Implementing ERM System, What We Expect from It?

Advanced Digital Library Seminar

Guilin, China 2007Canchuan Li cli@brandeis.edu

Content

• Development of ERM System

• Digital Library Federation ERM Initiative

• Example of ERM System

• What We Expect from ERMS?

Why We Need ERM System?• Amazing growth of electronic collections• Increasingly central role that these collections play in libraries• Large budgets that are involved in their acquisition• Endless variation in the packages offered by the hundreds of

players in the market• Frequent changes in business models• Electronic resources have become the major collections in

libraries• Current ILS is not capable of supporting e-resources acquisition

and management• Strong demand from users for e-resources• Increasingly complex challenges for librarians to manage e-

resources

Efforts to Create ERM System• Academic Libraries Pennsylvania State University (ERLIC Electronic Resources Licensing and

Information Center) using Microsoft Access to track the status of orders and to anticipate renewals in 1998

MIT Libraries’ VERA (Virtual Electronic Resource Access in 1999) a FileMaker Pro based database that provides an easy interface with essential descriptive and user information readily available, a license tracking system, and ease of maintenance and other functionality. Provides clear, iconographic links to information for users.

Boston College’s ERM System (ERMdb) a web-based system written in PERL, using a MySQL database running on a Linux server. It is based on the DLF functional requirements and data structures. There are two interfaces to the database: one which allows updating of the records and one which allows only searching and viewing of data. There is also a Crystal Reports interface which allows for viewing and exporting of reports in Excel, Word and PDF formats. The system integrates SFX and MetaLib data, as well as bibliographic and acquisitions data from its Ex Libris’ ILS Aleph system.

• Other universities’ efforts include Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, Emory University, MIT, University of Georgia, etc.

Efforts to Create ERM SystemCommercial Vendors

• Innovative ERM System• Controls subscription and licensing information for e-journals, abstracting and

indexing databases, and full-text databases, tracks the cost, access restrictions, resource links, management notices, holdings data, contract information, printing permissions, registered IP addresses, contracts/licenses, negotiation details, access methods, and other information.

• Displays information about electronic resources in Innovative’s Web OPAC

-- for public services staff: WebBridge Links, Journal Holdings Statements, Access URLs, License Details (printing permissions, ILL policies, access provider content information)

-- for patrons: Access Restrictions, System Availability Notifications, Printing Permissions, Journal Holdings Statements, Access URLs

Efforts to Create ERM SystemCommercial Vendors

Serials Solutions’ ERMS 360 Resource Manager

• Gain control over the selection, acquisition, and usage of electronic resources

• Manage the e-resource lifecycle

• Consolidate management of e-resources in one place

• Streamline acquisition and licensing workflows

• Analyze collection

Efforts to Create ERM SystemCommercial Vendors

• Ex Libris’ Verde

Design based on DLF ERMI’s functional requirements, the core of the Verde data model is the e-product, which comes in two forms: an e-interface combined with a stand-alone entity and a e-interface combined with an e-package and e-constituents. Additional entities that are related to the e-product include licensing, acquisitions, administration, cost, usage, and more.

• VTLS Verify (standalone)• Horizon, Sirsi (integrated ILS modules).

DLF ERM Initiativehttp://www.diglib.org/standards/dlf-erm02.htm

• In August 2004, the Digital Library Federation published its final report, entitled the “Electronic Resource Management: Report of the DLF ERM Initiative”, which includes an Executive Summary, the Report itself, and 6 Appendixes.

DLF Identified Functionality

• 1. Descriptive bibliographic data

• 2. Licensing details

• 3. Financial information

• 4. Order status information

• 5. Administrative/technical activities

• 6. Support information

• 7. Usage statistics

DLF Appendix A-F

• A: Functional Requirements (a specification of approximately 47 functional requirements for ERM systems)

• B: Workflow Diagram (a workflow diagram emphasizing the difference between print and e-resource work processes)

• C: Entity Relationship Diagram for Electronic Resource Management (an entity-relationship model mapping the relationships

between data fields)

• D: Data Element Dictionary (A data dictionary identifying and standardizing terms and data fields)

• E: Electronic Resources Management System Data Structure• F: XML Investigation (A formal recommendation for the development of a new

metadata schema to support ERM data exchange, based upon the report’s data dictionary)

DLF Functional Requirements for ERM

• A ERMS with these requirements should support management of the information and workflows necessary to efficiently select, evaluate, acquire, maintain, and provide access to e-resources in accordance with their business and license terms, support the service requirements of e-resources while building on existing investments in library technology, through seamless interaction and efficient sharing of data with traditional MARC-based online catalogs, web portals, federated searching tools, local resolution services, local authentication and access-management systems, and traditional library-management functions.

