Licensing Digital Content: A Practical Guide for Librarians. 2nd ed. Harris,Lesley Ellen

Abstract

Advances in technology create dramatic changes within libraries. The complex issues surrounding this new electronic, end-user environment have major ramifications and require expert knowledge. Electronic services librarians and electronic resources librarians are two specialized titles that have recently emerged within the field of librarian-ship to fill this niche. Job advertisements listed in American Libraries from January 1989 to December 1998 were examined to identify responsibilities, qualifications, organizational and salary information relating to the newly emerging role of electronic librarian.     

Licensing Digital Content: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Lesley Ellen Harris

Successful implementation of standards like Shared E-Resource Understanding (SERU), Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources (COUNTER), Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI), and I² (Institutional Identifiers) can simplify and improve your ability to manage your e-resources. Other initiatives like the Journal Usage Factor, EigenFactor^?, and Metrics from Scholarly Usage of Resources (MESUR) are envisioned to become the basis for future tools to evaluate the impact of scholarly information. This article will provide a brief survey of current and future standards and initiatives related to e-resources and discuss why they should matter to you.