Electronic Resources Collection Development Policy

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Policies & Guidelines

Collection Development

Electronic Resources Collection Development Policy

Introduction
The library provides a collection of materials in various electronic formats, to the extent that technological and financial resources allow. As with other formats in the library's collection, the goal is to acquire materials that support the curriculum and research goals of the university community, which consists primarily of the faculty and students of the university. The electronic resource needs of corporations in partnership with UNO, faculty and students at other schools and universities, and the general public, are of secondary consideration in selection decisions. All members of the larger community are permitted to use the library's electronic resources, insofar as license restrictions permit.

Overview
The library bases its decisions to acquire materials in electronic format on a number of criteria. First, the subject of the material is taken into consideration. The library attempts to provide a wide range of electronic resources that can be used for research of a general nature, including databases offering the full-text of newspapers and general interest periodicals. The library also offers single subject electronic resources which are more oriented to a single subject, and which are therefore appropriate to more in-depth research. Second, the format of the electronic resource, including CD-ROM and web-accessible subscriptions, is taken into consideration. All available formats are considered. The decision to purchase a product is based on the library's ability (and in some cases, the university's ability) to support the format and the library's needs. Finally, the method of purchase is taken into consideration. In general, the library prefers to maintain a subscription to electronic resources if at all possible, so we may be assured of obtaining updates to the information. Publishers offer the purchase of electronic resources for direct ownership, meaning the library is able to maintain the resource, or for lease, meaning the library is required to return or destroy the materials if it is decided to discontinue the lease. Lease arrangements are discouraged.
The library has the option of purchasing electronic materials as a single institution or as a member of a consortium. The library is an active member of the LALINC (Louisiana Academic Library Information Network Consortium) and SOLINET (Southeastern Library Network) consortia, and as such it is able to seek out the cost saving benefits of shared access to materials. Through the LOUIS consortium, the library shares a number of periodical indexes, online library catalogs, and full-text databases. The LOUIS consortium members are able to voice their preferences toward selection of the electronic materials made available. Through SOLINET, the library is able to obtain discounts for print and electronic periodicals. The library continues to seek out mutually beneficial relationships with additional consortia.

Selection of Materials
Monograph or serial subscription budget allocations may be used for electronic resources, depending on the nature of the material. Initial identification of electronic resources can originate from any of the bibliographers or the Electronic Resources Librarian. Final selection decisions about electronic resources must occur in consultation with the Electronic Resources Librarian.

Subject specific resources may be purchased with departmental allocations. Each bibliographer is responsible for identifying and selecting electronic resources purchased with department funds.
Reference resources that are subject specific may be purchased with reference funds. The subject bibliographers are responsible for identifying possible resources within their subject area, and, if reference funds are used, selection should occur with consultation from the reference librarians and other bibliographers. Final decisions for reference budget expenditures rest with the Chair of Reference Services.
Reference resources that are not subject specific will be purchased with reference funds. The Chair of Reference Services is responsible for identifying possible resources, and selection should occur with consultation from the reference librarians and other bibliographers. Final decisions for reference budget expenditures rest with the Chair of Reference Services.

The Library will strive to always have representation on LALINC resource selection committees. The representatives should be from the appropriate departments. Other consortial purchases should be facilitated by the appropriate subject bibliographer or by the Chair of Reference Services, with consultation from the Electronic Resources Librarian, the Collection Management Librarian and the bibliographers.

Selection Criteria
Bibliographers should consider the following criteria when selecting electronic resources:

A. User Needs
As with all of the library's collections, meeting the research and curricular needs of the university's students and faculty is the primary focus. In order to better serve these needs, suggestions from user groups will be considered, and whenever possible the library will consult in advance with those most likely to use a particular resource. The library will attempt to include primary users in the evaluation of a resource by encouraging them to participate in free trials set up by the library. The final selection decisions will be made by librarians, taking into account the input of users, as well as the many additional factors outlined in this document.

B. Subject Coverage
The library seeks to develop the electronic collection in several ways. First, broad-based resources are purchased, each of which includes a wide variety of disciplines (e.g., IAC Searchbank, Academic Universe, FirstSearch, JSTOR). Second, an array of more narrowly focused resources is purchased, so that as many disciplines as possible get the added advantage of greater depth of coverage. And third, the library selects disciplines that have a greater concentration of library users and attempts to build areas of critical mass. In other words, in these areas a more comprehensive range of resources is made available, with the presumption that, as the depth and breadth of coverage increases, the level of usefulness increases, and consequently the level of use increases. As the electronic collection matures, the library hopes to build as many areas of critical mass as the budget will allow.

C. Duplication of resources

Duplication of Coverage (databases)
The library seeks to limit duplication of coverage when purchasing databases, though even in print indexes some overlap of content is unavoidable. The library will avoid situations in which a significant level of duplication produces only a small increase in coverage.
Duplication of Titles
When the same title is available in both print and electronic formats, the library will choose the format that offers the greater degree of usability and access relative to price. At least one of the following conditions must be present to consider subscribing to or purchasing both the electronic and print versions of the same title:
- each format offers unique but equally important features (For example, though the electronic indexing of the Wall Street Journal Index offers increased functionality for most purposes, the printed version of the index includes material (annual compilations of business statistics) not available in the online databases, thereby justifying a separate print subscription.
- the electronic version does not guarantee archival access (see Section F, below)
- a significant financial incentive is offered to do so
Inclusion of a particular journal title in a full-text database (e.g., Infotrac) is not considered equivalent to an actual electronic subscription to the title and would therefore not automatically serve as the basis for cancellation or rejection of consideration of a print version.

