1. Content Management of
Electronic Resources: the Library
Perspective
Pamela Bluh
Thurgood Marshall Law Library
University of Maryland
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

2. “Content management is the catch phrase of the
moment and its kin – WCM, EDM, and FCM –
the darlings of technology acronyms. Its
predecessors, document management and
knowledge management along with relative
newcomer, digital asset management, nip at its
heels as it leads the pack as the end-all and do-
all for managing today’s information imperative
and accompanying overload.
But while content management may purport to be
all things to all people, its true power may
actually lie in its flexibility to change shape to fit
each new business problem set before it”
(Econtent, v. 26, no. 5, May 2003, p. 26.)
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

3. •Bibliographic Accuracy
• Evaluate products and minimize overlap between competing
products
• Be aware of publication embargoes, scope and dates of
coverage
• Deal with issues of licensing and copyright
• Track usage statistics
• Be familiar with standards
• Maintain linkages
• Provide security
• Provide hardware and software support
• Juggle budgets
• Supply user support
• Do it all 24/7/365
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

4. How do librarians manage content
in the digital age?
• As Providers: • As Customers:
– We work with – We work with
our patrons to publishers,
offer them the agents and
resources aggregators to
they require obtain the
resources our
patrons require
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

5. We create alphabetical lists of titles
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

6. • We create subject approaches to e-resources
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

7. • We include e-resources in our online
catalogs
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

8. Alternative solutions:
• Management services
• Third-party management systems
• Subscription agent applications
• ILS vendor options
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

9. Management services:
“Readers can benefit from in-depth
analyses and comparative
descriptions regarding pricing
models available,
database/journal coverage,
potential inclusion of local
library’s traditional journal
holdings, server/file loading,
update frequency, e-journal
holdings changes, searching
capabilities, workflow issues,
usage reports, and various
options.” (Michelle Sikto et al., “E-
journal Management Systems: Trends,
Trials, and Trade-offs.” Serials Review, v.
28, no. 3, 2002, p. 176.)
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

10. Management Systems
Web Hub for Developing Administrative
Metadata for Electronic Resource
Management – www..library.cornell.edu/cts/elicensestudy/home/html
GoldRush
HERMES
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

11. Subscription Agents:
• Experience
• Using an Agent
– Managing subscriptions – Convenient
– Dealing with publishers – Cost Effective
– Working with libraries
– Consolidate subscription
details
• Substantial resources – Provides technical support
– Offers a “one-stop-shop”
– Fiscal
– Human
– Technical
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

12. Vendors of Integrated Library Systems
• As a module of an
integrated system or
as a stand-alone
product Electronic Resources
Management Module
• In partnership with an
existing third party
service
Serials Solutions
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

13. Factors to consider:
• Size of the library’s collection and number of
electronic titles offered
• Complexity of the library’s collection & number of
aggregator packages it maintains
• Need for full bibliographic records for every title
• Integration of e-content management with other
library functionality
• Degree of control the library plans to exercise
over the management process
• Expertise of the library staff to deal with
technology
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

14. More factors to consider:
• Usage statistics
• Robust security
• User-friendly
• Handles administrative data
• Viability
• Portability
• Standards-compliant
• Cost
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

15. The Tools are here:
• Standards
• Statistics
• Services
• Systems
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2

16. The Challenge for Libraries:
• To find a way to afford the resources
• To manage them in a way that is
consistent with the desires of our users
and
• within the library’s budget
Society for Scholarly Publishing, Baltimore, MD, May 28, 2