• -- From DLF Appendix A --

DLF Functional Requirements for ERM

• There are 47 requirements included in DLR Appendix A:

• General (4 requirements)• Resource Discovery (7 requirements)• Bibliographic Management (2 requirements)• Access Management (5 requirements)• Staff Requirements (29 requirements) General Interface Requirements (4)

Selection and Evaluation Processes (9) Resource Administration and Management (11) Business Functions (5)

General Requirements

• 1. Identify what bibliographic entitles (electronic and print) are covered by or provided through a given license, set of business terms, package, or online interface platform;

• 2. Associate the characteristics of a given license, set of business terms, package, or interface with all the bibliographic entities (electronic and print) to which they apply;

• 3. Offer security features to control staff views and maintenance rights;

• 4. Perform ad hoc queries and generate reports across a broad range of fields and table values.

Resource-Discovery Requirements

• ERMS should include a user interface that is able to capture appropriate data in other systems or to share its information with elements in other supported systems to create unified user displays.

• Make resources available through or pass on information about resources to OPACs and Web-presentation services using traditional resource discovery methods. Such as search by author, title, subject, keywords, etc.

• Support locally defined descriptive data, offer advisory notices such as planned downtime, resource unavailable, etc.

• Provide relevant license information to the user at the point of access.

Bibliographic Management Requirements

• Updates in one system should be automatically reflected in corresponding systems

• Loading of data from external systems also need to be supported.

Access-Management Requirements

• Management of access-related information, such as user ID/passwords, institutional IP address;

• Integrate proxy server/access management with other functionality;

• Store lists of IP addresses used to register access to specific resources and provide automated e-mail notification to online providers when IP addresses are updated;

• Store one or more user IDs and passwords and provide the ability to generate secure screen displays of this information for authorized users and staff, with associated text or for JavaScript autosubmission;

• Implement access restrictions.

Staff Requirements: staff interface

• ERMS requires a staff interface that enables library staff to efficiently carry out the work such as resource acquisition, troubleshooting, license administration, or administration and statistics. Through this interface, staff should be able to:

1. Search, browse, and retrieve records by attributes unique to e-resources, such as

license, vendor, interface, record status, licensed site, consortium, and library

selector or other local contact individual;

2. View the full range of information appropriate to the staff member’s security

profile and functional role;

3. To the extent possible, link to other relevant information stored in library

management systems, portals, or related systems;

4. View records that are hidden from the public.

Staff Requirements: selection and evaluation process

• During the selection and evaluation process, it is necessary for a decentralized group of individuals to coordinate a complex and iterative series of steps. The ERMS should provide support for recording actions at each of these steps:

• Build request record for trial;• Flag resource as trial;• Notify interested parties that trial is live and provide the access instructions and

expiration date;• Allow staff to access the trial via stored URL;• Send reminder to those notified of a trial that expiration date is near• Record opinions of key players and final purchase decision;• Prompt licensing/acquisitions contact to report purchase decision;

• For resources that are approved for purchase, additional statuses and actions would be

required, including notify licensing contact, access contact, cataloging, etc.

Staff Requirements: resource administration and management functions

• Activities required to fulfill license obligations and to administer and support resources that have been acquired include:

• Store license rights and terms for reference, reporting, and control of services;

• Ability to display or link to an online version of a license agreement;• Manage the library’s archival rights in electronic content;• Support the administration of e-resources;• Support library instructional activities;• Support management of and access to usage statistics;• Support the troubleshooting of access and performance-related

problems;• Facilitate communication with vendors.

Staff Requirements: business functions

• Make complex business information available to staff, such as pricing model, license agreement, restrictions on cancellation, etc.

• Facilitate the acquisitions process, such as fund accounting, ordering, invoice payment, cost sharing among departments, etc.

• Facilitate cooperation with consortial partners in a license agreement.

• Facilitate the renewal process, such as recording the expiration date, renewal action, generating reports, etc.

• Facilitate termination actions and decisions, such as recording termination information, archiving licensing information, etc.

