Wednesday’s word

Posted by Jennifer on 13 August, 2008 in Electronic Databases, wednesday's word

Electronic Resource Management System (ERMS) is software system used to manage digital subscriptions in libraries. Typically an ERM system will include most subscription management elements, e.g. product names, descriptions, producers, aggregators, license start and end dates, renewal alerts, price and payment terms, access URLs, usernames/passwords, verification access methods, access restrictions, vendor contacts, links to usage reports, etc. It will also provide usage statistics, resource usage comparison, overlap analysis, outage reports, and so on and so forth.

Ideally, ERMS helps librarians manage hundreds of the library’s subscriptions in a cost-efficient way. Another important benefit is that librarians can use ERMS to collect analysis report that will help in making purchasing decisions.

While some libraries attempt to develop their own ERMS, most ERMS products on the market today are developed by ILS vendors, who make ERMS available both as modules of the ILS or as independent products. Some examples are listed below:

360 Resource Manager by Serials Solutions
Millennium ERM System by Innovative Interfaces
VTLS Verify
Meridian by Endeavor
E-Resource Management System by EBSCO
SFX/Verde by Ex Libris
WebBridege/ERM by III
e-Resource Manager by TDNet
Gold Rush by Colorado Alliance

To learn more about ERMS, SOLINET offers a Distance Education course called E-Resource Wrangling. Classes will be offered soon will be held on September 4th and October 21st. For more information please click here.

This week’s Word is brought to you by SOLINET’s Ada Ding.