The Role of an Electronic Resources Librarian in Procuring Accessible Online Resources

Abstract

Per the 2019 NASIG Core Competencies for electronic resources librarians (ERL), ERLs “work with concepts and methods that are very much in flux … [they are] knowledgeable about the legal framework within which libraries and information agencies operate… [including] laws relating to… equal rights (e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act)”. However, the Core Competencies do not define the level to which an ERL is responsible for determining the accessibility of an electronic resource. This article aims to create a better understanding of the steps an ERL can take to develop an accessibility statement pertaining to procuring accessible content. This article synthesizes key laws and policies that ERLs should be aware of in order to draft an accessibility procurement statement for their institution. It will also discuss licensing strategies, documentation collection, and conducting potential audits of electronic purchases.     

Digital Accessibility as a Core Competency for E-Resources Librarians

Abstract

This article will outline the electronic resources life cycle and identify key elements involved in e-resource management that exhibit potential for growth in terms of accessibility remediation. The aim of the article is to convey an understanding of the importance of digital accessibility to electronic resources librarians and the role they may play in making digital collections more available to users with impairments.     

The Development and Use of the NASIG Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarians

The Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarians was adopted by NASIG in 2013 and provides a framework to assess skills needed for electronic resources management. In this column, Sarah Sutton, whose graduate dissertation research led to the creation of the NASIG task force responsible for developing the core competencies, describes the development and adoption of the core competencies. Paula Sullenger describes the application of the core competencies at two institutions: Auburn University and Texas A&M University. The competencies have supported libraries in reorganization efforts as well as assessing current staff to identify gaps in skills and more effectively manage electronic resources. They have also been used to assess Library and Information Science (LIS) curricula. It is important that the core competencies be reviewed and revised to ensure their enduring relevancy within the profession.     

Go,Team! Using Teams to Manage Electronic Resources

The increasing prevalence of ejournals in library collections has impacted many aspects of library operations. Libraries have had to rethink workflows, processes, staffing needs, and other factors to account for the differences between print and online journals. The management of ejournals can often cross departmental boundaries and bring into question current workflow. To address the changing landscape of journal management, the University at Albany Libraries developed two teams: one to implement batchloading ejournal records and a second to address ongoing management and related policies. As a result of using a team approach for these responsibilities, the University Libraries was able to streamline processes, reduce duplication of effort across departments, coordinate policies and procedures, improve communication, and develop best practices.     

Just Popping In: Collections and Outreach Collaborations to Increase Student Engagement with Electronic Resources

Abstract

Promoting electronic resources in a physical space takes ingenuity and cross-library partnership. This article discusses a collaborative approach to promote electronic resources by an outreach librarian and an electronic collections librarian. As members of the teaching and research assistance team, the librarians observed how students relied on “big name,” multidisciplinary databases and were often intimidated by the expansive list of digital materials and electronic resources available to them. A literature review on the topic of similar promotional activities introduces the pop-up methodology used for the event. The purpose of the collaboration was to not only promote ebook collections but to also create awareness of the library outside of the traditional space, and librarians as resources. This collaboration resulted in student-librarian engagement, and a spike in ebook use was reported for the collection promoted.     

The Impact of Web-Scale Discovery on the Use of Electronic Resources

Abstract

In 2015, the University of California, Berkeley, launched EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS), a web-scale discovery tool, with a goal of improving visibility and usage of collections. This study applies linear regression analysis to usage data for ebooks, ejournals, and abstracts and indexing (A&I) databases before and after implementation of EDS in order to identify correlations between the discovery layer and usage of library electronic resources across platforms. Our findings diverge from conclusions drawn in the previous literature that indicates that resource use generally increases after a discovery tool is implemented. We examine data from a longer period of time than the previous literature had, looking for statistically significant changes in resource use. The discovery layer at UC Berkeley did not lead to equal increases across platforms, but rather to a complex array of increases and decreases in use according to a variety of factors.     