Status of Verde Version 2 is available -- major features

from Ex Libris Ted Koppel’s presentation

• Roles Based Authentication and Tasks

• Workflow Management

• Verde Tasks and Alerting

• Copy and Paste

• License Attachment Uploads

• Multi-instance searching

• Reports and Batch Task scheduling

• Local product Wizard

• Incident and Breach Logging

Add User details

User role selector

Profile creator

User record shows user’s profile(s)

Permissions – what you have authority to do

Review: Roles, Profiles, and Permissions

• Roles: High Level functions that you are assigned (License Manager, Webmaster, Reports person). Used by Workflow Alerts to notify appropriate staff

• Permissions: Specific tasks/duties that you have permission to perform (given by your administrator)

• Profiles: Groups of permissions (arbitrarily) bunched together and used by administrator to save time

Trial record

Workflow records created

License screen

Upload an attachment to the license

• Any level e-product record

• Multiple documents can be stored per record

• .DOC, .XLS, .PDF and similar file types

• Stored as part of Unix/Linux file system

Verde KnowledgeBase search

Breaches/Incidents

Verde version 3: New Features

• Multiple-variable search function, save search strategies, CJK search, sort and display functionality

• Consortial enhancements cross-consortium workflows

• Data warehousing for usage & cost statistics including vertical & horizontal analysis, retrieval using SUSHI, enhanced cost calculations

• SFX-Verde convergence, knowledgebase single platform for SFX/Verde services & Management.

Innovative ERM SystemUniversity of New Hampshire

• Purchased in July 2005

• Record definitions completed in May 2006

• Record creation begun in January 2007

• Use of “life cycle” to reconstruct local workflow and responsibilities

• Adaptation of DLF ERMI record structure and field content definitions to suit local needs.

• Still working for the further enhancements

Innovative ERM System

• III’s ERM module has 3 new record types: Resource Record, License Record, Contact Record.

• Record contents very flexible, but with some restrictions

Innovative ERM SystemFields of Sample Resource Record

• Date fields can generate email notices to designated recipients, to initiate specific action

• Access confirmation/Access note

• Resource advisory (can appear in OPAC)

• Local contact (for reporting problems), User support line (help desk numbers)

• Administration & Statistics sites

• Subjects

Innovative ERM SystemFields of Sample License Record

• Concurrent users• Date fields (Licensee sign date, Contract start/end)• Location of license• Permissions, Restrictions• Archiving & Perpetual access notes• Possibility to attach multiple licenses to one

Resource Record, Expired/renegotiated, Trial/formal subscription, Central campus/branch/satellite campus

Innovative ERM SystemUniversity of New Hampshire development

• OPAC display of designated fields (permissions, etc.)• Coverage load (holdings data from Serials Solutions for

aggregators)• Statistics centralized• Subject access terms for databases• Expanded copyright web page, with links from A-Z and

database lists• Use for non-electronic resources, video, microforms, CD-

ROM• Wiki to track procedures, troubleshooting directions for

access problems

Innovative ERMS Key Features• Manage licensing and purchasing details in a single interface• Provide additional fields for storage of relevant data• Seamlessly integrate license data with the optional acquisitions

module• Define relationships between aggregators or publishers and the

resources they provide• Display payments and other financial and subscription details• Set email alerts when subscriptions or trials are up for renewal or

review• Display enhanced record relationships reflecting vendor to database to

electronic/print title relationships• Restrict viewing and editing of license and resource data to the

appropriate levels of staff using fieFldF• Develop SUSHI 1.0 compatible, collection analysis, reporting cost per

usage in the new version

360 Resource Manager Features

• Contact Manager: manage local, vendor & consortia contacts

• Resource Manager: keep track of acquisition notes, outage reports, license breaches and other notes about a resource

• License Manager: maintain details about resource licenses and terms of use

• Menu Manager: customize the administrative interface to reflect local needs

• Terms of Use Display: display terms of use about a resource within the E-Journal Portal and Article Linker

• Resource Status: keep track of a resource’s subscription status

360 Resource Manager Features

• Subscription Metadata: manage renewal dates and administrative/end-user logins & passwords

• Acquisition Workflow: track the acquisition workflow using custom steps and actions

• Usage Stats Benchmarking: compare local resource use to that of peer institutions

• Vendor Stats Manager: manage access and collection for vendor usage statistics

• E-Journal Portal: access your e-resources through a library-branded and customizable interface

