ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

[Collection Management Plan]

INTRODUCTION

The plan for collecting and providing access to electronic resources addresses specific issues which relate to the electronic format. It is divided into three sections:
Electronic Journals
Electronic Books
Other Electronic Resources

The principles contained in the general and subject specific sections of The University of Auckland Library Collection Management Plan apply equally to electronic resources.  As with other materials, collection managers will assess present curriculum and research needs, select materials which meet the University Library's standards in regard to excellence, comprehensiveness, and authoritativeness, and weigh the purchase of a particular resource against other possible acquisitions from materials budgets. Guidelines for University Library staff on access from The Catalogue to electronic resources are available from the Cataloguing Department's intranet page.

The University Library negotiates and undertakes to comply to the best of its abilities with any vendor/publisher licensing agreements for electronic resources.  The licence should allow the University Library's registered members access from within the Library or University and, as determined by the Library for specific publications or client groups, via authorised access external to the University.  The University Library will take all reasonable steps to inform its members of relevant licensing agreements.

Monograph or serial capital funding is used to purchase electronic resources, and ordinarily the subject content will determine the fund or funds that meet the charges.  Expensive cross-disciplinary aggregates and subscription packages may be funded from the centrally managed Networked Information Fund, subject to the University Librarian's approval.

The rapidly evolving nature of electronic formats will necessitate regular review of this policy.
 

ELECTRONIC JOURNALS

1. SCOPE
This policy addresses the selection, acquisition and delivery of electronic journals accessible via the Web ("e-journals").  Access may be the result of:

  1.  individual electronic-only subscriptions
  2. multi-title electronic packages, ordered from publishers
  3. electronic versions bundled with print subscriptions (i.e. where electronic full-text is available only to print subscribers)
  4. aggregate products from information providers such as Ebsco, Gale, and ProQuest (the Library has no control over the content of these collections)
  5. free access (these are not always catalogued, and may be linked only from a subject web page)

2. ACCESS
The University Library maximises access to e-journals by several means:

  1. cataloguing: bibliographic and holdings records and associated hypertext links will be added to Voyager for all e-journals in categories 1. (a)-(c) and selectively for those in categories 1. (d)-(e).  Catalogued e-journals are also listed alphabetically by title on Library website.
  2. support and training to optimise use

3. SELECTION CRITERIA
Selection decisions rest with collection managers.  Subject librarians, Library Liaison Officers, other University Library staff and users may offer suggestions to the appropriate collection manager.  Questions relating to price and availability should be directed to the Serials Librarian.  Collection managers will consider the following criteria when selecting a new electronic-only title or transferring a subscription from print to electronic or from one electronic version to another:

  1. coverage and the timely availability of material
  2. enhanced contents and additional functionality of electronic as compared with print
  3. convenience for users, e.g. unrestricted access in terms of location and time
  4. reliability of access 
  5. full-text availability in PDF and/or HTML or SGML
  6. cost-effectiveness, e.g. subscription savings, lower handling and overhead costs, number of simultaneous users included in licence terms
  7. guaranteed access to a complete file of titles for the years of the subscription
  8. publisher commitment to maintaining web access to a permanent archive of back-issues
  9. availability of usage statistics to enable rational decisions on future title additions or deletions

4. DUPLICATION
The University Library will liaise with Academic Departments in regard to which journal titles should continue to be held in print as well as electronic format, taking into account the Academic Department's views as to whether a specific title is considered a leading journal in the field.

The University Library will only provide both print and electronic access to a journal if:

  1. electronic access is available only to print subscribers
  2. the content coverage is not identical to that of the print version, or the text or illustration format of the print and electronic versions is not of the same quality
  3. print versions are needed to enable accurate references to an official or authoritative version (including those recognised in court hearings)
  4. electronic publication lags behind the print edition
  5. the publisher has no commitment to archiving the electronic version.

If a print subscription is exchanged for an electronic version and it is found that the content coverage, and/or text and illustration format of a particular article, or articles, in the electronic version, differs from the printed version of the journal, then the University Library will bear the total cost of obtaining a full and accurate copy of the printed version of the article or articles.

In cases where the electronic version of a cancelled print title ceases to be accessible the University Library will consider resuming the print subscription and purchasing back issues if required.
 

ELECTRONIC BOOKS

1. SCOPE
This policy addresses the selection, acquisition and delivery of electronic books.
These include:

  1. individual or collections of electronic-only books, ordered direct from the publisher or through a vendor
  2. electronic versions available with print purchases
  3. electronic books available freely on the web (not always catalogued)

2. ACCESS
The University Library maximises access to electronic books by several means:

  1. cataloguing: normal bibliographic records will be created for electronic books. Users will be able to access the full text via a link created by the use of an 856 MARC field.
  2. loading and maintaining necessary software within the Library
  3. providing access to software clients for University members to download and install
  4. support and training to optimise use

3. SELECTION CRITERIA
Emphasis to date has been for high demand and reference material, and for support of  flexible learning. Selection decisions rest with collection managers.  Subject librarians, Library Liaison Officers, other University Library staff and users may offer suggestions to the appropriate collection manager.  Questions relating to price and availability should be directed to the Acquisitions Department. Collection managers will consider the following criteria when selecting an electronic title, whether new or the equivalent of an existing print title in the collection:

  1. demand
  2. suitability to curricular support
  3. currency and comprehensiveness
  4. cost, e.g. lower handling and overhead costs, number of simultaneous users included in licence terms
  5. enhanced contents and additional functionality
  6. ease of use and convenience for users, e.g. unrestricted access in terms of location and time
  7. reliable, stable and permanent access
  8. appropriateness of format, e.g. file size, supported software clients
  9. availability of usage statistics to enable rational decisions on future title additions or deletions

4. DUPLICATION
The University Library may provide both print and electronic access to particular monograph titles if this is justified by demand and preservation requirements.
 

OTHER ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

1. SCOPE
Other electronic resources may include Government documents, working papers, conference proceedings, databases, web sites, image files, etc.

2. ACCESS
Purchased resources and those produced by the University of Auckland will be given priority for the creation of MARC records in Voyager.  Free resources may be made available only via the Library website.

3.  SELECTION CRITERIA
Selection decisions rest with collection managers.  Subject librarians, Library Liaison Officers, other University Library staff and users may offer suggestions to the appropriate collection manager.  Questions relating to price and availability should be directed to the Acquisitions Department or Serials Unit.  Collection managers will consider the following criteria when selecting an electronic resource, whether new or the equivalent of an existing print document in the collection:

  1. demand
  2. suitability to curricular support
  3. currency and comprehensiveness
  4. enhanced contents and additional functionality
  5. ease of use and convenience for users, e.g. unrestricted access in terms of location and time
  6. reliable, stable and permanent access
  7. appropriateness of format, e.g. file size

4.  DUPLICATION
The University Library will only provide both print and electronic access to a resource if:

  1. electronic access is available only to print subscribers
  2. the content coverage is not identical to that of the print version, or the text or illustration format of the print and electronic versions is not of the same quality
  3. print versions are needed to enable accurate references to an official or authoritative version (including those recognised in court hearings)
  4. electronic publication lags behind the print edition
  5. the publisher has no commitment to archiving the electronic version.

Alison Grant
Collection Services Manager
March 2006