Sarah Sutton

A Model for Electronic Resources Value Assessment

The current budgetary climate is forcing libraries to be more selective about e-resource purchases and renewals, and often to consider cancellations. The Mary and Jeff Bell Library at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi has developed a model for assessing the value of our e-resources to our community of patrons that relies on a combination of metrics including content coverage, usage, patron needs and feedback, and costs. The model is applied to decisions about renewal or cancellation and potential new purchases. This session described the model in detail including an explanation of each metric used, the sources of data for each metric, and the weight each metric carries in the overall decision-making process. It concluded with a discussion of how a similar model may be implemented in other libraries.

Core competencies for print serials librarians

Members of the NASIG Core Competencies Task Force presented their draft “Core Competencies for Print Serials Librarians,” then led a discussion of the document with NASIG conference attendees. The presentation included a brief history of the core competencies and a description of the methodology the Task Force used to conduct the research upon which the draft “Core Competencies for Print Serials Librarians” is based. Discussion with the audience centered on recommendations for improvements to the draft, including the organization of the document, additional coverage of topics such as budgeting, language competencies, the impact of print repositories, and preservation.

Why Can’t Students Get the Sources They Need? Results from a Real Electronic Resources Availability Study

Availability studies are used to estimate the proportion of items in a library collection that are available to users, and the proportion of items in a library collection that are unavailable to users as a result of system and/or human errors. Sanjeet Mann of the Armacost Library at the University of Redlands used a series of availability studies to more accurately understand and troubleshoot the e-resources access errors that keep undergraduate students at the university from obtaining the full text of electronic resources. In this presentation, Mann shared the details of his process, his results, and the implications of those results for improving local search systems as well as a conceptual model of e-resource availability errors based on the results of his research.

Competencies for E-resource Librarians Redux: What Do They Look Like in 2017?

ABSTRACT NASIG published the Core Competencies for E-Resources Librarians in July 2013 after a thorough examination of the qualifications for the position desired by employers and descriptions of e-resources librarian (ERL) jobs as they existed in 2011 and 2012. At the time, the core competencies required of an ERL included some or all of the following: knowledge about the e-resources life-cycle, technology, and research and assessment; effective communication; supervisory and management abilities; currency with trends in relevant fields of knowledge; and a particular set of personal qualities.Given the rapid pace with which the technology used to manage e-resources changes, after five years do the Core Competencies for E-Resources Librarians need revisions? The research presented here aims to answer this question by examining the results of a content analysis of the qualifications sought by ERL employers in job advertisements published in 2016 and comparing them with the qualifications sought by ERL employers in job advertisements published in 2009–2010.

Is What’s “Trending” What’s Worth Purchasing?: Insights From a National Study of Collection Development Librarians

ABSTRACT New forms of data like altmetrics are helping librarians to make smarter decisions about their collections. A recent nationwide study administered to librarians at R1 universities shines light on exactly how these metrics are being applied in academia. This article is based on a presentation from the NASIG 31st Annual Conference. It includes survey results addressing previously unknown rates of technology and metrics uptake among collection development librarians, the most popular citation databases and altmetrics services being used to make decisions, and surprising factors that affect attitudes toward the use of metrics.

Somewhere to Run to, Nowhere to Hide

Stephen Rhind-Tutt of Alexander Street Press described his perspective on historical trends in the information industries, particularly publishing, and extrapolates them to the future. The presentation begins with an examination of the current challenges facing the information industries. This is followed by a definition of technology forecasting and its application to the information industries, showing how the Internet lends itself to particular types of development and the wants and needs of information customers drive change. The likely direction of such change in the information industry is outlined. Members of the industry must choose to embrace and evolve with these changes in order to remain relevant.

Managing Electronic Resources: Contemporary Problems and Emerging Issues edited by Pamela Bluh and Cindy Hepfer. Chicago: Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, American Library Association, 2006. (ALCTS Papers on Library Technical Services and Collections, no.13). 138 p.

