Electronic Resource Management Systems, Part II: Offerings from Serial Vendors and Serial Data Vendors

Abstract

In the September 2004 issue, I reported on the Electronic Resource Management (ERM) offerings of the major ILS vendors, and promised to follow with a second article covering the ERM tools offered by other kinds of companies, primarily serials vendors or serial data vendors. This is the promised part two. Together, the articles attempt to provide an overview of the ERM market, describing what products and services are currently available to libraries seeking systems and tools to help them manage electronic resources.

Libraries who want support for the full life cycle of electronic resource management from selection through purchase, access, license management, and renewal or cancellation, have had the option of building their own systems, as many (such as Boston College and Harvard University, just in the last year) continue to do. Other libraries have purchased the Innovative Interfaces ERM system which has been on the market for more than a year, or have signed on to be beta testers of one of the new ILS-provider offerings, such as ExLibris’ Verde, which is expected to be available for sale in the summer of 2005. Still other libraries are working with data and support services offered by their serial vendors or other companies, such as SerialsSolutions (recently acquired by Proquest). It is this segment of the market that is focused on here.