The ERMS Value Proposition Norm Medeiros Associate Librarian of the College Haverford College NISO E-Resource Management Forum: The What, Why, and How for Managing E-Resources 24 September 2007 Denver, CO
Notable Moments in the History of Electronic Resources Management 1991: Licensing vs. Fair Use 1995: Publication of Nancy Olson’s Cataloging Internet Resources 1998: Need for ERMS 2001: Jewell’s study; Cornell’s Web Hub 2004: Publication of ERMI Report
Case Study: Tri-College Consortium Needed a place to store administrative metadata; Development of ERTS Workflow challenges; Investigation of commercial ERMS Verde implementation Distributed environment; strong migration to e-resources
Some ERMS Advantages Manage trials process and participant comments Notify end-users of server down issues and other important information Terms clearinghouse; eventual ingestion of encoded licenses Unique Value of ERMS Workflow tracking Collection assessment
Resource Identification Selection License Evaluation / Negotiation Ordering Payment/Prepayment Receiving Access management Usage tracking Renewals/cancellations Excerpted from R2 Consulting’s Agents in Place License Evaluation / Negotiation Usage tracking
ERMS Workflow Status-based: e.g. Under consideration to on order; activation pending to active Date-based trigger: e.g. Trial end date; renewal date Credentialing; Accountability
T T T Linear Workflow
Trial Request Trial Deferred Trial Pending On Trial Under Consideration Purchase Declined Purchase Deferred In Negotiation Decision Pending Purchase Declined Purchase Deferred On Order Activation Pending Active Cancelled (some access) Canceled (no access) Linear Workflow Statuses
Parallel Workflows
Collection Assessment COUNTER Usage Statistics + Cost Data +SUSHI Protocol Automated Cost-per-Use However…
Collection Assessment Package vs. Constituent Cost Few SUSHI-compliant publishers at present Disconnect between annual use and annual cost – see Jonas Holmstrom’s “The Return on Investment of Electronic Journals.” D-LIB Magazine 10:4 (April 2004).
Anderson, Caryn (2006). “Electronic Resource Usage Statistics: Defining a Complex Problem.” Available: (accessed: 14 September 2007) USAGECOSTCITATION ANALYSIS FACULTY INTEREST IMPACT FACTOR Decision Support System
Implementation Challenges Values Knowledge base Effective workflows Staff acceptance
“Accessible information helps to dissolve the mystery surrounding the management of e- resources that exists in many libraries. The work of e-resources management must be seen as integral and mainstream rather than unusual. Improving communications about e-resources management can assist libraries and their staff members in making that transition.” Feather, Celeste (2007). “Electronic Resources Communications Management: A Strategy for Success.” Library Resources & Technical Services 51, no. 3.
ERMS Value Proposition Supplanting ILS as chief business system Increased value over time Rights management for campus digital objects
The ERMS Value Proposition Norm Medeiros Associate Librarian of the College Haverford College NISO E-Resource Management Forum: The What, Why, and How for Managing E-Resources 24 September 2007 Denver, CO