Access to Supplemental Journal Article Materials

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant demographics

Completion of Survey
Total opened survey	211
Total answered US question	197
Total in US	191
Total moved past US question	180
Total moved past library size question	120
Library type
Hospital	56	29%
Academic	107	56%
Public	0	0%
Other (govt, publisher, institute, organization)	17	9%
No response	11	6%
Library Size (cleaned to remove all explanatory text, plus marks, units (like FTE and students), or obvious unit’s errors such as number of librarians/number of campuses)
1–1000	25	13%
1001–5,000	58	30%
5,000–10,000	28	15%
10,000–20,000	22	12%
20,000+	23	12%
No response or inaccurate interpretation	35	18%
How often asked for SJAM
Never	5	3%
1–5 x/year	39	20%
6–10 x/year	25	13%
More than 10x/year	37	19%
Other (Always, Don’t know)	13	7%
No response	72	38%
Institution Provides SJAM when filling ILL Requests
Yes, always look and provide if accessible	44	23%
No, only provide if requested	56	29%
Other (unsure, if aware, if easy, Docline only)	16	8%
No response	75	39%

Figure 1. Completion of survey by library type N = 180

Figure 2. Work with ILL by library type N = 179

Figure 3. Supplemental requests by amount of work with ILL N = 119

Figure 4. Point at which patron is aware of SJAM N = 116

Figure 5. Work with ILL vs. provide SJAM when not requested N = 116

Figure 6. Patrons assume SJAM included without request vs. provide SJAM without asking N = 116

Table 2. Themes from responses to open-ended questions

Theme	Sub-theme	Representative quotes
Why SJAM are a problem?	Behind publisher paywall	We have struggled with getting supplementary materials for [publisher] articles requested through ILL. The supplementary materials are often accessible through a link that as a non-subscriber, we (our patron) cannot access.
	Separate from article	On the whole, I think Supplementary material is difficult to find. Publishers should make SJAMs more readily available with articles in the first place.
	Multiple files	I would like it if articles with multiple supplements would put them all in one file. If an article has 8 separate supplements in 8 separate files, I won’t retrieve and send for ILL unless requested. If all 8 supps are in one file, I will.
	Multiple file types	Often if there is supplemental material it is only visible thru the HTML view, and not the PDF. This presents a problem as the lender attaches PDF files not HTML, so the reader discovers the references to supplemental material after receiving the main article in PDF. Wish there was an easier way to send materials other than combining PDFs before sending or emailing. Also interested in the accessibility of these materials when sent via PDF, etc. Also we are seeing more audio and video supplements. We are not able to provide these for ILL’s, and it is difficult to even save and send to our own patrons.
	Not indexed	We also struggle with doi not reflecting a difference between the original article and SJAM a consistent format for listing available SJAM with the article would improve everyone’s awareness Sometimes SJAMs may not be indexed – Medline is one source that only infrequently includes SJAMs.
	ILL systems do not support SJAM	Part of the problem with obtaining SJAMs is that ILLiad is not really equipped to handle them … which is something that needs to be addressed soon by the vendor, in my opinion. We use Odyssey and deliver articles, often from other libraries, so are unaware of SJAMs unless the customer asks for them.
	Not available from secondary aggregators	Packages we buy through [secondary aggregators] never identify or deliver supps. Occasionally, I have not been able to find an identified item on the publisher site, but if I work with the publisher, they will eventually get the content up. Most journals we buy separate subscriptions to (not part of a package) make supplementary material easily identifiable and accessible. None of the supplementary content is available in [secondary aggregator]
Lack of understanding of SJAM	By patrons	some don’t know the SJAMs exist, and it’s staff who notice and ask for them on behalf of the patron. I as the librarian catch it and attach the supplements. Most of our patrons do not know about supplementary materials when requesting articles. But are a few heavy users that always ask for supplementary materials.
	By libraries	I hadn’t heard of them. Don’t e-articles include all related things like charts, tables, etc.? when we ask other libraries for the SJAM, they provide another copy of the article and not the SJAMs. It’s very frustrating. Also many lenders fail to read notes regarding request to include all available supplements.
	By publishers	I find that patrons have difficulty finding SJAM even for articles that we do have, particularly since seems as if every publisher has a different layout for identifying SJAMs It seems that SJAMs are an afterthought for journal editors and publishers. When you edit a manuscript, you forget that the author(s) put the survey in an appendix or offered additional data – so it dangles.
Expectations for SJAM	Patrons expect SJAM	Some can be quite indignant that the SJAM weren’t supplied along with the article They would not mention it to me until they get the article without the supplement. Some do indicate on the initial request that that they want the supplement, but others just seem to expect it.
	Requesting Libraries expect that lending libraries are looking for SJAM	Also many lenders fail to read notes regarding request to include all available supplements. I attach several (1–25) SJAMs to Lend almost every day, but rarely ever receive them for my Borrow I.L.L.s even though I specifically ask for them. SJAMs should really be considered just one more part of the article, NOT something special that we need to practically beg to be included. WHY can’t they just make a download that INCLUDES all the supplemental material (in addition to the regular article download). That way, other libraries could just click that and send it, instead of my arguing with them about sending it. I actually don’t have that problem as much anymore because I deleted the problem lenders from our ILL routing table. I don’t want the stress!
Why libraries are not routinely supplying SJAM?	Time	Time consuming and cumbersome; that’s why we have stopped supplying unless specifically asked for. Publishers really need to make the content more obvious. We can’t skim every article to see if they mention supplemental material.
	Consider it something special	depends on how serious they are about the article
	Not in the habit	getting veteran ILL technicians to get in the habit of including suppl mat is another hurdle
	Difficult	It’s a pain in the neck to download all of those supplementary files in various formats. Often there are quite a number of files!