Managing Electronic Resources: New and Changing Roles for Libraries

Citation

Wolfe, J.A. (2010), "Managing Electronic Resources: New and Changing Roles for Libraries", Collection Building, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 79-80. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604951011040206

Peter Webster is Systems Librarian at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Novanet consortium of academic libraries and works closely with the Atlantic Scholarly Information Network. Webster has presented at numerous conferences in Canada and the USA, as well as authoring many articles on library interfaces and federated searching. In Managing Electronic Resources Webster discusses proprietary information located in silos, integrated search and retrieval services, and the outdated and monolithic library system.

The focus of the book is on the sustainability of management practices and online collection management within limited budgets and resources. According to Webster, a key component of the distributed model is automated sharing of information with the goal of seamless search and retrieval. He discusses the natural evolution of the web which has affected the landscape of technological, political, economic and social barriers to information, and challenged the library's OPAC empirical rule.

“Silo busting” through link resolvers and unified networks of independent storage units and indexes should act to liberate the diverse and fragmented collections. As discussed, uniformity through standards such as Z39.50, NCIP and open URLs may also facilitate discovery. Webster presents a broad range of independent operating systems, including link resolver, federated searches, document delivery, citation management, electronic resource management systems, enhanced content service, proxy servers, and social network tools that foster separation of the e‐content management systems.

Webster provides an insightful discussion regarding e‐content as it is found in the many independent silos such as: e‐serials, depositories, individual journal web pages, library catalogs and large and small vendor/publisher web sites. He argues that it is because of the demands made by e‐content that the library role must evolve. The monolithic catalog does not meet the needs of the library user. The centralized catalog model and cataloging processes are being replaced by primary search tools with central discovery and access to silos/materials that the library actively stewards.

In this distributed information environment federated search tools, even with their limitations, are critical to merging independent collections. The libraries, alongside the Internet companies, have a vital role in development of a worldwide, integrated information environment. The challenge to libraries is to make the OPAC interface more functional, remove steps from the user's search process, provide highly integrated “end‐to‐end” search and retrieval which provides the user with a “look, locate, and get” scenario with a single seamless process.

Managing Electronic Resources is an excellent book that bridges the gap between the “techno geek” and the library organizer. Webster diligently explains his position and supports his views with substantial documentation and quotes from leading library authorities, including Karen Calhoun. There is a good index and combined reference list. This book is a timely, important work regarding collection integration and federated search evolution and would be of value in all library collections.