Criteria for Selecting Electronic Resources
Compiled by the Electronic Resources Group (ERG)
Last revised May 15, 2001
Basic Guidelines
- The intellectual content of the electronic resource, whether purchased or free, must fit within the established parameters of the Brandeis Library & Technology Services' (LTS), the judgment of the relevant subject bibliographers, and the Brandeis University curriculum.
- The electronic resource will provide sufficient added value over other formats.
- The search interface must be powerful, flexible, user-friendly, and well-indexed, with numerous points of access.
- Whenever possible, access to the electronic resource must meet these goals:
- Support remote users of library and information resources
- Deliver reliable remote access
- Be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Utilize a unified and intuitive interface
- The cost of the resource must be sustainable by the electronic resources budget for the foreseeable future.
- The technology and staff to deliver and support the resource is available at Brandeis Library & Technology Services.
- Library & Technology Services will participate in a consortial purchase for a desired resource when the agreement provides a significant price advantage over the cost as an individual institution.
- Library & Technology Services will purchase available backfiles of an electronic resource if affordable and deemed bibliographically essential for the collection.
- Ideally the vendor (or some other reliable source) provides for archival access to the data.
- Library & Technology Services will maintain the stability and consistency of electronic titles offered to the Brandeis community whenever possible.
Format
- Library & Technology Services prefer Web delivery over CD-ROM unless the Web version fails to meet the basic criteria for a search interface (see point 3) or the cost differential between the formats is significant enough to be a factor.
- If CD-ROM is the choice of format, the order of preferred access is:
- Networked, remote access (WAN)
- Networked, library-wide access (LAN)
- Stand-alone (mounted on hard-drive or installed at use).
- The resource employs (whenever possible) a user interface already familiar to the Brandeis community.
- Ideally the format provides a single-search access to the entire electronic resource.
- The resource is compatible across a wide variety of platforms (PC, Mac, etc.); Library & Technology Services will only consider platform-dependent products if no other viable option is available and the resource is considered essential.
- Library & Technology Services will not support more than one version of an electronic resource (such as electronic and print) unless there are overriding and compelling reasons for maintaining multiple electronic formats.
- When moving an electronic resource from one format to another, there must be compelling reasons to make the change; and the content of the new resource should be comparable or better than that of the existing format, unless others factors prevail.
Vendor and Licensing
- The license must be in accordance with the Brandeis Library & Technology Services' established electronic resource licensing policy.
- The vendor should be stable and reliable, and offer technical support.
- A change of vendors will occur only when a new vendor can deliver a superior search interface, enable greater and more reliable remote access at a reasonable cost, or provide other key factors, such as archival
Mission of the Electroni Resources Group
The Electronic Resources Group administers the process of selecting, acquiring, licensing, announcing, and evaluating all electronic resources (whether purchased or free) offered by the Brandeis University Library Technology Services to its patrons within the parameters of the Libraries' collection development policies and budget. To this end, ERG has these primary areas of responsibility:
Acquisition
- Establishes and maintains long-range budget guidelines for electronic resources, with analysis of ongoing commitments to resources vs. funding for new products, and allowances for inflation of access costs.
- Regularly reviews and updates documentation and procedures for acquiring electronic resources.
- Continues to develop database of all essential information on the electronic resources acquired by the Library & Technology Services.
- Participates (when to the Libraries' advantage) in various regional or national consortial agreements for electronic resources.
- Sets up and monitors trials of electronic resources, appointing appropriate resource shepherds and maintaining close contact with subject selectors.
Keeps the Libraries apprised of newly developed electronic resources by interaction with vendors and providers and by evaluating and disseminating information on the resources.
Communication
- Keeps the Libraries apprised of newly developed electronic resources by interaction with vendors and providers and by evaluating and disseminating information on the resources.
- Keeps informed on new or shifting pricing and vendor options for resources already in place, with an eye towards the best value and service for the Libraries.
- Consults with the Web Presentation Group and the Information Systems Department on the connectivity, access, and operation of electronic resources.
- In a timely manner, keeps other library groups and departments fully apprised of the availability of electronic resources to Brandeis users.
Evaluation
- Evaluates the appropriateness of recommended resources based on established criteria for selecting electronic resources in the Brandeis University Libraries.
- Maintains accurate statistics on use of electronic resources; based on ongoing analyses of these statistics, recommends vendor changes, revised mode of access, or cancellation when appropriate.
- Reviews, maintains, and revisits licensing agreements for electronic resources; monitors Libraries' compliance with stipulations of the licenses.
