Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Management. Alana Verminski and Kelly Marie Blanchat. Chicago: Neal-Schuman, 2017. 264 p. $65.00 softcover (ISBN 978-0-8389-1541-7).

The North American Serials Interest Groups’s (NASIG) Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarians, published in 2013, casts light on a growing problem in twenty-first-century libraries: aspiring electronic resources librarians need an astonishing variety of skills.1 Because of their complex nature, these skills must be cultivated on the job. This book, by academic librarians Verminksi and Blanchat, provides a practical approach for such cultivation. Readers new to e-resources will find value in the authors’ clear descriptions of daily workflows, while those with more experience will find the explanations of “the interconnection between workflows and systems” (vii) enlightening. Chapters are divided into sections, each of which could warrant an entire book. This organizational structure provides readers with guideposts by which they can navigate the chapter or branch out into further research.

The book opens with a solid overview of the current state of e-resources management (ERM), including explanations of Pesch’s Electronic Resources Life Cycle,2 Emery and Stone’s Techniques for Electronic Resource Management (TERMS),3 and the previously mentioned Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarians, all of which have been adopted and adapted by the ERM community in the last ten years. This first chapter establishes the authors’ use of text boxes to highlight important concepts and bold text to indicate that a word is defined in the book’s glossary. These text boxes are well placed and add context to the surrounding text.

In some ways this book is similar to the seven books published on e-resources in the past five years. For example, chapters 2 and 3 cover the well-trod ground of purchasing and evaluating e-resources. Still, as with most technology, ERM changes rapidly, and publishing must reflect those changes. The authors’ attention to both process and context adds value to what might otherwise be merely repetitious of existing books. However, the unique value of this book lies in other chapters.

Verminski and Blanchat begin chapter 4, “Changing the Rules: Selecting and Managing Open Access Resources,” with one of the clearest explanations of the varieties of open access (OA) that this reviewer has read. This description is followed with their characteristic how-to material, educating the reader on how to select and evaluate OA resources and integrate them into existing discovery systems. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how to advocate for OA on campus. Appendix A supplements this chapter with a sample rubric for assessing OA resources.

Chapter 5, “Negotiation and Licensing for Electronic Resources,” is another particularly informative chapter. After a brief introduction, the authors offer a list of do’s and don’ts for negotiating. The chapter ends with two extensive lists, “Sample Clauses and Descriptions” and “Problematic Language.” Chapter 8, amusingly titled “What You Might Want to Ask a Library Vendor (But Never Thought You Could),” provides additional insight on effective communication with vendor representatives. It suggests questions to ask and avoid, and why. Appendix B contains a handy license review checklist that supplements these chapters.

By far the most valuable chapter, “Keeping the Lights On: Setting Up and Maintaining Access” (chapter 6) tackles the often daunting technical side of ERM from setup to activation. Full of diagrams, case studies, and other visuals, this chapter explains authentication, OpenURL, and discovery before launching into an excellent guide to troubleshooting. The section “Link Resolvers and OpenURL” provides a useful visual of how an OpenURL should look, and how it might look if not working properly.

The book’s other chapters are equally useful, if nothing new. Chapter 7 provides a clear explanation of COUNTER usage statistics and examples of tools to use when comparing usage data. Even with ten years of experience in ERM, this reviewer learned some new Microsoft Excel skills from this chapter. Chapter 9 covers marketing electronic resources, with some helpful examples. Finally, chapter 10 rounds out the book with a look at current trends and speculation about the future of ERM.

Although clear and instructive, this book is not without its flaws. The text is, unfortunately, full of typos and grammatical errors. Further, the book suffers from some pacing issues. For example, of the twenty-three glossed terms introduced in the first chapter, thirteen of them are in the penultimate two and a half page section. Introducing so many terms in such a small space could be overwhelming to readers new to the subject. However, these flaws do not negatively affect the value of the content. The authors’ heavy use of checklists and step-by-step instructions provide clear guidance for beginners, chapters conclude with suggestions for further reading, and special features, such as glossed vocabulary, highlighted text boxes, and appendices contribute to the book’s ease of use. While not explicitly stated, the book focuses on academic libraries, likely because of the authors’ backgrounds. This book will be a welcome addition to the collections of seasoned e-resources librarians and newcomers alike.—Jennifer C. Williams (jennifer.williams@athens.edu), Athens State University

References

1. “Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarians,” North American Serials Interest Group, revised January 26, 2016, www.nasig.org/site_page.cfm?pk_association_webpage_menu=310&pk_association_webpage=7802.
2. Oliver Pesch, “ERMs and the E-Resource Life-Cycle,” slideshow presentation, 2009, www.crui-care.it/repository/Pesch.ppt.
3. Jill Emery and Graham Stone, “Techniques for Electronic Resource Management,” Library Technical Reports 49, no. 2 (2013).