Running Head: ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES 1

Electronic Resources: Changes and Challenges To Collection Management and Access

Sara Linden

Emporia State University

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES 2

Abstract

The increase in electronic resources has created a shift in the way libraries manage and provide

access to their collections. E-books offer their own prospective benefits for the reference

collection and throughout the library, but they also provide a host of drawbacks. E-journals share

similarities with e-books, but they also require special consideration. Electronic materials’

contract negotiation and licensing is complex and has no clear definition in this era because

much has changed about the process. Concerns about the current publishing model foster

frustration and a desire for alternatives. One proposition is the open access method.

Keywords: electronic resources, e-books, e-journals, negotiations, licensing, open access

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES 3

Electronic Resources: Changes and Challenges To Collection Management and Access

The increase in electronic resources has created a shift in the way libraries manage and

provide access to their collections. These changes have not yet solidified, in fact they are still

malleable and librarians have the opportunity to help identify and establish the future shape of

electronically integrated libraries. In many libraries, librarians already must decide which titles to

maintain as print-only, electronic-only, or print-plus-electronic. These librarians use criteria

including “customer focus group feedback, customer acceptance, ease of use, support for

reference services, long-term relevance to the collection, collection space limitations, and per-use

value of physical versus electronic access.” Librarians not yet holding electronically will likely

face these decisions as well (Morris & Larson, 2005). Electronic materials such as e-books and

e-journals have many differing qualities than their hard-copy versions, including negotiating

licenses, contracts and access challenges, just to name a common few.

Changes

First, it is wise to consider these changes at a sociocultural level. Case explains that while

“most trust that the issues surrounding the preservation of digital files will be resolved, the fact

that there will be no physical copies of these electronic resources leaves the library community

vulnerable. No clause in a license guaranteeing perpetual access or any other user rights will help

if the resource suddenly disappears for no matter what reason” (2006). Licensing and contractual

issues will be touched upon in more detail shortly, but suffice it to say that it is prudent for

librarians and resource managers to address this vulnerability as they are able.

Next, Gherman identifies another problem many libraries face in the wake of the

electronic movement, when “users increasingly access our collections remotely, so [libraries] are

at risk of becoming marginalized and perceived as less relevant to the central role” of

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES 4

universities. University members “perceive that they are fulfilling their information needs

without the intervention of the library” (2005). This is problematic and may help to corrode

needed support for libraries and library funding.

Finally, although electronic materials may be an exact electronic copy of a hard-copy

item, there are many ways in which electronic items differ inherently. Morris and Larson explain

that “[i]n the traditional print library, vendors typically included a book jobber, a serials

subscription agent, and a limited number of independent publishers. A digital library utilizes a

wider variety of vendors and service providers to deliver content to customers…[imposing]

complexities for financial tracking and reporting” (2005). Therefore, another change one may

identify is the shift of financial accountability from a grouping of a select few to a wide range of

vendors.

Electronic Books

There are several changes that one may discuss which relate specifically to e-books.

Reference collections are under pressure to move towards digital “to improve accessibility and

expand the collections” (Morris & Larson, 2005). This is not specific only to large libraries; even

within this author’s own small medical library, the reference collection is the section facing the

strongest pressure to digitize. E-books offer their own prospective benefits for the reference

collection and throughout the library, but they also provide a host of drawbacks.

The benefits of e-books are many. Instant updates are handy for the user as well as for the

library’s currency. Publication costs of e-books are lower than for their hard-copy cousins. E-

books take up very little of libraries’ often precious shelf space. Accessibility may be improved

since e-books’ text can be enlarged as needed for low-vision readers. Finally, library users often

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES 5

appreciate the ability to access e-books without having to physically visit the library (Ashcroft &

Watts, 2004).

Drawbacks to e-books are, however, just as numerous. E-book providers have not offered

standardizations, allowing for varied interface designs, “different platforms, different navigation,

different purchasing models and license arrangements” and more (Ashcroft & Watts, 2004;

Morris & Larson, 2005). E-books marginalize those who cannot access the proper user devices.

New resource management procedures must be developed addressing issues such as training to

maximize staff knowledge, procedures to communicate e-book updates to users, and content

extraction approval guidelines deemed appropriate for negotiations with publishers. Lastly, and

as touched upon earlier, consideration regarding the long-term implications of e-books must be

considered (Ashcroft & Watts, 2004).

Electronic Journals

Electronic journals share some similarities with e-books, but of course they are different

materials and require special consideration as well. Early on, e-journals’ “access was typically

arranged through the current print-format aggregator or direct with the publisher. Access

evaluation has evolved into a complex process, comparing such features as available file formats,

print functionality, download/save options, archives availability, and pricing formulas.” Also,

consideration towards “the availability of archive files” and “the forecasting for long-term

viability of the access provider” are further considerations collection developers must consider

when evaluating electronic journals and the changing needs of library users (Morris & Larson,

2005).

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES 6

Contracts and Licensing

Without question, electronic materials’ contract negotiation and licensing is complex and

has no clear definition in this era because much has changed about the process. Morris and

Larson describe how “no one source provides access to all or even the majority of e-journal titles

the library seeks. The library staff needs to negotiate access rights and licensing with a complex

combination of independent societies, small publishers, large publishers, and aggregators.”

Furthermore, they state that acquisition has moved from a process of “straightforward

communications with a limited number of print subscription jobbers to a full negotiations

sequence with multiple access providers with differing interpretations of access rights, licensing

models and pricing formulas” (2005).

