Summary of Chapter 5

Chapter 5, “Ongoing Evaluation and Access” explains how the cycle of electronic resources begins in a library and how user evaluation takes significantly longer to take effect than library patrons may realize. Some resources can take as long as a year to start receiving positive feedback and the “arc of usage and user behavior” for such resources “is not fully realized until the third year of activity.” Such resources should be evaluated by an ERM librarian, in order to determine whether a new resource is accessible, or not.

ERM librarians should create a local evaluation model for new resources. At this point, Chapter 5 addresses librarian use of COUNTER data, ISI Impact Factors, Eigenfactor score, and USKG. Unfortunately, I am not completely familiar with these terms and would need to read more about these methods and statistics in order to understand these terms.

Chapter 5 suggests librarians go straight to the source by asking their users about the use of electronic resources. Librarians are encouraged to ask whether patrons needs are being met by the library’s current electronic resource collection and whether there are resources patrons might need. I think this seems like a direct way to find out more about user needs and something that should be happening in all aspects of collection development. The article suggests using a program called LibQUAL+ to add structure to any user-driven survey.

In addition to tracking content coverage and addressing user needs, this article gives information on tracking “downtime and availability.” Tracking downtime and availability is essential to measuring the dependability of each electronic resource. The article recommends saving email alerts relating to downtime and access problems. Tally these findings annually is vital to the success of an ERM librarian.

Finally, this article suggests keeping an open dialogue with the vendor to ensure consistent coverage and operation of any electronic resources. 

-E. Anthony