Ty3 (Asp151, Asp213 and Asp214) were evaluated via site-directed mutagenesis. An Asp151→Glu substitution showed a dramatic decrease in catalytic efficiency and a severe translocation defect following initiation of DNA synthesis. In contrast, enzymes harboring the equivalent alteration at Asp213 and Asp214 retained DNA polymerase activity. Asp151→Asn and Asp213→Asn substitutions eliminated both polymerase activities. However, while Asp214 of the triad could be replaced by either Asn or Glu, introducing Gln seriously affected processivity. Mutants of the carboxylate triad at positions 151 and 213 also failed to catalyze pyrophosphorolysis. Finally, alterations to the DNA polymerase active site affected RNase H activity, suggesting a close spatial relationship between these N- and C-terminal catalytic centers. Taken together, our data reveal a critical role for Asp151 and Asp213 in catalysis. In contrast, the second carboxylate of the Y-L-D-D motif (Asp214) is not essential for catalysis, and possibly fulfills a structural role. Although Asp214 was most insensitive to substitution with respect to activity of the recombinant enzyme, all alterations at this position were lethal for Ty3 transposition

u-RANIA: a neutron detector based on \mu -RWELL technology

In the framework of the ATTRACT-uRANIA project, funded by the European Community, we are developing an innovative neutron imaging detector based on micro-Resistive WELL ($\mu$ -RWELL) technology. The $\mu$ -RWELL, based on the resistive detector concept, ensuring an efficient spark quenching mechanism, is a highly reliable device. It is composed by two main elements: a readout-PCB and a cathode. The amplification stage for this device is embedded in the readout board through a resistive layer realized by means of an industrial process with DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon). A thin layer of B$_4$C on the copper surface of the cathode allows the thermal neutrons detection through the release of $^7$Li and $\alpha$ particles in the active volume. This technology has been developed to be an efficient and convenient alternative to the $^3$He shortage. The goal of the project is to prove the feasibility of such a novel neutron detector by developing and testing small planar prototypes with readout boards suitably segmented with strip or pad read out, equipped with existing electronics or readout in current mode. Preliminary results from the test with different prototypes, showing a good agreement with the simulation, will be presented together with construction details of the prototypes and the future steps of the project.Comment: Prepared for the INSTR20 Conference Proceeding for JINS

Flipping the Model: A Values-Based Consortial Approach to Journal Negotiations

When negotiating journal pricing, the disadvantages libraries face are well documented. In addition to financially incompatible acquisition models that are out of sync with both library budgets and any predicted growth, libraries are also presented with rising inflationary costs, content added to an already overloaded system, and vendor consolidation. Pricing issues are further exacerbated by traditional negotiations, where libraries begin negotiations based on the offers made by publishers and vendors. These offers too often are predicated on historical spend and coupled with list prices that come with few explanations for their sums. Big package deals, that arguably expand access to resources and may lower costs on an article basis, have also increased overall costs and pushed out diverse resources. In attempting to move away from such deals institutions are faced with similar pricing for dramatically reduced access. The difficulties in navigating our way to a sustainable model become clear when the loss of researcher access is coupled with the increased staffing needed to manage individual subscriptions. New, and potentially viable pathways are beginning to emerge, including open access initiatives and the application of new models, such as read/publish. Although these pathways are not yet fully formed, they are promising developments that attempt to more holistically account for the contributions of the academy, the public good, and the costs of publishing. This presentation detailed the efforts of a task force within VIVA (Virginia’s academic library consortium) to create a bridge-solution between the current acquisition model and the future vision of its members. It creates a space to rethink what these deals could be and relies on consortial criteria to determine the value of content. The approach remains conscious of the real long-term institutional trust and communication risks to such endeavors, and is built on concerted, collective action

Unprecedented studies of the low-energy negatively charged kaons interactions in nuclear matter by AMADEUS

The AMADEUS experiment aims to provide unique quality data of $K^-$ hadronic interactions in light nuclear targets, in order to solve fundamental open questions in the non-perturbative strangeness QCD sector, like the controversial nature of the $\Lambda(1405)$ state, the yield of hyperon formation below threshold, the yield and shape of multi-nucleon $K^-$ absorption, processes which are intimately connected to the possible existence of exotic antikaon multi-nucleon clusters. AMADEUS takes advantage of the DA$\Phi$NE collider, which provides a unique source of monochromatic low-momentum kaons and exploits the KLOE detector as an active target, in order to obtain excellent acceptance and resolution data for $K^-$ nuclear capture on H, ${}^4$He, ${}^{9}$Be and ${}^{12}$C, both at-rest and in-flight. During the second half of 2012 a successful data taking was performed with a dedicated pure carbon target implemented in the central region of KLOE, providing a high statistic sample of pure at-rest $K^-$ nuclear interactions. For the future dedicated setups involving cryogenic gaseous targets are under preparation.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

Aging measurements on triple-GEM detectors operated with CF4-based gas mixtures

We present the results of a global irradiation test of full size triple-GEM detectors operated with CF 4 -based gas mixtures. This study has been performed in the framework of an R&D activity on detectors for the innermost region of the first muon station of the LHCb experiment. The prototypes have been irradiated at the Calliope facility of the ENEA-Casaccia with a high intensity 1.25 MeV γ 60 Co source. After the irradiation test the detectors performances have been measured with X-rays and with a 3 GeV pion beam at CERN. A SEM analysis on several samples of the detectors has been performed to complete the understanding of the physical processes occurring in a GEM detector during a strong irradiation