NASIGuide: Electronic Resource Management
by Dalene Hawthorne
March 2005
What is Electronic Resource Management?
Electronic Resource Management (ERM) is a term that refers to the practice of managing data and metadata about electronic resources acquired by libraries.
What information is managed?
Electronic Resource Management systems manage data about:
- e-resource trials
- the process of getting a license agreement negotiated and signed
- the content of the signed license agreement, such as usage restrictions
- the URL of the e-resource
- the location of the license agreement itself or a digital copy
acquisition of the e-resource, such as subscription periods, invoices, and payment information
- contact information with the publisher or vendor
- usage
- access problems
How do libraries use this information?
Libraries use this information:
- to keep track of any ILL or other restrictions
- to provide access to the electronic resource such as through an A-Z list
- to make it easier to review products before purchase
- to claim invoices so that access will be maintained
- to track the process of a license agreement through the negotiation process
- as a database of vendor contacts
- to make it easier to review products before renewal
How is this information managed?
Libraries have used various methods to manage data and metadata about their electronic resources, including paper files, spreadsheets, homegrown databases, and most recently systems created by library automation system vendors.
Why is it important to manage this information?
Electronic resources such as databases and electronic journals comprise some of the library's most visible and expensive investments. Effective management of information about electronic resources can result in improved access, more efficient operations, and better compliance with licensing agreements.
Are there standards for this data?
The Electronic Resource Management Initiative, which was sponsored by the Digital Library Federation published a final report in August 2004 that includes a description of functional system requirements, an entity relationship diagram, a data dictionary, a data structure, and an investigation into an XML data type definition. While further steps are needed to turn these into standards, librarians and vendors have been involved in the process and are using these tools to develop systems. The final report is available at http://www.diglib.org/pubs/dlfermi0408/.
For more information:
Website
Adam Chandler and Tim Jewell, "A Web Hub for Developing Administrative Metadata for Electronic Resource Management." http://www.library.cornell.edu/cts/elicensestudy/home.html
Articles
Hawthorne, Dalene. (2003) "Administrative Metadata to Support the Acquisition of Continuing E-Resources." Serials Review, 29(4): 276-281.
Henning, Nicole. (2002) "Improving Access to E-journals and Databases at the MIT Libraries: Building a Database-Backed Web Site Called 'Vera.'" The Serials Librarian, 41(3): 227-254.
Jewell, Timothy D. (2001) "Selection and Presentation of Commercially Available Electronic Resources: Issues and Practices." Washington, DC: Digital Library Federation and Council on Library and Information Resources.
Medeiros, Norm.; Bills, Linda.; Blatchley, Jeremy.; Pascale, Christee.; Weir, Barbara. (2003) "Management Administrative Metadata: The Tri-College Consortium's Electronic Resources Tracking System (ERTS)." Library Resources and Technical Services 47(1): 28-35.
