Discovery and E-Resources Guide

Use these links to jump to different sections on this page.

Documentation originally created in 2021-2022 by the Electronic Resources Unit at the University of Florida. Adapted in 2023 for FLVC.

Search for the collection in the IZ using the Electronic Collection search. Confirm that your institution does not already have this database or a version of this database activated.

If you think the database may be a part of a statewide subscription, search for it in the NZ using the Electronic Collection search. Confirm that FLVC does not already have this database or a version of this database activated for your institution.

If the collection is not in your institution's IZ or activated for your institution in the NZ, search for it in the CZ using the Electronic Collection search. 

From this list, choose the most appropriate collection.  If you’re not sure which one to choose, consider the following: 

• If possible, try not to activate collections that include a specific year, unless your institution really does only subscribe to that year’s collection. 
• Check the “modification” and “creation” dates and try to choose collections that have been modified more recently. 
• Do not choose collections that have been created specifically for other consortia; you’ll see a lot with acronyms like “JISC” or “BIBSAM” or “BACON”. 
• You can activate collections contributed by other institutions after a thorough review – have they been around for a while? Have they been updated recently/frequently? 
• If the collection has portfolios, test a few of the portfolio links. Are the links good and leading to the correct portfolio? 

Select Activate.  

On the next screen, you'll have several customization options. Here are a few to consider: 

• Public name (override): Change the way the name of the collection appears in the links list in a record.
• Level URL (override): For databases, it's generally best to activate the collection first, see what the system level URL is, and update if needed. 
• Mark bib as suppressed: If you check this box, the collection-level record will be hidden from Primo VE search results. For databases, it usually makes the most sense to uncheck this box so that you will have a record for the database in Primo VE. IMPORTANT: If you are activating CDI for a database, you must leave the collection-level record unsuppressed.
• Electronic Collection Proxy Enabled: If your institution uses OpenAthens, choose Yes or No depending on the type of collection. If your institution uses EZProxy, choose Yes and select "Default." 
• Library: Optional, depending on your institution. Some institutions have configured a specific location for eResources or Acquisitions.

You may also see CDI options if the database has CDI records. Most databases in Alma rely on the CDI for more granular discovery because they do not contain portfolios. For more information about CDI activation options, see FLVC's CDI LibGuide.

Select Next, then Activate. 

Search All Titles in the IZ to test if the database-level record is displaying in Primo and has a working level URL. Select Display in Discovery. 

Activating Selective/Aggregator Packages

Documentation originally created in 2021-2022 by the Electronic Resources Unit at the University of Florida. Adapted in 2023 for FLVC.

Search for the collection in the IZ using the Electronic Collection search. Confirm that your institution does not already have this collection or a version of this collection activated.

If you think the collection may be a part of a statewide subscription, search for the collection in the NZ using the Electronic Collection search. Confirm that FLVC does not already have this collection or a version of this collection activated for your institution.

In the below example, we can see that FSU already has access to Gale in Context: Biography via the Network Zone, because they are listed in the "Available For" section.

If the collection is not in your IZ, search for it in the CZ using the Electronic Collection search.  

From this list, choose the most appropriate collection.  If you’re not sure which one to choose, consider the following: 

• Have you already activated other titles in one of the collections?  To check, look for the little IZ house icon next to the collection name in the CZ.   
• If possible, try not to activate collections that include a specific year, unless your institution really does only subscribe to that year’s collection. 
• Check the “modification” and “creation” dates and try to choose collections that have been modified more recently. 
• Do not choose collections that have been created specifically for other consortia; you’ll see a lot with acronyms like “JISC” or “BIBSAM” or “BACON”. 
• You can activate collections contributed by other institutions after a thorough review – have they been around for a while? Have they been updated recently/frequently? 
• If the collection has portfolios, test a few of the portfolio links. Are the links good and leading to the correct portfolio? 

Once you’ve chosen the best collection, click Activate.  

On the next screen, you'll have several customization options. Here are a few to consider: 

• Public name (override): Change the way the name of the collection appears in the links list in a record.
• Mark bib as suppressed: If you check this box, the collection-level record will be hidden from Primo VE search results. It makes sense to check this box for collections to which you do not have full access so that users don't navigate to the database expecting to have full access to all of the content.
• Electronic Collection Proxy Enabled: If your institution uses OpenAthens, choose Yes or No depending on the type of collection. If your institution uses EZProxy, choose Yes and select "Default." 
• Library: Optional, depending on your institution. Some institutions have configured a specific location for eResources or Acquisitions.

Under Full Text Options, check "Activate this electronic collection service" and "Make service available."

If you have access to the full collection and will be activating all of the portfolios, check "Automatically activate new portfolios." If not, leave that box unchecked.

On the next screen, for full-text service: 

If your institution uses OpenAthens, choose Yes or No depending on the type of collection. Some collections will work with the OpenAthens proxy while others use the OpenAthens redirector. If you're not sure, try turning it on and testing a few records in Primo. 

If your institution uses EZProxy, choose Yes and select "Default." 

For some collections (EBSCO, ProQuest, and Gale are some examples) under full-text service, you will see an option for linking parameters. Here, you should enter your customer ID, location ID, or other ID depending on the vendor. If you're not sure what information you need to put in, please reach out to the Help Desk at help@flvc.org. Check out this spreadsheet for the most common vendor configurations. This spreadsheet will also specify whether or not you should use the OpenAthens proxy.

On the last screen, choose "Activate All" to activate the entire collection. If you would like to activate specific portfolios, choose either "Activate electronic collection and selected portfolios via Excel file upload" or "Manual activation - activate electronic collection and manually select portfolios." 

Search for this collection in your Institution Zone by using an Electronic Collections search to confirm it has been activated. Then, go to the Portfolio List, select a portfolio, and click the three dots in the upper right corner to click "Display in Discovery." Test a few portfolios and ensure they are linking correctly. If not, try making changes to the proxy settings (by turning the proxy off). 

From the collection search page, click “Edit Collection” if you need to add proxy information or a level URL or make other collection-level changes.  

When activating a new resource, it can be confusing to figure out what linking parameters to enter. FLVC maintains spreadsheets of this data for each institution in the state. You can consult the Link Resolver Masterlist (linked below) for more information about linking parameters for different vendors. If you have questions about your institutional code or can't figure out why the linking isn't working for a collection, please reach out to FLVC at help@flvc.org.

In general, if you are activating a collection and it asks you to enter additional parameters, such as a LOC_ID, that means you probably need to add it. 

In general, if you have entered an institutional ID somewhere in the linking parameters, you likely won't also need to turn on EZProxy: OpenAthens. 

In general, if you aren't sure what to select, try turning on EZProxy: OpenAthens and see if it works.