2CUL Software/System purchase request
Callisto is a third-party system that monitors access to e-resource sites. The system probes over 300 e-resource sites from our local IP address ranges to check if the resource is currently accessible and in many cases will log the branding information and lists of accessible titles from the resource. This can provide us with valuable up to date information about resource down-time and changes to our access. The 2CUL TSI E-resources Troubleshooting Team is currently testing Callisto using a free "Basic" version. We would like to upgrade to the Pro level to include the following features:
- 300+ resources monitored vs. 40 at Basic level. Also adds the ability for us to request new resources to be added.
- Title lists pulled from many resources. This can be used to highlight when there might be some title-level access problems.
- Alert functionality to notify us when certain issues are detected.
1. What is the problem we need to address?
- Reports of resources being unavailable, but seem to be working properly when we investigate.
- Proactive monitoring of resource availability and title level access
- Monitoring of IP range access. Sometimes a single range of our access may drop off for various reasons, while the rest are still active.
- Monitoring of e-resource interface branding information
2. How will the product address this problem?
- Callisto probes e-resource sites several times a day from any configured IP addresses and returns the following information:
- Is there current access from that IP, if not, it continues to check until the problem is resolved.
- What branding information is present on the interface (i.e. Cornell University Library, Columbia Health Sciences Library, NERL, etc...)
- When Callisto detects a problem at one institution, it will try to probe the resource from other institutions to detect more wide-spread issues.
- If we add or modify IP ranges, we can use Callisto to learn when the changes have taken place at the resource site.
3. Has a trial taken place? What were the results?
The 2CUL TSI E-Resource Troubleshooting team began a trial of Callisto Basic in April. We have been happy with the information provided by Callisto and have found it to be useful for our work. A few examples of how it has helped:
- We learned that a particular e-resource site was down for both CULs. This gives us potential to follow-up for both CUL's before the downtime may even be detected at one or both.
- We have seen which resources have inconsistent branding and have followed up.
- We have confirmed previous downtime for resources that are functioning when troubleshooting staff check. This helps us more confidently respond to patrons that a resource is working again.
4. Is the product needed at both institutions?
- Yes. The product monitors the connections to e-resource interfaces via particular IP ranges. Each CUL has distinct IP ranges and access to different content that should be monitored separately. The consortial view allows us to monitor this information across 2CUL. Here is a diagram of how the sites and institutions fit together in various models.
5. What staff will use the product?
- Front-line and supervisory e-resource troubleshooting staff will be the primary users of Callisto. Some other staff may find Callisto useful as well.
Pricing: From our official quote
- $3,300 per CUL base fee
- ~$1,000-1,500 per CUL to expand number of sites and IP ranges monitored.
- IP Ranges - Across 2CUL we maintain dozens of distinct IP ranges. Not all of these will need to be monitored constantly, but we will want flexibility to cover all primary ranges and a subset of the smaller ranges (Cornell's Geneva campus, Cooperative Extension, etc...).
- Sites - This will apply if we wish to include additional campuses such as Weill Cornell, Weill Cornell in Doha, Columbia Health Sciences... that may have access to different content from the main campuses.
- 15% discount while both CULs maintain a subscription
- $0 to add consortial view into each others sites.
Total = $3,600-$4,000 each or $7,200-$8,000 total paid annually.