360 Resource Manager Features

• A-Z Title List: browse or search for e-journals through the single comprehensive list of titles

• Subject Browsing: browse by subject using more than 700 subject headings

• Journal Linker: deliver journal-level linking from A&I databases

• Data Files: populate database systems with the most up-to-date e-journal metadata

• Search Statistics: track e-journal searching behavior

• Click-through Statistics: get a count of how often patrons use your journals and databases

360 Resource Manager Features• Overlap Analysis: identify overlapping coverage with a collection of

databases and discover which databases deliver the most (or least) value to your collection

• e-Catalog: find any journal in any database whether you subscribe to it or not

• Proxy Management: support off-campus access to e-resources

• Custom Metadata: modify holdings data with local information to ensure accuracy

• Custom Notes: add a custom note to a holding, title or database

• Account Management: ensure only authorized staff can view and edit your data

• Manage Non-Journal Resources: manage and deliver access to non-journal resources, i.e. A&I databases

Serials Solutions’ ERM Systemmanage the life-cycle

Life Cycle Stage

• Discover – via E-CATALOG to find and use resources that are often overlooked, What journals do I have in a given subject area?

• Pre-Acquisition Evaluation – via OVERLAP ANALYSIS to show unique titles gained by adding a package, What kind of use can a library expect from a database?

• Trial – via RESOURCE REPORT MANAGER & ACQUISITION WORKFLOW MANAGER to add a resource as a trial, Record feedback from trial participants.

• Reject or Acquire – via LICENSE MANAGER, SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER, CONTACT MANAGER, RESOURCE REPORT MANAGER to record acquisition decision and notes, record terms of use and resource license data, add subscription details to resource record, who is the vendor contact?

Life Cycle Stage• Customize – via CUSTOM NOTES, LIBRARY DATA to add a

custom note to a holding to let users know they need a login/password for access, Set special embargo dates.

• Access – via PROXY MANAGEMENT, EJ PORTAL, OpenURL RESOLVER, MARC RECORDS to integrate proxy URLs into library resources, The resources we maintain in our library’s knowledge base must integrate directly with our patron-facing resource discovery tools.

• Post-Acquisition Evaluation – via CLICK-THROUGH STATISTICS, SEARCH STATISTICS BENCHMARKING to know how many times did patrons click through to the resource? Which subjects are used most when browsing for journals? How does our use of a database compare to peer institutions?

• Manager – via DATA MANAGEMENT HOME to have a single place to manage electronic resource data, Library staff wants to know at a glance which resources are available and their status.

What We Expect from ERMS?

• Discover the bibliographic entities

via user interface to access knowledgebase which should include Publishers, Distributors, Aggregators, Producers, Licensors’ warehouse, E-packages (journals and books), Individuals; include the ability to link or work with other system/knowledgebase; as well as locally-added capability.

What We Expect from ERMS?

• Pre-Acquisition Evaluation:

via staff interface to provide support to select or evaluate e-resources, such as product trial set up and management, notification of new product, licensing processing, if there is trial license required, supply authentication info (IP addresses) to provider, Record administrative information: contact, problem, procedures, etc., Gather and consider trial feedback, etc.

What We Expect from ERMS?

• Proceed to acquire / reject

• If acquire, basic acquisition activities associated with LIS system acquisition module, initiate licensing process if license is required, Plan technical implementation,

• Tackle business issues: price and payment terms, interface, archiving, reliability, etc., If business terms are acceptable, order/registration process to make it available for public.

What We Expect from ERMS?

• Access Implementation : manage access-related information, such as URIs, user IDs and passwords, and lists of institutional or individual authorized in-library units IP addresses, support proxy servers, ability to communicate with or export to local systems.

What We Expect from ERMS?

• Post-Acquisition Evaluation: Usage data capture locally as well as schedule periodic request for usage data from vendor side. Record performance information about the product, cost per use, generating reports with specified feature, communication with vendors, etc.

What We Expect from ERMS?

• Administration and Management: Make license rights and terms for reference, reporting, and control of services, such as ILL, reserves, distance learning, etc. Display or link to an online version of a license agreement, alert license duration and renewal, manage the library’s archival rights in electronic content. Provide a single place to manage electronic resources data, such as administrative data and associated notes, etc.

Questions?

Canchuan Li

cli@brandeis.edu

August 16, 2007