2. Preparation is Key: Lessons Learned from an ERMS Implementation Todd Enoch Head, Serials and Electronic Resources University of North Texas Libraries

3. ABOUT UNT Student-focused public research university 97 bachelor's, 88 master's and 40 doctoral degree programs 29,486 FTE 4 publicly accessible library buildings 2 remote storage facilities

4. ERMS at UNT Electronic Resource Database (ERDB) Homegrown ERMS Order, Contract, and Item records Generated stable resource URLs Allowed uploading of relevant documents

5. PROBLEMS WITH ERDB Turnover in programmers Difficulty in upgrading and customization Problems with ejournal and ebook portions No way to share data with other systems (ILS, Knowledgebase)

6. SEARCH FOR ERMS Began investigating ERMS products in Nov 2011 Recommended purchase of III ERM Module Planned implementation visit mid-June 2012

7. BUDGET CUTS $1 million Became $1.2 million Process lasted from Dec. 2011 – Aug. 2012

8. ERDB CRASHES Mid-Feb 2012, ERDB server suffered catastrophic collapse Only LIB-TACO can edit public facing information Unable to access staff side

9. WHAT DID WE DO TO PREPARE? Attended presentations/panels on ERMS implementations Conference call with III implementer Provided data files to III for pre-processing

10. IMPLEMENTATION WEEK Day 1 Resource Record Creation Contact Record Creation Template Creation Day 2 Resource Record editing Contact Record Creation Coverage Load Day 3 Coverage Load continuation Web Customization

11. HOW DID IT GO? Stressfully Technical difficulties Lack of formal decisions beforehand Clashing expectations A (qualified) success

12. WHAT LESSONS DID WE LEARN?

13. Discuss Your Philosophy Why are you implementing an ERM? What material should be included? Should your focus be broad or narrow?

14. Identify Your Needs Staff needs Workflow Customizable fields Patron needs What do you think they need to see? What do they think they need to see?

15. Do Your Homework Read the documentation Read it again Review articles, conference notes, etc.

16. Determine Your Terminology Resource description Subject headings Public field names

17. Optimize Your Implementation Time Compile list of questions Utilize your staff

18. Be Aware You’re Unprepared

19. Questions? Todd.Enoch@unt.edu For more about our programs, collections, and initiatives, visit www.library.unt.edu Thank you!