Techniques for Electronic Resource Management

Library Technology Reports February/March 2013 vol.49 / no.2 Two decades after the advent of electronic journals and databases, librarians are still grappling with ways to best manage these resources in conjunction with their print resources. In addition, economic pressures at many institutions of higher education are resulting in librarians having to justify their spending on collections and resource management. Furthermore, e-books are becoming yet another stream of purchasing and management, with the added complexity of patron-driven acquisitions. All of these issues result in the need to codify the management of electronic resources more than ever. Techniques in Electronic Resource Management (TERMS) is a project to encourage open peer commentary and crowdsourcing of areas of best practice for each of the six stages of the e-resources life cycle: 1. investigation of new content for purchase or addition 2. acquisition of new content 3. implementation 4. ongoing evaluation and access 5. annual review 6. cancellation and replacement review This issue of Library Technology Reports aims to become a reference point for those who are new to e-resource management and for those who may want to implement its recommendations of best practice.