Saving records from Summon searches

rkoshykar
Serials Solutions updated the Summon 2.0 interface in August. In the past, Zotero would use the COinS translator to save results from Summon searches. With the latest Summon interface, I no longer see that translator invoked. Zotero wants to save the search results page as a web page now.

Has anyone else seen this behavior? I have tested it with Zotero for Firefox and Zotero Standalone with the Chrome connector (both on Windows).

The specific Summon instance I am using is http://rit.summon.serialssolutions.com
  • hannahsaur
    Thanks for posting this - I've only just now diagnosed this (Summon update) must be the root of the problem we're having here at Duke.

    I actually don't find that it's an issue with Firefox/Standalone. It seems to only happen in Chrome/Standalone (based on my testing). When you're viewing an item (article, book, whatever) within that referral viewer - the Zotero translator can't interpret the item and gives you that generic web page save (which isn't helpful at all).

    I plan on contacting my e-resources person in my university library to see whether they can communicate this problem with Summon. Glad to hear it's not affecting my university only b/c there may be more power in us both reporting, so that they can figure out how to fix it.
  • rkoshykar
    Yes, it's always good to know that someone else out there has encountered a problem similar to the one you are seeing!

    I have discussed this issue with the e-resources librarian at my library. We haven't reported anything to Summon/Serials Solutions yet, but we agreed that the best route to take if we do is to request that they either improve upon or release a better RIS option for exporting citations.

    Zotero should be able to intercept an exported RIS file and import that into your library. It does appear that Summon's current EndNote export option does generate an RIS file, but I have been unable to open those files with Zotero since the last Summon upgrade.
  • rkoshykar
    Looking back on a previous discussion about saving Summon records has given me a clue as to what might have happened:

    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/35950/summon-2-0/p2

    "ProQuest Flow uses the same translators as Zotero"

    Apparently, ProQuest/Summon has retired the Flow product as of this August's update and is now directing users to log into RefWorks instead. It's plausible that they also altered the translator behind the scenes as well, the one that Zotero had been leveraging for over a year and a half.
  • adamsmith
    RefWorks is still using Zotero translators, afaik, though and the ProQuest folks told us they'd look into it (and the translator is on Zotero's side, so PQ couldn't change it).
  • conniereik
    So is there anything that can be done?

    ExLibris says there is nothing we can do on our end. They said it is a known issue and their developers are looking into it!

    I guess they have to change their code in order for Zotero to be able to read it?
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