There seem to be two types of books about electronic resource management (ERM) being published: how-todo-it manuals, such as Vicki Gregory’s Selecting and Managing Electronic Resources: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians, and compilations of conference presentations on the topic, such as Charleston Conference Proceedings. Managing Electronic Resources: Contemporary Problems and Emerging Issues falls into the latter category, primarily as a compilation of presentations from two ALCTS (Association for Library Collections and Technical Services) symposia held during the 2003 and 2004 American Library Association midwinter meetings. Editors Pamela Bluh and Cindy Hepfer bring together papers prepared by nine symposia presenters and three invited authors. Bluh (associate director for Technical Services and Administration at the University of Maryland School of Law) and Hepfer (head of the Electronic Periodicals Management Department at SUNY Buffalo) have significant experience managing electronic resources as well as good track records as editors. The purpose of this volume is to explore the methods of control libraries are using for electronic resources; to explore the issues and challenges electronic resources present to libraries; and to depict the state of electronic resources management in libraries in 2003–2004. This generally well-organized volume begins with an overview and includes discussions of topics such as the role of integrated library systems and subscription agents, standards, statistics, and preservation in the ERM environment. The first paper, “The Challenges of Electronic Resources Management or a Primer in Tiger Taming,” by Sandy Hurd, director of sales, digital resources at Innovative Interfaces Inc., a company that has become an industry leader in ERM development, offers “a broadbrush” approach to the topic (p. vi). For various reasons, some readers may bristle at Hurd’s comment that librarians have to expand their horizons and become “effective manager[s]” (p. 2). However, anyone who has worked with electronic resources knows that the complexity of the endeavor requires enhanced expertise and a more holistic approach. It takes a village to manage electronic resources—a village of flexible, knowledgeable professionals working together to build and share expertise. To help librarians initiate ERM planning, Hurd presents the key issues as a useful list of questions. She also challenges us to consider the role of integrated library systems and calls out for the new Web-based approaches desired by many library users. Following this overview is a set of three papers that drill deeper into the challenges of electronic resources management. Tim Jewell’s excellent paper on the functionality of ERM systems describes the development of Digital Library Federation’s Electronic Resources Management Initiative (DLF ERMI). Jewell (University of Washington Libraries) is the perfect spokesman since he is one of ERMI’s founders. He describes the principles that should underlie the creation of ERM systems and the tasks these systems should handle. Jewell illuminates the discussion by including screenshots from existing ERM systems, such as MIT’s VERA and UCLA’s ERDb. The 2004 report on the DLF ERM Initiative and more recent news can be accessed at www.diglib.org. Electronic resources present some unique challenges for libraries: multiple manifestations of the same resource, maintenance of volatile URLs, tracking and maintaining electronic holdings, and making resources accessible from within the library as well as remotely. In her contribution, Beth Forrest Warner, director of digital library initiatives at the University of Kansas, asks a critical question: Can integrated library management systems “sufficiently meet the complex management needs of the online resources environment?” (p. 37). Warner summarizes e-resource management requirements and considers functionality issues integrated library systems must address. She rightly concludes that “openness, interoperability, and integration” are critical factors to developing the systems required (p. 42). The next two papers complement and expand on ERM problems and issues raised by Jewell and Warner. Dan Tonkery (EBSCO Information Services) offers a tongue-in-cheek look at the aspects of ERM that frustrate many librarians and explores how working with a subscription agent can ease that frustration. If you are shopping for a subscription agent, turn to this chapter as a starting point for creating a list of the services needed. NormMedeiros (Haverford College) proves he also has a sense of humor by titling his offering “House of Horrors: Exorcising Electronic Resources.” Here he provides a historic perspective by reflecting on the “evolution of the e-journal,” the impact and development of the Web, and the access vs. ownership debate (p. 56) and proposes that consideration of these developments will enhance ERM development efforts. This paper could easily have opened the book. In his discussion of ERM usability, Tim Bucknall (University of North Carolina, Greensboro) cautions librarians to keep the needs of the user foremost in their minds when providing access to electronic resources. Malinowski / Serials Review 34 (2008) 77–83

52.00. ISBN: 0838983669.

Abstract Linda Heichman reviews The Skeptical Business Searcher, Kitti Canepi reviews Fundamentals of Collection Development and Sarah Sutton reviews Building an Electronic Resources Collection. Serials Review 2005; 31:230–235.