Reflections of ERM terms

I appreciated the fact that we started our class discussion with the core competencies for electronic resources librarians, the Wikipedia definition of Electronic resource management and then we progressed to the information in the readings. In our group, we discussed the six terms below from the Emery’s article (page 6) at length.

• ·         Investigating new content for purchase

• ·         Acquiring new content

• ·         Implementation

• ·         Ongoing evaluation and access

• ·         Annual review

• ·         Cancellation and replacement review

One colleague spoke specifically about how his library acquires new content and then advertises or markets the material so the teachers and students know what new items are available.  We also talked about licensing, and negotiating with vendors for the best deals for the library. It was interesting that some of the issues we discussed in our group, Galadriel also dealt with in her talk. Galadriel believes librarians should have a good understanding of their patrons and how they use library resources. She also made a strong point about negotiating with vendors for the best products and fair prices. While the attorney general in Connecticut has the final say of licensing, librarians have a lot of power because they can decide where they spend their money. Librarians must speak up and be assertive regarding asking for better prices. Librarians must be professional and let know vendors know what they expect.