Email, electronic folders, proprietary databases and even Post-it notes…these are some of the tools identified in a recent round-table discussion with Janet Crum of Oregon Health Sciences University, Diane Grover of University of Washington and Rae Ann Stahl of San Jose State University when describing how their libraries used to track and manage their growing number of electronic resources. Today these academic libraries get a helping hand from Millennium Electronic Resource Management (ERM).
University of Washington
“January 2nd used to be a dreaded day to come to work,” remembers Diane Grover of University of Washington. “That’s because so many database subscription renewals happen after the first of the year.” With Millennium ERM now firmly in place to help manage these renewal cycles, she estimates her library has been able to reduce coverage gaps by about 90%.
Diane cites the use of Millennium ERM Tickler alerts, an automated program that reminds her staff of important dates associated with ERM Resource and License records, as a key factor in being able to manage the growing number of subscription trials, review periods, activations and contracts.
San Jose State University (CA)
Rae Ann Stahl of San Jose State University agrees that keeping track of subscriptions is one of the functions that Millennium ERM does best, noting the benefits in tracking the increasing number of trial databases that they evaluate on an ongoing basis. “I don’t think anything falls through the cracks,” Stahl adds.
Oregon Health Sciences University
For Janet Crum at Oregon Health Sciences University, centralized electronic resource license records in Millennium ERM means that her staff – even those who telecommute from outside the campus – can quickly determine titles and holdings access rights for campus and inter-library loan patrons.
We covered a lot more ground in this discussion about the value of Millennium ERM – workflow strategies, usage statistics, collection development, etc. – and what benefits this product provides for both library staff and patrons.
Janet, Diane, Rae Ann and I will re-convene to discuss this topic at the upcoming Innovative Users Group (IUG) Conference in Anaheim, CA (May 17-20, 2009). If you’re an Innovative Interfaces customer and plan to attend this conference, our presentation “Electronic Resource Management Systems: Where is the Value” will be held on Tuesday May 19th from 4:30pm to 5:30pm (Session L11).
Are you a Millennium ERM library with a story to tell, too? Please drop us a Post-it note or, better yet, leave a comment!
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