Using RefTracker for SDI and Content update services
The Client email address field in RefTracker can be used for more than one email address (up to 2000 characters). This provides the opportunity to use RefTracker for standing requests, SDI and Content update services in a way that may well be much more convenient and efficient than the way your organisation is currently handling these services.
To set up an SDI or Contents update service using RefTracker
a) The System administrator will provide a Request form specifically for the purpose of creating questions for each SDI/Contents update service that your organisation performs. The form will be created so that it can only be used in the New screen, does not send confirmation emails or response emails, and looks something like the following, where the “Name for this SDI service” field in the “Question” field:
It is also important that this form has the “Needs attention – Response” Request form parameter in Edit options Processing options, set on with notifications so that the allocated staff member gets a reminder notice, your chosen period before this task is next due.
b) The System administrator then brings up the form in the New screen and enters the details for the specific SDI service that they are setting up – in this instance we are setting up an “Oncology research update service (monthly)” with a number of subscriber’s who’s email addresses are separated by a semicolon.
The System administrator then chooses to allocate the question to the staff member who will be responsible for this service and clicks Save/Send (the System administrator could also include a “Staff note” to let the allocated staff member know that this is the question number that they will use each time they need to perform this service – this will make the allocation email more meaningful).
c) The System administrator then goes to the Answer screen for that question and uses the draft Answer field to provide clearly marked instructions to the staff using this “standing” question, as to how they should deliver the updates, and sets a sensible How complete status that indicates that the question is hibernating until its next use.
d) The question will now appear in Open questions as allocated to the staff member who will perform the service and waiting for the next time it should be distributed (Target date). If the Target date is not correct, go to the Change screen and change it by changing the Objective response date or Last useful date according to how your system sets Target date. By ensuring that the Target date is correct, the allocated staff member will receive a reminder at the determined period before this task is next due.
e) On each occasion that the service needs to be performed, the assigned staff member will use the Inform client workflow in the Answer screen to deliver the results. They can add attachments using Manage workflow attachments, but remember that there is a limit to the size of attachments. If you have a lot of attachments they are better delivered as URL’s (hyperlinks) to documents that you have loaded into a local web enabled directory.If your library wants to report on the time and cost of delivering this service, the staff member will need to enter the time that they spend collating the material for the update, into the Time used field. If your library wants to include any costs, use the Actions>Record costs screen. Note that if you receive costs for external searching in a file from your the external searching vendor(s), there is a batch process that can be used to include those costs into the appropriate RefTracker questions (Systems administrators should investigate Batch processing “Batch load – time and cost journal entries”).When the update is ready to send, (the staff member has entered all the details they want to send in an Inform client workflow note and attached any attachments using Manage workflow attachments using the Inform client workflow), they will choose an appropriate How complete value that leaves the question open, and then click on Save/Send.As a result of this action, the information entered in the Inform client workflow note, and any attachments will be delivered as an email to all of the clients listed in the Client email field. Note that the client email address field has a maximum of 100 characters so this solution will only work for up to about 4 recipients, depending on the length of their email addresses.
f) It is then important that the staff member using this process goes to the Change screen and updates the Objective response date (some libraries may use Last useful date) to indicate the next date on which this service needs to be delivered so that Open questions indicates when this service is coming due to be done again.
g) When it is next time to re-run this SDI/Content update service, the allocated staff member can simply click on this question’s number in Open questions where its target date will be indicating that it is imminent. They will be taken to the Answer screen where the instructions showing in the draft Answer field will serve as a good reminder of what needs to be done to deliver new information to your subscribed clients (once again using the Inform client workflow followed by Change to set the next date.
h) If a staff member needs to change the list of client’s subscribed to this service, find the question associated with the service using the Search screen, then use the Change screen to adjust the list of email addresses in the Client email address field. The System Administrator may even want to provide a separate Request form where clients can request to be added or removed from the distribution list for this service!