JISC Collection’s Experience With ERMs

1. JISC Collection’s Experience With ERMs ERMs: What went wrong? Liam Earney JISC Collections

2. Introduction • Why did we want an ERM system? • Expectations • Reality • Why did it go wrong? • What now?

3. Why we wanted to get an ERM • Autumn 2006 – workshops with librarians – machine readable licences for library systems given as number one concern • Manage an ever increasing number of agreements • Communicate information to member institutions – de-duplication of effort • New and exciting – blinded by the hype??? • Usage stats • Consortia • Ex Libris’ Verde selected after tender process

4. Expectations Provide JISC Collections with a system for the management of license agreements, related administrative information, and the internal processes associated with licensed electronic resources, allow the communication of such information to other ERMs at UK Universities, Colleges and Research Councils. Provide an outward facing user interface to enable all library and information staff at all UK higher and further education institutions and research councils to view information on electronic resources in the JISC Collections portfolio.

5. Expectations 1 Meet and where necessary extend the DLF ERMI requirements for an ERMS, with special attention to the need of the JISC Collections ERM to support a consortium environment

6. Expectations • Tender required compliance with the following: • Knowledge Base – comprehensive and granular information • ONIX – Publishers Licence – to allow JISC Collections to provide members with a COMPLETE expression of the licences it agrees • SUSHI – wanted to harvest usage stats from publishers and present to our members – interested in the opportunities to • Access Management information – beyond IP! • Machine to machine communication • Ability to upload information • Reporting facility • The intention to was reduce the administrative burden on JISC Collections and its members

7. Tomorrow is always a day away • Even at tender stage it was clear that ERMs didn’t offer everything we wanted – but promises made… • No ONIX-PL • No SUSHI • Couldn’t find key resources in Knowledge Base • Difficult to use – language, interface • Not suitable for a consortium

8. Where did it go wrong? • Should we have said no when we got the tender responses? • Training sessions – • Is it me or Verde? • Lack of follow up from Ex Libris – • ERMs didn’t take off – few members had one, and where they did they weren’t implementing BUT… • Needed dedicated staff • Needed time • Could we have got more out of it had we dedicated more time to it?

9. Reasons for optimism? • Unified Resource Management – Ex Libris white paper on ‘next generation’ electronic resource management • Recognises that institutions have an interest in a wide variety of materials • Print, online, free, licensed etc etc • Recognises that the services an institution requires may be delivered by other means other than a monolithic platform • Ability to integrate with other services • Growing desire on part of JISC Collections members for electronic resource management to be managed so centrally • ERMs the right idea, just the wrong time – level of implementation

10. Thank you