Frustrations with a lack of standards and consistency create difficulty in the new

electronic era. License models are varied (for example “print plus an additional percentage for

electronic delivery; multi-site or global surcharges; base content fee plus a percentage for print

and/or electronic delivery; and cost calculated by total [full time employees]”). Further, some

vendors use “complicated formulas based on the total number of subscription copied across the

institution to calculate the price for each print and electronic ‘copy’” while others might “include

a platform fee which can be “flat-fee” or based on the content value or based on [full time

employees].” Navigating these and other issues in an attempt to satisfy the needs of the library

must be no small feat. One last complication in negotiation comes in the form of access

regulations. Aside from defining the terms, the “forms of access restrictions and cancellation

penalties” are also important to understand. Constraints different from earlier, potentially more

well known and established regulations must be negotiated in these dealings with vendors

(Morris & Larson, 2005).

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES 7

Access

Access to electronic materials is an area with little in the way of an established history or

common method; however some generalizations can be made. Once a library gains rights to a

title, “staff determine the best method of electronic access. Titles may be accessed directly at a

publisher’s Web site or through an aggregation vendor.” Aggregators allow for common

functions between the aggregated publisher’s titles, such as searching, however technical support

must be provided by library staff. If titles are accessed through the publishers’ websites, the lack

of standards between sites creates additional problems when staff attempts to troubleshoot users

questions (Morris & Larson, 2005).

New capabilities, such as electronic materials, in addition to the financial realities of

many libraries, have helped to push some libraries away from collection building. By

“[e]mbracing collaboration and access to information…libraries [are moving] away from capital

investment in the future” (Heath & Duffy, 2005). The vicissitudinous nature of electronic

materials’ introduction and establishment in an increasing number of libraries has caused much

intellectual conflict. In recent years, some major research libraries have assessed that “their

obligations to build lasting cultural repositories were being placed at risk by overly concentrating

on information-as-commodity…the information press was filled with the confrontations between

major commercial publishers and universities who were beginning to question the allocation of

such large portions of their tight budgets to access.” North Carolina provosts “observed that the

costs of journal publications had risen 215% over a fifteen-year period where the Consumer

Price Index rose by only 62%...[and] one UNC professor” echoes many others discussing

electronic materials, stating the costs of journal publications “is not sustainable at all. Nobody

can pay for it” (Heath & Duffy, 2005). These concerns foster an environment ripe for frustration

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES 8

and a desire for an alternative. “In growing numbers”, Heath and Duffy describe, “scholars

understand the situation, and are taking aggressive steps to achieve optimal dissemination of

scholarly information…[scholars] need to find, in their own fields, alternatives to the traditional

methods of information exchange in their disciplines” (2005). Naturally, this raises questions,

such as what will take the old method’s place? At this point, one unique proposition is based

upon open access.

What does open access mean, exactly? Ghosh defines it as “the free online availability of

digital content, especially of peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly journal articles and grey

literature such as electronic theses and dissertations, technical reports, project reports, etc. There

are two major open access strategies: self-archiving of e-prints and open access journals” (2009).

Open access is not universally accepted by all in favor of a new system, however, “suggesting it

was built around the economically unsound notion that information is free.” Consultants hired by

the publishing community “envisage a tipping point, where library budgets are directed away

from subscriptions toward publication charges, and once a certain proportion of the knowledge

base becomes accessible in this fashion, libraries could accelerate their cancellation of journals,

and the old paradigm could collapse” (Heath & Duffy, 2005). Librarians’ ability to adapt to the

changes electronic materials offers the “opportunity to be leaders in the open access movement

and…actively [address] their redefined role in the digital world as they [create] a culture of open

access in their respective institutions”, and by doing so, help support one of the “most core of

librarianship’s values, access to information” (Ghosh, 2009).

Open access does bring a certain amount of changes to a library, including “concerns

about the equivalence between institutional repository and journal publishing…reluctance to

modify bureaucratic processes…technophobia…[and the] lack of time to learn how to do

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES 9

something different” (Ghosh, 2009). So, too, the continued challenges of formulating policies

addressing digital preservation, collection management and archiving persist. These issues must

be addressed in the digital age regardless of one’s choice between vendors or open access.

Conclusion

Negotiation, management and access are but three challenges librarians must battle when

choosing electronic materials for their collections. The prevalence of e-materials will prove to

influence libraries and the perceptions surrounding libraries in a substantial way. Information

that one cannot access is barely different that information that does not exist. The hurdles that

libraries and users face when attempting to access electronic information may be high, but the

rewards are sweet. The honing of the librarian’s skill is more important now than ever in order to

assist information seekers towards their goal. It will be interesting to see how librarians will clear

the path to information for future users and trailblazers.

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES 10

References

Ashcroft, L., & Watts, C. (2004). Change implications related to electronic educational

resources. Online Information Review, 28(4), 284-291.

Case, M. M. (2005). A snapshot in time. Journal of Library Administration, 42(2), 87-105.

Gherman, P. M. (2005). Collecting at the edge-Transforming scolarship. Journal of Library

Administration, 42(2), 23-34.

Ghosh, M. (2009). Information professionals in the open access era: The competencies,

challenges and new roles. Information Development, 25(33), 33-42.

Heath, F. M., & Duffy, J. (2005). Collections of record and scholarly communications. Journal

of Library Administration, 42(2), 5-21.

Hunter, K. (2005). Access management. Journal of Library Administration, 42(2), 57-70.

Morris, K., & Larson, B. (2005). Revolution or revelation? Acquisitions for the digital library.

The Acquisitions Librarian, 18(35), 97-105.