D. Cost
As the prices of electronic resources are generally higher than most monographs and subscriptions, the costs of electronic products must be considered carefully.

Consortial purchase of a product should always be investigated to take advantage of cost sharing. Selectors should determine if the product is available through SOLINET or if subgroups of LOUIS libraries are interested in a shared purchase.
As there is generally an increase in price from print to electronic format, the increase in functionality and accessibility of the electronic product should be worth the increase in price.
Similarly, as there is generally an increase in price from CD-ROM to web format, the increase in functionality and accessibility of the web-based product should be worth the increase in price.
Since costs of materials may vary greatly between subject areas, cost should not be the only factor in purchasing decisions.
Selectors should be aware of any additional hidden costs for required hardware or software.

E. Ease of Use
It is important that electronic products be designed for both ease of use and maximum functionality. Patrons should be able to easily identify what the product is and how to use it. Help screens should be available and should be easy to use and understand. The functions of searching, displaying, saving, and printing should be self-evident and uncomplicated. Selectors should also consider the amount of instruction the product would require for both staff and patrons. Ease of use, however, should not compromise functionality. Search engines should be accurate, thorough and consistent. Standard features should include keyword searching and the use of Boolean operators.

F. Technical Considerations
Technical considerations should be included as part of the review process in selection. The bibliographer should take into account a number of technical issues in determining the quality and the usability of the product. The following selection criteria apply to all electronic resource selections:

The reputation of the creator of the product should be considered. Recommendations from other institutions should be solicited to determine the integrity and reliability of the product.
Technical support should be available for all products; a lack of technical support may be an indication of an inferior product.
Print and save functions should be available and easy to use.

Web accessed products have technical criteria specific to their delivery method. The following technical criteria should be considered when selecting web-based electronic materials:

The reliability of server is very important, and is a common problem with many products. Bibliographers should ask the vendor about server reliability. Questions to ask include: how often is the server down, when do server problems generally occur, how long do they last, and what is the percentage of time the system is down? It is also important to ask about the average response time of the server.
The method of access protection is important in determining the accessibility of the product. The Library prefers to purchase resources that offer IP protected access (campus wide site license) with passwords for remote users. The least preferable method of access protection is password only access. Other possible access protection scenarios include: access protected by the library's subnet IP, which would allow use within the library only, or access by IP only without the availability of passwords for remote use.
The library would like to encourage patron use of email as an alternative to printing research results. Web based products should include this feature as an option for retrieving results.

Electronic resources that are not accessed through the Web may have other technical considerations. All non-Web resources should meet the following selection criteria:

All software must be IBM compatible.
The library generally prefers to make a resource available on the Reference LAN rather than to make it available on a stand alone machine. If the product is to be networked, the bibliographer should consult with Automation Department during the selection process. Ease of installation is one of the factors that may be considered by the Automation Department.
All new resources should be compatible with existing library equipment. If compatibility with existing hardware/software is in question the bibliographer should consult with the Automation Department.
Most non-web products selected are CD-ROMs; other forms of media may have specific technical considerations. The Automation Department should be consulted for all resources that are not Web or CD-ROM products.
The Automation Department should review free trials of products.

G. Archiving
The Library strives to maintain access to all of its resources for future generations. When selecting electronic resources it is important to consider whether the library will be allowed to maintain ownership of the content after the license has expired. Many vendors sell only access to their products and do not transfer the ownership of content. Although ownership of library materials is our goal, it is possible for the bibliographer to choose a resource that offers only access to a resource, when maintaining an archival copy is not consequential for future generations. The bibliographer should consider the durability of the product and any cost/benefit trade-offs that exist between immediate usefulness and future loss of access through either electronic degradation, leasing restrictions, or the loss of access equipment.
When possible the library commits to maintaining an archive of selected electronic resources. This commitment includes the necessity of migrating to new technologies. The library does not have the resources necessary to guarantee that we will be able to maintain archival copies of all electronic products purchased or leased. We support national and international projects working on this issue.

H. Licensing
All licenses should be reviewed during the selection process and not after a selection decision has been made. The library should be careful to protect the rights of its users by not accepting excessively restrictive licensing terms. Examples of restrictive terms to be negotiated include:

Unnecessary restrictions on the Fair Use of copyrighted materials for educational and research purposes.
Termination clauses which restrict the library's ability to maintain an archival copy of the content after the lease period has ended.

Restrictions on access according to geographic location ("on campus only" is not possible with PPP accounts).
Descriptions of authorized users which do not include all of the library's patrons including members of the public in the library.

The university Purchasing Office Director is the administrator authorized to sign library licenses or to delegate this authority. The bibliographer in consultation with the Electronic Resources Librarian must review the license during the selection process to determine if the terms are acceptable. Once a selection has been made, the Electronic Resources Librarian will annotate the license to alert the purchasing office to unacceptable terms. The Purchasing Office can then proceed with negotiations and process the license.

I. Evaluation
We expect vendors to provide usage statistics according to ICOLC Guidelines. The Electronic Resources Librarian will maintain reports of usage statistics for all electronic resources purchased. Electronic resources should be evaluated on an ongoing basis, but especially when the subscriptions are due for renewal. Subscription cycles vary, and these variations will affect the timing of the evaluations. The entire electronic collection should be evaluated as a whole at least once a year, preferably at the start of the fiscal year.