Promoting Library Excellence Through Efficiency
Ares® Reserves Management Software Case Study
Ryerson
Fangmin Wang, Head of Library Information Technology Services University
Ophelia Cheung, Audio Visual & Reserve Services Librarian
Ryerson University
E-Reserves Challenge
Located in downtown Toronto, Ryerson University is an
combine print and digital reserves in one location to
urban university known for its career-focused education,
make it more convenient for students. In addition, a
with the largest continuing education program in
library student survey on e-reserves in Blackboard in
Canada. The university is noted for its innovation in
2006 and distance
meeting the needs of its commuter student base with
education surveys
theoretical and practical learning. The library works
in 2007 pointed to
closely with all departments, including distance
the importance of
education within the School of Continuing Education,
having a single sign-
which is one of the major users of e-reserves.
on for Blackboard
Ophelia Cheung, Ryerson Library’s Audio Visual
& Reserve Services Librarian, and Fangmin
Wang, Head of Library Information Technology
Services, point to two major challenges facing
the library in managing e-reserves: the reliance
on multiple systems to accommodate their
processes and tracking copyright permissions.
Beginning in 2004 the library tried various options
for electronic reserves, including its integrated library
system (ILS) catalog and the e-reserves module in
Blackboard. According to Cheung, since Blackboard was
installed as the university’s learning portal it made sense
to integrate e-reserves through the course management
system rather than through the library catalog.
Managing e-reserves in Blackboard streamlined some
processes for e-resources, but print reserves continued
to be placed in the ILS catalog. The library wanted to
“
and for e-reserves.
“We wanted to use
the Blackboard
interface and provide
authentication
Understanding
usage is important
for controlling our
copyright permission
costs. Ares will be
an effective tool to
help faculty evaluate
their choice of
reading material.
through Blackboard
so students and faculty don’t need to worry about
a separate login for e-reserves,” Cheung says.
”
Library staff also needed a better way to manage
copyright. The Blackboard e-reserves module was
not designed for tracking copyright so staff were
creating emails, filling in publishers’ web forms,
and recording information related to copyright
in a separate database outside of Blackboard.
Maintaining information in different systems was
time-consuming and frustrating. Instructors generally
used email with a Word document attached listing
their reserve requests. Library staff entered print
potential direct gateway to the Canadian counterpart
reserves in the ILS and e-reserves into Blackboard.
of Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) for U.S. libraries.
An Access database was used to track copyright
Currently, she says, library staff have to wait for a
permissions. “Our process was highly manual and
response from the copyright owner before talking to
very labor-intensive,” Cheung says. “With so many
an instructor about the cost to acquire permission
different systems and databases, generating meaningful
for an item. Any means to speed the process will
statistics was difficult. We wanted one system that
allow staff to ask an instructor in a timely manner
could integrate all our processes. We needed a system
to find an alternative to something expensive.
to work with, but independently of, Blackboard.”
•Integration with Blackboard. When the library
The Ares Solution
began looking for a new system, seamless integration
Library staff went through a rigorous process of looking
with Blackboard was a key factor. Faculty,
for an alternative to the way they were managing
students, and library staff needed to be able to
e-reserves. They investigated building a shared database
use the Blackboard interface to access e-reserves
on copyright management with their distance education
without a separate authentication sign-on.
department but time constraints eliminated that as an
option. As they moved forward with their search, they
focused on finding a solution that would fit their local
needs, including copyright management in the Canadian
copyright environment and integration with Blackboard.
•Increased staff productivity and cost savings.
According to Cheung, managing everything on the
Blackboard server was very slow. Staff would often
have to wait minutes to retrieve the record they
needed to process a reserve request. The ability to
Ares offered the benefits they were looking for
process requests more quickly and streamline staff
in an affordable package.
workflow will save the library money, she says. Also,
Ares users in both Canada and the U.S. reported
•Copyright management. In talking with other libraries,
that implementing Ares enabled them to better
Cheung was impressed with Ares’ commitment to
utilize staff and, in some cases, reduce staff through
meeting the needs of Canadian libraries through a
attrition. “Staff savings means cost savings,” she says.