Providing Alumni Access to Electronic Resources

University alumni are frequently surprised and dismayed to find that access to online library resources is terminated at graduation. Alumni have been vocal for years about their need for library resources as they move into the working world, and campus alumni offices are frequently eager to provide this service in order to maintain ongoing relationships with alums. Publishers are beginning to include alumni as authorized users in electronic resources contracts with models for free or paid access. Most academic libraries have not begun or are in the early stages of working with alumni offices to provide this service. This article discusses opportunities and challenges of designing and implementing successful alumni access to electronic resources.     

Effectively Evaluating the Accessibility of Electronic Monographs Using VPATs and Other Resources at the College of Staten Island Library- CUNY

Abstract

This study, building upon previous research work at the College of Staten Island (CSI) library, attempts to evaluate the accessibility of select digital monograph platforms and file formats utilized at the City University of New York (CUNY). The usability of CSI library’s locally developed ER-ACT tool to assist librarians with limited technical knowledge to review VPATs and to perform simple testing was also evaluated with challenges and successes reported. It was determined that the use of color-coded results in this study can help identify serious accessibility issues within ebooks and to communicate the results within libraries to assist with collection development decision-making. The study also includes a review of new court rulings related to accessibility issues in higher education and discusses where accessibility staffing reports in terms of job roles and duties held by university professionals. The testing of the accessibility of library ebooks, with various accessibility tools, are reviewed within the context of Section 508 revisions and new VPAT standards.     

Staffing for Electronic Resource Management

Abstract

The authors offer the results of an informal survey of library staffing trends related to the acquisition and maintenance of electronic resources. They test their hypothesis that the problem of staffing for e-resources has reached a critical level. Serials Review 2002; 28:316–320.     

Me and My Shadow: Observation,Documentation, and Analysis of Serials and Electronic Resources Workflow

Abstract

Librarians in the Metadata & Cataloging Department at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries embarked on a comprehensive project to document and review the Libraries' serials and electronic resources workflow with the goals of introducing greater efficiency, clarity, and simplicity into processes across the serials unit and of increasing training opportunities for department-wide understanding of the serials lifecycle. This paper examines the method used to observe and collect information about serials and electronic resources work, the process of synthesizing that information into a graphical representation of the serials lifecycle, and the workflow analysis undertaken to introduce improved serials processes. The value of the project is demonstrated through a discussion of efforts for workflow education, analysis, and improvement at the NCSU Libraries directly instigated by review of the process documentation by technical services staff members.     

A New Direction for Library Technical Services: Using Metadata Skills to Improve User Accessibility

Abstract

An increased awareness about the importance of resource accessibility for all library users has set the stage for transforming traditional cataloger roles into a new realm of possibility. The Acquisitions & Discovery (A&D) and the User Experience (UX) departments of North Carolina State University Libraries have formed a partnership to explore the benefits of working together amidst this climate of innovation and change. A pilot project was created to develop a workflow through which technical services staff can use their metadata skills to help resolve accessibility issues found on the Libraries’ main website. By performing this work, staff can grow in technical expertise, enhance the quality of metadata in web content, and build mutually beneficial partnerships within the library community.     

Coming to TERMS with Electronic Resource Management: An Interview with Jill Emery,Graham Stone,and Peter McCracken

ABSTRACT

In this column of Serial Conversations, Elan May Rinck interviews Jill Emery, Graham Stone, and Peter McCracken, the editors of TERMS (Techniques in E-Resource Management) 2.0. Emery, Stone, and McCracken discuss developing best practices for electronic resource management and what lies ahead for TERMS 2.0.     

No Mind Reading Necessary: Conducting Evidence-Based Electronic Resource Marketing and Outreach Using Marketing Research Assessment

Abstract

In her presentation entitled “No Mind Reading Necessary: Conducting Evidence-Based Electronic Resource Marketing and Outreach” at the North Carolina Serials Conference April 2019, Kate Hill discussed marketing research strategies and outreach tools used to increase online users’ access to electronic resources and primary resources. In an effort to connect users to seldom-used resources, Jackson Library collaborated with university partners to develop surveys to identify the information-seeking behavior of its users and apply the gathered marketing research to strategically plan outreach activities.     

