Adding a License
To create a license, select Add/Edit a License from the top menu to bring up a blank template. The template contains a number of fields, and most are required:
Field | About |
---|---|
Active? | Choosing No will deactivate the license. The public view will no longer be visible, and it will not appear in SFX. |
License URL | This URL must be unique across your institutional licenses. It must not contain any spaces. User underlines between words if necessary (for example, oxford_ebooks) |
Date Signed/Approved | When the license came into effect. |
License Information | Name the license something that is reflective of its coverage (for instance, append ‘Books’ or ‘Journals’ to the end if you have separate licenses for different collections from the same publishers.)
Create a consortium for your institution if it does not already exist, and choose your institution as the consortium whenever creating a school-specific license. This will allow you to generate reports for local licenses in batches. |
Permitted Uses | More detailed information about each of these is displayed in the public and staff views. To edit the text that goes with each of these permissions, navigate to Static Field Descriptions from the admin menu. |
Note on Perpetual Access | Is the material accessible after the subscription is cancelled? If so, please note any caveats. |
Password | If the resource requires a password for access, you can include it here (rarely used) |
SHERPA/RoMEO URL | Include a link to the publisher or journal copyright and archiving policy on SHERPA/RoMEO |
If you have a different license, you can de-activate the consortial license and create a local version.
Over time, license agreements, products licensed, and SFX target organizations will change. As this happens, we expect the following workflow scenario:
- New OCUL products: OCUL staff will enter the license details into the appropriate field and push the information out to all institutional databases. OCUL or SP staff will send the local SFX administrator information to be added to their SFX targets for new products.
- New local products: Local staff enter in license details and add the appropriate SFX target or portfolio note field.
- Changes in OCUL terms: OCUL staff will enter the license details into the appropriate field and push the information out to all institutional databases.
- Changes in SFX targets: The old target will be deleted, and the new one created. OCUL or SP staff will send the local SFX administrator the new note to be added to the SFX target or portfolio note field.
Editing a License
Permissions displayed in the public or staff view are are defined by two things: the Permitted Uses set on the Add/Edit License page, and the text you enter in the Static Field Descriptions. Permitted Uses can be modified on a license-by-license basis for all non-consortial licenses, but your static field descriptions will stay the same across all of your licenses.


Admin Side – Permitted Use | User Side – License Terms of Use | Notes |
---|---|---|
Electronic Course Readings and Course Management Systems | Can I make an electronic copy for use in an e-reserve system?
Can I post a copy in a course management system? |
For clarity, these questions have been broken up on the user side, but they are the same set of permissions |
Course Pack | Can I put it in a course pack? | |
ILL Electronic | ILL Electronic | By default, this shows up in staff view but not public view |
Durable URL | Can I link to it? | |
ILL Ariel | ILL Ariel | By default, this shows up in staff view but not public view |
Alumni Access | Alumni Access | By default, this shows up in staff view but not public view |
Walk-In | Walk-In | By default, this shows up in staff view but not public view |
Perpetual Access | Perpetual Access | By default, this is not displayed. Please contact licenses@scholarsportal.info to turn it on in staff or public view. |
Text Mining | Text Mining | By default, this is not displayed. Please contact licenses@scholarsportal.info to turn it on in staff or public view. |
Local Loading | Local Loading | By default, this is not displayed. Please contact licenses@scholarsportal.info to turn it on in staff or public view. |
Can I make print or electronic copies? | Unless your license says otherwise explicitly, this should be Yes, as per Fair Dealing exception within the Canadian Copyright Act | |
Distribute | Can I distribute print or electronic copies to another authorized user? | By default, this is not displayed. Please contact licenses@scholarsportal.info to turn it on in staff or public view. |
- Licenses created on a consortial level (i.e. OCUL, CRKN) will be read-only, and you will not be able to edit any of the permitted uses. If you have a different license for the same product, you can de-activate the consortial license and create a local version.
- Contact licenses@scholarsportal.info to customize fields displayed in public or staff view.
Static Field Descriptions
The text that appears with each permission is defined in the Static Field Descriptor area:
OCUL and SPOT, incorporating AUCC legal advice, have chosen standard field labels and texts for most permitted uses. The following uses must be edited to reflect local policy:
- Distribute
- ILL Ariel
- Walk-In
- Alumni Access
- Perpetual Access
All other uses may be edited if necessary, but keep in mind that changes will be displayed across all of your licenses, both local and consortial. Changes to the text will only appear in your own location.
Generating Reports
You can generate a report for all of your licenses, or only those that are active. You can also generate reports for:
- specific permissions (i.e. show me only licenses that do not allow alumni access)
- consortium (this is where you can generate a report for only your locally created licenses)
- vendor (hold down on the Control or Command button to select multiple vendors)
Note that selecting “No Vendor” or “No Consortium” will generate a report that only lists licenses not associated with any vendor or consortium. To generate a report for all vendors or consortia, do not select anything.
Adding Licenses to SFX
Note: If you are using the License Mapping functionality, you no longer need to perform this step.
Mapped licenses will be automatically tagged in the SFX notes field nightly.
The OUR database allows users to locate license information by searching a journal package, vendor platform, or database. When integrated into SFX, usage rights can be pulled in at the point when a user is looking at a particular article or journal:
All consortial licenses have been mapped to an SFX record when possible. The “general notes” field of these SFX records contains a small piece of HTML that is both a quick visual display of rights and a link to the full license (public view). To start displaying usage rights for this new license in SFX, take note of the License URL you provided for the product in the License URL Field. You will need this information for the SFX target service note field. Your note will follow this format:
<iframe src=”http://[institution].scholarsportal.info/licenses/[end of license url]/sfx” width=”100%” height=”40″ align=”middle”
frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”><p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p></iframe>
Specific example:
<iframe src=”http://[institution].scholarsportal.info/licenses/Families_in_Society/sfx” width=”100%” height=”40″ align=”middle” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”><p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p></iframe>
Once you’ve created your note using this format, copy it and paste it into the correct SFX Target Service note for the get Full Text Service:
Note that in some cases (for example, for an individual journal subscription like Canadian Journal of Chemistry Backfiles) it is necessary to add the general note at the target portfolio level rather than at the target service level. When notes exist at both the target service level and the portfolio level, the portfolio note will take precedence and will be displayed.
SFX records that are not associated with a consortial license may be linked by default to a generic record. Please let Scholars Portal staff know if you would prefer to leave the note field blank for SFX targets not associated with a consortial license.
If you use a link resolver other than SFX, it may still be possible to display this information. Help from the Scholars Portal Operations Team (SPOT) is available.