•Reduced reliance on email communication. With
want to change their teaching and research behavior,
Ares, instructors can access reserve records and
so the new system has to have clear benefits over the
easily check the status of requests. Cheung hopes
old. Based on what was learned by talking to other
this will change the habit of relying on email so
universities, Cheung was convinced that instructors
that everything can be tracked in one place through
would move away from email attachments as they
Ares. Instructors will be able to create records
recognized the benefits of using Ares. Since faculty
themselves while having every record mediated by
may not change course materials very much from
library staff will ensure copyright compliance.
year to year, if they can see how easy it is to add
•Instant access to usage statistics. Gathering statistics
records or clone a class they will be convinced.
has been a very manual process, sorting through
Cheung sees Ares delivering benefits for
physical folders and entering information in an
faculty, students, and library staff.
Excel spreadsheet. The ability to instantly check
usage statistics so instructors can monitor what
students are using is a huge benefit. “Understanding
usage is important for controlling our copyright
permission costs. If we pay $500 to put an item on
reserve and in a class of fifty students only five use
it, that’s not a good return on investment. Ares will
be an effective tool to help faculty evaluate their
choice of reading material. With concrete usage
data they can either drop an underutilized item or
reinforce with students the importance of using the
resources that have been selected for the class.”
•For faculty: Checking status; analyzing usage;
uploading records; seeing previous items; cloning
materials without having to type requests.
•For students: Print and e-reserves in one location.
•For staff: Merging of multiple databases
into one, easy-to-use database.
Cheung says she anticipates an excellent
partnership with Atlas Systems. While evaluating
potential e-reserves solutions, library staff were
impressed with what they heard about Ares’ staff’s
openness to suggestions from Canadian libraries
Cheung says that in evaluating a new system more
so she and Wang are confident the system will
than the technology is important. Instructors don’t
deliver what they need now and in the future.
About Ryerson University
About Atlas and Ares
Since 1948, Ryerson has built its reputation on the
Atlas Systems is a software development company
strength of its academic curriculum, and offers close
founded in July 1995 with the mission of developing
to 100 PhD, master’s, and undergraduate programs,
library automation to “promote library excellence
with a total enrolment of 25,000 and more than 65,000
through efficiency.” Atlas is best known for the
registrations annually in The G. Raymond Chang
ILLiad Interlibrary Loan Management Software,
School of Continuing Education. Guided by a bold
in use in over 1100 libraries and now distributed
new Academic Plan, an ambitious research agenda,
exclusively by OCLC. The Ares system automates
and a recently-completed Master Plan to revitalize the
library reserve services, provides around-the-
campus and surrounding neighbourhood, Ryerson is
clock access to reserves collections, includes
now the most applied-to university in Ontario relative
integrated copyright management services, and
to available spaces, and its reputation with business
saves time for faculty members and library staff.
and community leaders continues to rise. Information
is available at http://www.ryerson.ca/home.html.
For more information, visit our website
www.atlas-sys.com, email us at ares@atlas-sys.com,
or call Rich Stryker at 757-467-7872 ext. 210.
In Canada, contact Daniel Boivin,
OCLC Canada, Latin America & the Caribbean,
canada@oclc.org or 1-888-658-6583. OCLC Canada
serves as the distributor for Ares throughout Canada.
Promoting Library Excellence Through Efficiency
244 Clearfield Avenue • Suite 407
Virginia Beach, VA 23462 • www.atlas-sys.com
This case study was developed based on an interviews conducted with Ophelia Cheung and Fangmin Wang by Judith A. Michaelson, MLS, principal of JAM Marketing, LLC. JAM Marketing is a marketing
consulting firm focused on helping organizations design and implement short-term marketing strategies that yield long-term results.