陕西能源资源产业指标对资源税调整的响应态势拟合

对所筛选出的能源资源的有关指标进行相关性分析,辨识出与资源税相关性较高的指标,进而对其进行Granger因果检验.甄别出与资源税因果关系可能性较大的变量,基于Eviews平台,通过实验进行线性曲线拟合,对这些因变量构造拟合方程,并对拟合结果进行检验.研究显示,分别构造全省煤炭采选业新增固定资产投资、规模以上煤炭采选业工业总产值、规模以上煤炭采选业工业销售产值、石油消费量、单位GDP能源消耗五个拟合方程能够较好地模拟对资源税变动的响应关系,进而为预判资源税调整后可能对能源资源产业发展所带来的变化和为采取相应的对策提供定量化的决策依据.     

Regression models for Boolean random sets

In this paper we consider the regression problem for random sets of the Boolean-model type. Regression modeling of the Boolean random sets using some explanatory variables are classified according to the type of these variables as propagation, growth or propagation-growth models. The maximum likelihood estimation of the parameters for the propagation model is explained in detail for some specific link functions using three methods. These three methods of estimation are also compared in a simulation study.     

基于生存分析法的医疗电子病历系统采纳与扩散研究

医疗电子病历系统作为中国医疗信息化建设的核心,关注其采纳与扩散机理,对推进医疗卫生信息化建设,以及实现有意义地使用具有重要的理论和实践意义。基于云南省222家医院信息化建设的调研数据,运用半参数生存分析法即Cox回归模型探讨医院采纳电子病历系统的影响因素及扩散机理。研究表明,教学状态、医院规模和建院时间均为有利因素,即这三个因素积极促进医院采纳电子病历系统;时间×规模为不利因素,即它对医院采纳电子病历系统有负向影响;地理位置在分层和删减样本的模型分析中均表现为不利因素;医院等级影响并不明显。     

Electronic Resources Forum - Managing Researcher Identity: Tools for Researchers and Librarians

Abstract

Researchers have increasing opportunities to identify themselves and raise the profile of their research and scholarship through online researcher identity management and researcher profile systems. This column provides a basic introduction to researcher identity management and examines four widely used researcher profile systems: Google Scholar Citations, Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID), Scopus Author ID, and Web of Science ResearcherID. System benefits and comparisons are provided, with the purpose of helping researchers and librarians to select appropriate researcher identity management tools to support their work.     

The Hard Task of Soft Skills: Project Management for the Materials Review Process

Abstract

This article summarizes a presentation given by Kurt Blythe and Jennifer Solomon at the 28th annual North Carolina Serials Conference in 2019. Blythe and Solomon were brought on to lead a project to review resources in anticipation of budget constraints in 2018 and 2019. The presentation sought to answer why libraries should apply project management principles in such a situation and what the presenters learned from their experience and offered tips to any audience members considering applying project management practices to their own work.     

Multinomial Logistic模型在区域高等教育资源结构优化中的应用

在区域确定的前提下,将各高等教育资源数据进行整理,建立Multinomial Logistic模型,分析各结构的相对发生比率以及各结构的最佳分布。分析该回归分析的多维发生比率,由此确定各种离散等级状态之间的调整方向及调整程度。对黑龙江省的各高等教育区域进行实证分析,结果表明,黑龙江省高等教育资源结构以教学型、教学研究型、研究教学型、研究型的比例来判断,高等教育效用有待于进一步挖掘。多维发生比率以及自变量对多维发生比率的变化影响这两个参数对区域高等教育资源结构优化起着关键作用。     

Series estimation for single‐index models under constraints

In this paper, a semi‐parametric single‐index model is investigated. The link function is allowed to be unbounded and has unbounded support that answers a pending issue in the literature. Meanwhile, the link function is treated as a point in an infinitely many dimensional function space which enables us to derive the estimates for the index parameter and the link function simultaneously. This approach is different from the profile method commonly used in the literature. The estimator is derived from an optimisation with the constraint of identification condition for the index parameter, which addresses an important problem in the literature of single‐index models. In addition, making use of a property of Hermite orthogonal polynomials, an explicit estimator for the index parameter is obtained. Asymptotic properties for the two estimators of the index parameter are established. Their efficiency is discussed in some special cases as well. The finite sample properties of the two estimates are demonstrated through an extensive Monte Carlo study and an empirical example.