Lean Library's Alternatives feature provides your patrons with access to resources your library owns, even if they've landed on the resource in a location your library doesn't provide access to. If your library doesn't own that resource, but it is available as an open access resource, we'll direct the patron there instead. If you don't own the resource and it's not available as an open access resource, we can provide patrons with on-demand ILL/DDS forms.
Occasionally, you may find that Lean Library's Alternatives feature isn't showing you the resource you expect to see. It might be that it directs you to an unexpected publisher site, or you might find that you end up being directed to an open access PDF that isn't quite right.
Our team are always here to help, and we're very happy to resolve any issues we can. However, when the Alternatives feature isn't showing the resource you'd expect, in the vast majority of cases our team won't be able to address the root cause as, to power the Alternatives feature, Lean Library relies almost exclusively on data from external sources (either your institutional data or external open access services). This is represented diagrammatically below.
Alternatives Logic
Please note that the below graphic is not a comprehensive breakdown of the logic of the Alternatives feature. Some steps have been simplified, and others have been omitted entirely. The purpose of the diagram is to display the core steps to help you identify where your issue may lie. For more information on the differences between the Access and Alternatives features, and when you might expect to see either, please read the linked article: How does the extension choose between an Access or an Alternatives pop-up?
Please click the image to see it in higher resolution.
We'll go through these stages step-by-step to help you diagnose the root cause of and resolve any such issues.
Detecting a unique identifier and gathering metadata
We utilise the meta-tags present in the source of a page to detect unique identifiers. The meta-tags are hidden from view. We then use this identifier to gather information about the resource in question, and create an OpenURL request. If the extension appears to be picking up an incorrect identifier and suggesting an entirely incorrect resource, please notify our team through the support desk and we'll be able to advise. Please note however that errors during this step are very rare; please read through the rest of the article to check if there could be any other causes.
We gather data from our internal database, which relies on Crossref. If a DOI is not present on Crossref, then it will not be present in our database, and we will therefore not be able to populate the relevant fields of the OpenURL request to search your holdings. If you can see a DOI on the page, but you're not receiving any Alternatives pop-ups, please check that the DOI exists on Crossref.
Your link resolver response
Once the OpenURL request has been submitted, your link resolver will provide either a positive (i.e. "yes, we have this) or a negative (i.e. "no, we don't have this") response based on your holding information. If you believe that your library does have access to a resource at a different location, but you are not seeing the pop-up you'd expect to see, you should:
- Review the holdings information you have for that resource and determine whether it is correct. Please note that when the link resolver provides a positive response, the first result within the URL resolution section will be used to identify the licensed location. If you see the correct Alternatives location further down the list, this may mean that you have to amend the order of this section. For support with this, please contact the vendor responsible for your holdings system.
- Review your link resolver information within the Lean Library Dashboard to ensure it is up-to-date and correct. To confirm your link resolver information, please contact the vendor responsible for the link resolver.
Checking if a user is already on the site
If a user is already in the expected full-text location, they should not see the Alternatives pop-up. Please verify that the URL of the expected location and the URL on which you are seeing the pop-up do match - slight differences in the URL may account for continuing to see the Alternatives pop-up. If however you've confirmed this, then get in touch.
Checking if an open access version is available
Lean Library derives information on whether or not a resource is open access entirely from third-party services like Unpaywall, Core, and DOAB. The pop-up will indicate which service this information is coming from when it presents the alternative. If you receive an open access Alternatives message that directs you to a paywalled resource, or to a PDF for the wrong resource, this will have to be raised with the provider. We can help with this, but the processes outlined below lead to the most efficient resolutions.
If the issue is with a Core open access record, please raise this in a ticket with our team, providing the URL where you are encountering the Alternatives pop-up on the DOI for the resource.
If the issue is with an Unpaywall open access record, please raise this with Unpaywall in the first instance. Their team has made this very easy to do - visit unpaywall.org/fix and report the issue through their handy tool. Once you have done this please also raise a ticket with our team, providing the URL and DOI for the resource. This will allow us to complete the maintenance necessary to correct the record in our systems.
If the issue is with a DOAB open access record, please raise this with OAPEN. Email the resource URL and ISBN to: oacontact@operas.atlassian.net
I'm still seeing the wrong Alternatives pop-up
If you have tried the above and haven't seen any improvement, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the team and we'll be able to support you in identifying the root cause of any such issues. Please include as much information in your message as possible, including any unique identifiers for resources, URLs, screenshots and screen recordings, and any other information that may help our team.