Network and Electronic
Resource Management
August 11, 2009
Dr. Estela R. Dequito
Network Management

Refers to the activities,
methods, procedures
and tools that pertain to
the
operation,
administration,
maintenance
and
provisioning
of
networked systems.
OPERATIONS
 Operation deals with keeping the network
(and the services that the network provides)
up and running smoothly. It includes
monitoring the network to spot problems as
soon as possible, ideally before users are
affected.
ADMINISTRATION
 Administration deals with keeping track of
resources in the network and how they are
assigned. It includes all the "housekeeping"
that is necessary to keep the network under
control.
MAINTENANCE
 Maintenance is concerned with performing
repairs and upgrades - for example, when
equipment must be replaced, when a router
needs a patch for an operating system
image, when a new switch is added to a
network.
Maintenance
also
involves
corrective and preventive measures to make
the managed network run "better", such as
adjusting device configuration parameters.
PROVISIONING
 Provisioning is concerned with configuring
resources in the network to support a given
service. For example, this might include
setting up the network so that a new
customer can receive voice service.
Ways of characterizing network
management functions
 Fault
 Configuration
 Accounting
 Performance
 Security
Data for network management is
collected through several mechanisms:
Agents
 Synthetic Monitoring
 Logs
 Sniffers
 Real Use Monitoring

Electronic Resource Management

Refers to the practices
and software systems
used by libraries to keep
track
of
important
information
about
electronic
information
resources,
especially
internet-based resources
such
as
electronic
journals, databases and
electronic books.
Electronic Resource Management

The development of ERM became necessary
in the early 2000s as it became clear that
traditional library catalogs and integrated
library systems were not designed to handle
metadata for resources as mutable as many
online products are.
HISTORY




The idea of developing Electronic Resource
Management systems emerged in 2001-2002,
growing out of research by Tim Jewell at the
University of Washington.
The Digital Library Federation and NISO began work
in May 2002 to develop standards for ERM data.
These standards were published in the 2004 as
Electronic Resource Management: Report of the
DLF ERM Initiative.
Since the publication of the report, several vendors
of integrated library systems have released ERM
products.
Examples of ERM Products

Commercial Products
ERM from Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
 ERMS from Sirsi Dynix, developed by Serials
Solutions
 Meridian from Endeavor (now owned by Ex Libris)
 Verde from Ex Libris
 Verify from VTLS
 EASY from Square Information Systems

Examples of ERM Products

Open-source Products





CUFTS from Simon Fraser University
ERMes from University of Wisconsin-La
Crosse
FreERMS led by Touro College
HERMES (Hopkins Electronic Resources
ManagEment System) from Johns Hopkins
University - no longer in active development
SMDB-Subscription Management Database
from Semper Tool
Features of ERM systems






Supporting acquisition and management of licensed e-resources
May be integrated into other library system modules or may be a
standalone system
May have a public interface, either separate or integrated into the
OPAC
Providing descriptions of resources at the package (database)
level and relate package contents (e.g. e-journals) to the
package record
Encoding and perhaps publicly displaying licensed rights such as
e-reserves, coursepacks, and interlibrary loan
Tracking electronic resources from point of order through
licensing and final access
Features of ERM systems






Providing information about the data providers,
consortial arrangements, access platform
Providing contact information for all content
providers
Logging problems with resources and providers
Providing customizable e-mail alerting systems (e.g.
notices to managers when actions are expected or
required)
Linking license documents to resource records
Enabling access to SUSHI usage statistics
TWO FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS TO
MANAGING ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
 Back-End
Acquisitions Function
 Front-End
Content Delivery
Marshall Breeding. August 3, 2009. Information Today, Inc.
Back-End Management Tools for
Library Staff

Traditional Online Catalog Approach


Library's ILS
E-Journal Holdings Data Services


Serials Solutions
TDNet
Marshall Breeding. August 3, 2009. Information Today, Inc.
Front-End Management: Delivering
Access to Users





Links from the Online Catalog
E-Journal Locator Resources
Linking to Full Text
OpenURL-Based Link Resolvers
Federated Search
Marshall Breeding. August 3, 2009. Information Today, Inc.
OpenURL-Based Link Resolvers

These are some of the major linking products
available today:



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SFX from Ex Libris
LinkSource from EBSCO
LinkFinderPlus from Endeavor Information
Systems
WebBridge from Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
Sirsi Resolver from Sirsi Corp.
Article Linker from Serials Solutions
1Cate from Openly Informatics
Marshall Breeding. August 3, 2009. Information Today, Inc.
These are some of the major products
under Federated Search :






ENCompass from Endeavor Information
Systems
MetaLib from Ex Libris
Sirsi Single Search from Sirsi
WebFeat Prism from WebFeat
MuseSearch from MuseGlobal
ZPORTAL from Fretwell-Downing
Marshall Breeding. August 3, 2009. Information Today, Inc.
Chaos or Convergence?


This whirlwind tour of the various aspects of
managing electronic resources shows that
librarians face a complex set of challenges.
While a number of products have evolved for
each aspect of the problem, the question is,
how can they all be designed and
implemented in such a way that they all work
together, providing a clear and seamless
interface for library users and avoiding
redundant work for library staff?
Marshall Breeding. August 3, 2009. Information Today, Inc.
Chaos or Convergence?


To date, no single product exists that
provides comprehensive management of
electronic resources, including both the frontend and back-end functions
At a minimum, all the applications that a
library employs to manage its electronic
resources should draw from the same
knowledgebase of its electronic holdings.
Marshall Breeding. August 3, 2009. Information Today, Inc.
Chaos or Convergence?


A library should not have to maintain the
same information in multiple ways.
If the library catalog, linking environment,
electronic resource management system, and
metasearch engine cannot all share the same
physical knowledgebase, then it should at
least be possible to have a master copy of
the data that is automatically distributed
through these applications.
Marshall Breeding. August 3, 2009. Information Today, Inc.
Chaos or Convergence?

The many facets of electronic resource
management should be delivered through a
set of interconnected modules that work
together, sharing common data files or at
least communicating with each other through
open protocols.
Marshall Breeding. August 3, 2009. Information Today, Inc.
References


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Marshall Breeding. The Many Facets of Managing Electronic
Resources. August 3, 2009. Information Today, Inc.
http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/jan04/breeding.shtml
^ "DLF Electronic Resource Management Initiative". Digital
Library Federation. 2004. http://www.diglib.org/standards/dlferm02.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-11.
^ Jewell,, Tim, et al. (2004). "Electronic Resource Management:
Report of the DLF ERM Initiative". Digital Library Federation.
http://www.diglib.org/pubs/dlf102/. Retrieved on 2008-11-11.
^ Feather, Celeste (2007-03-22). "ERM Systems: What Are They
and What Do They Do?"., Columbus Metropolitan Library,
Columbus, OH: OhioNET.
Thank You for Listening!!!!