Learn to better control costs for print and digital resources—from recognized leaders in library administration! Academic libraries have been using electronic resources for several years, yet library administrators still find that the evolution from print to digital takes meticulous planning. Collection Management and Strategic Access to Digital Resources is a collection of eight presentations from the 2004 University of Oklahoma Libraries Conference focusing on the ways academic research libraries can successfully make the transition from print materials to electronic resources. Respected authorities offer effective strategies to efficiently coordinate the use of digital materials in the contemporary research library. As acquisition budgets tighten and fresh emphasis is placed upon finding strategies to afford needed resources, library administrators find it increasingly difficult to meet the challenge of providing information to today’s students and scholars. Collection Management and Strategic Access to Digital Resources focuses on innovative, practical solutions to difficult problems facing librarians and library administrators today and in the coming decade. The book is carefully referenced and includes tables and charts to clearly explain data. Collection Management and Strategic Access to Digital Resources presents and thoroughly discusses: the impact of digital resources on libraries, research, and learning in history and science open access of research results beyond the print journal regime Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and electronic journal subscriptions an introduction to Ithaka—a not-for-profit organization that acts as an “incubator” for electronic projects and research for libraries evaluations—and innovative alternatives—of the rules and beliefs of electronic resource collection the historical and contextual considerations that have made collections cooperation difficult to achieve—and a global resources network initiative that may answer the challenge transforming scholarship’s role by offering access to the raw material of research—offering new opportunities for access to a greater range of information the responsibilities of research libraries in a rapidly evolving digital world Collection Management and Strategic Access to Digital Resources is essential reading for senior library administrators in public, special, and academic libraries, as well as acquisitions, reference, collection development, and systems librarians.

Going Digital: Strategies for Access, Preservation, and Conversion of Collections to a Digital Format offers you succinct and analytic views of the problems and benefits of digital resources in the traditional academic library. Library administrators, collection managers, and librarians will learn the advantages and disadvantages of traditional and digital collections and the costs of providing local access or implementing remote access to digital collections. Originally presented at a series of five symposiums sponsored by the Research Libraries Group, the articles inGoing Digital will help you decide upon a cost-effective collection method that will meet the needs of your library, your patrons, and your budget. The chapters in this text are written by the nation’s leading librarians who pose and answer questions about hardware and software needed for digital libraries, the costs involved, establishing and maintaining access to digital collections, copyright concerns, and long-term preservation problems. Going Digital gives you insight into factors that will help you decide what will best meet the goals of your library, such as: the advantages and disadvantages of preserving microfilm and digital conversion choosing the correct hardware and software for your digital preservation program the changes required from librarians when shifting from collection development to digital resources examining the selection process for collections from perspectives of access, public service, technological requirements, and preservation ways to improve access to traditional collections cost comparisons between digital and hard copy resources devising a technical plan for successful digital conversion of projects involving the user’s wants when selecting collections for digital conversion and recognizing the central parts patrons play in the selection process In light of the changing ways we receive and keep our information, Going Digital discusses new collection preservation criteria and suggests that access and informational values, not just deterioration, should be equal factors in selecting materials to be converted to digital form. Proving that digital collections are changing every facet of library operations, Going Digital shows you the most cost-effective way to begin a digital collection and how to choose what materials to digitize in order to provide your patrons with the information they want and need.

Build and manage your collection of digital resources with these successful strategies! This comprehensive volume is a practical guide to the art and science of acquiring and organizing electronic resources. The collections discussed here range in size from small college libraries to large research libraries, but all are facing similar problems: shrinking budgets, increasing demands, and rapidly shifting formats. Electronic Collection Management offers new ideas for coping with these issues. Bringing together diverse aspects of collection development, Electronic Collection Management investigates traditional strategies that still have value and suggests innovative solutions to new problems. It also offers informed discussion on how collection development and management are likely to change in the future. More and more, the emphasis is turning from collecting information to organizing it, a paradigm shift that is nothing short of a revolution in library science. Electronic Collection Management examines some of the toughest issues of electronic collections management, including: handling tensions in liberal arts colleges over patron expectations, library budgets, and collection priorities taking technical issues into account in selecting electronic resources controlling costs for scientific serials organizing electronic resources for ease of access facing the challenges of distance learning finding fresh perspectives on traditional publication formats Electronic Collection Management presents practical advice and solid information on the urgent issues subject bibliographers and collection development librarians are confronting today.

Electronic Resources: Implications for Collection Management shows librarians the strengths and weaknesses of electronic resources and the implications these resources have on collection management. The book then helps librarians incorporate electronic resources into their collections accordingly.Contributors in Electronic Resources provide a broad look at the ways in which electronic information affects the business of building and maintaining library collections. They examine the history of electronic resources in document collections and share with readers a thorough analysis of the gains and losses libraries can expect to experience in an increasingly digital environment. Readers also learn: how to budget for both traditional and emerging information sources the effects of electronic collections on the public services realm how to assess the value of journals amidst the many different access and delivery mechanisms how to use resource sharing as a solution to the archival problems which arise as libraries collect materials in continuously proliferating formats selection criteria for electronic resources how to assemble electronic resources into archives social implications of electronic collectionsAcademic librarians in collection management will find Electronic Resources an essential resource for finding their place in the electronic environment. Librarians will refer to this volume again and again as they adjust to increasing dependence upon electronic resources for fulfilling their patrons’needs.

This topical edited collection is cross-sectoral and international in scope, drawing together the perspectives of practitioners and academics at the forefront of modern collection development. They explore how practitioners can take an active role influencing strategy in this new environment, draw on case studies that illustrate the key changes in context, and consider how collection development might evolve in the future. The collection is divided into four sections looking at the key themes: • The conceptual framework including a review of the literature • Trends in library supply such as outsourcing and managing suppliers • Trends in electronic resources including the open access movement and e-books • Making and keeping your collection effectively including engaging with the user-community and developing commercial skills. Readership: LIS students and all practitioners involved in collection development and management in academic, school, public, commercial and other special libraries.