eresources inbox
The eresources inbox is the email address which has historically been linked to all book and resource orders (both physical and digital despite the name 'e-resources')
It is suggested this inbox is checked at least twice a day and maintained. Generally speaking there is little reason to send emails from this inbox, instead we file emails and forward them on to other addresses when necessary.
This is what the eresources file structure currently looks like
Here is a list of all of the standard types of emails we receive in this inbox, along with suggested actions to take. If you are unsure, either ask another LSA or place the email in the 'Email queries - unclear' folder for an LTL to look at.
Promotional/Newsletter/Information
A large amount of the emails we receive in this inbox are promotional, letting us know about events publishers are running, or new publications they have coming out. Generally we just delete most of these, as the subject librarians are often on mailing lists to receive this information directly. Read the email and confirm it is just promotional material and then delete.
Automatic Ebook request notifications
These look like the email below and come from proquest.
These emails can be dragged straight into the 'Forwarded to LTL's folder' as the LTL's see these when they log on to proquest, and between them someone logs on every day. Therefore, we do not need to action these emails further
VLE Ebooks weekly expiring licenses report
This email is currently also sent to Graham Martindale, along with the eresources email, and so we do not need to action this as he will do so. Simply file these emails into the 'Forwarded to LTL's' folder.
Substitution notices and order queries
Sometimes when an LTL places an order for a book/ebook the company have to make changes or need clarification. These emails come from proquest/coutts/oasis/clarivate or browns books. When you encounter an email like this, you will need to send it on to the relevant subject librarian. If it is unclear from the book which librarian this might be, check the book order spreadsheet to see if you can find this item.
When you forward this email it is a good idea to change the 'reply to' email, so any email the LTL sends goes directly to the supplier, rather than the eresources inbox. To do this you need to
- Double click the email to open it fully.
- Select 'Forward' from the options at the top
- Click 'File' and then 'Properties'
- Click the tick box next to 'Have replies sent to' remove your email which autofills and instead insert the email address the communication originally came from. Press enter once you've finished to apply this
- Now insert the name of the LTL you want to forward this email on to in the 'To' box
- Send
Once you've forwarded on the order query, file it in the sub-folder 'Order Queries' in the 'Forwarded to LTL's' folder.
Order Confirmations
Another very common email to receive is an order confirmation email. These generally come from Coutts/ProQuest and need to be filed in the sub-folder with this name within the 'order confirmations' folder. Please leave these marked as unread as Kim then goes through these emails to complete receiving actions for ebooks if necessary. Once she has done so the email will be marked with a tick.
We do also get order confirmations for other resources (such as journals we pay a yearly subscription via credit card for), these can be filed in the 'other resources' sub-folder of the Order Confirmations folder.
Automatic Upgrades
Some ProQuest ebooks will automatically upgrade, when this happens we are sent a notification email. Simply file these in 'Order Confirmations>Coutts/ProQuest>Upgrades'.
Delivery Notes
These generally come as emails which just have attachments and no text within the body of the email, and only come for ProQuest/Coutts items. We just have 1 folder entitled 'Delivery notes'. File these emails here leaving them marked as unread. These may initially seem like invoices (see the note below in the invoices section). They often (but not always) have SSR1 in the body/subject of the email. If you are unsure: ASK.
Invoices
All invoices which come into the eresources inbox need to forwarded on to libanswers (learningservices@uos.ac.uk). In libanswers they need to be tagged as an invoice and assigned to whoever is paying invoices. Once you've done so simply file the email in the 'Invoices-gone to LibAnswers' folder. Make sure these are marked as read. We do not do anything else with these emails. They exist here mostly for archival purposes.
Note regarding Proquest/coutts/clarivate 'invoices': we get lots of emails with the word invoice in from ProQuest. The only ones which have to be paid are invoices which come from a person, rather than a noreply email address. Forward any ProQuest invoices for payment to LibAnswers, and the other files are either DDA invoices (which just go straight into the DDA subfolder of the Invoices folder) or Delivery notes (to be filed in the Delivery notes folder).
Finance Dialogue
Sometimes our finance department might email queries to the eresources inbox, rather than directly to the individual who is handling invoices. If you see an email like this, pass it on to the person handling that invoice. File this email in the 'Queries/Outstanding' sub-folder of the 'Invoices' folder
Sometimes the finance departments of our suppliers might email and ask about payment timelines. If appropriate look in the databases or journals spreadsheets to see when the invoice in question was sent to finance for payment, and relay this back to the supplier, whilst apologising for any delay to payment. Make the individual responsible for paying invoices aware of this. File this email in the 'Done/correspondence' sub-folder of the Invoices folder.
Credit Notes
When a book supplier has overcharged us for an item, or perhaps charged us for servicing but been unable to fully service the item they will send us credit notes. The general policy is that these are not worth claiming, as each note is generally worth less than 85p. Simply file them in the 'Credit Notes' sub folder of the Invoices folder.
Usage Statistics and Reports
We get emails from almost all of our suppliers outlining usage statistics and reports, these can look very different for different suppliers, but will almost always have the words 'usage statistics' or 'usage report' in the subject line. Please file these in the Usage Stats/Reports folder making sure to leave them unread. Kim will then manage these from this point. If you are unsure if an email is meant to go in this folder, place it in the Email Queries folder or ask Kim for clarification.