The document lists challenges and opportunities related to electronic resources in academic libraries. Some of the key challenges mentioned include reduced budgets, ever-increasing journal prices, a decline in print monographs, difficulties managing collections, issues with access and security, and usability problems. Opportunities discussed focus on areas like open access initiatives, collaboration, marketing collections globally, improving discovery tools and interfaces, and developing new definitions and standards. The document provides sources for further reading on topics related to e-resources in libraries.

1. Tamara Ottum March 18 2011 eResources in Academic Libraries Challenges and Opportunities

2. “ Thought Cloud” from 2010 Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference Wiki ( http://electroniclibrarian.org/erlwiki/Thought_cloud )

3. CHALLENGES

4. Collection Development Reduced budget

5. Collection Development Ever increasing journal prices

6. Collection Development Decline of print monographs

7. Collection Development Management can be messy

8. Access Security

9. Access Technical requirements

10. Access Lack of perpetual access

11. Access OpenURL failures

12. Usability Disconnect between user and library priorities

13. Usability Problems navigating library websites

14. Usability Federated Search

15. Usability What exactly is ‘usage’ and how to measure it?

16. OPPORTUNITIES

17. OPPORTUNITIES “ Sadly, we tend to complain more than doing. If we get a reputation for being negative, that will be detrimental. That doesn’t mean we should be Sally Sunshine, but we need to approach things with a more positive attitude to make change happen.” ~ Anna Creech http://eclecticlibrarian.net/blog/2011/02/erl-library-renewal/

18. Collection Development Reduced budget Market

19. Collection Development Reduced budget Collaborate

20. Collection Development “ I think libraries have to change their view of the world 180 degrees. Libraries should no longer aim to be the portal to the world of information for a local audience. Libraries should try to be the portal to local information for a global audience. A university and research library should focus on making the local production of research output known to the world.” ~ Peter van Boheemen http://webquery.blogspot.com/2010/11/future-of-libraries-end-of-library-as.html

21. Collection Development Open access movement Ever increasing journal prices

22. Collection Development Big deals can be cost-effective Ever increasing journal prices

23. Collection Development “ [V]endors are our partners – we could not do what we do without the content and service products they provide, and they could not do what they do without us, either – we provide an audience, an infrastructure, and end-user education for them .” ~ Amy Fry, http://acrlog.org/2011/02/28/working-together-tips-for-vendors /

24. Collection Development Electronic advantages Decline of print monographs

25. Collection Development Expose collections Decline of print monographs

26. Collection Development Collaborate on best practices Decline of print monographs

27. Collection Development Some things work well in current systems Management can be messy

28. Collection Development Library-created OS versions freely available Management can be messy

29. Collection Development New commercial product developments Management can be messy

30. Access Security Mobility

31. Access Technical requirements Work with IT

32. Access Lack of perpetual access Just-in-time access is a priority

33. Access LOCKSS Project Lack of perpetual access

34. Access OpenURL failures Improve the data

35. Access OpenURL failures Integrate with open web

36. Usability L i b r a r y Googlize it Disconnect between user and library priorities

37. Usability Problems navigating library websites Provide users with the direction they need

38. Usability “ If the top tools offered on the library website are user-friendly and effective rather than frustrating and time-consuming, users will have a reason to begin their search there.” ~ Stefanie E. Warlick, et al, "Finding Articles and Journals via Google Scholar, Journal Portals, and Link Resolvers: Usability Study Results" ( Reference & User Services Quarterly 50.2, 2010: 170-181)

39. Usability Ease of use Federated Search

40. Usability Discovery solutions Image source: http://www.librarytechnology.org/discovery.pl Federated Search

41. Federated Search “ I believe that it’s mutually advantageous to both publishers and discovery providers to cooperate, since it both increases the effectiveness of the discovery products and improves the value of the content for Libraries as it makes that content more easily available to their users.” ~ Marshall Breeding http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2011/03/building-comprehensive-resource-discovery-platforms.html

42. Usability Standards initiatives improving all the time What exactly is ‘usage’ and how to measure it?

43. Usability New definitions and applications What exactly is ‘usage’ and how to measure it?

44. “ We librarians are an intelligent and resourceful bunch. With the right set of tools, I believe we could come close to creating ‘perfect’ collections to meet the needs of our users. With the right set of tools, we can be better stewards of the financial resources provided by our institutions. It’s time to work smarter, not harder.” ~ Anna Creech, http://acrlog.org/2010/11/09/building-smart-collections-for-todays-users/