09/15/2017
This is the first entry-level, book-length treatment of eresources management (ERM) in five years, since Ryan O. Weir's Managing Electronic Resources: A LITA Guide. With this top-notch debut, Verminski (librarian, Univ. of Vermont) and Blanchat's (librarian, Yale Univ.) approach is topical rather than process-based or conceptual. Ten chapters address standard topics such as evaluation, access, usage data, licensing, and trends, as well as esoteric subjects hitherto covered only lightly in the literature: marketing eresources, managing open-access eresources, and building relationships with vendors. Library staff with limited ERM experience will find this volume's scope and depth invaluable, while experienced staff will discover many new techniques or standards to benchmark their own performances. The authors stress vendor relationship-building vs. vendor negotiation techniques: a method that plays to Blanchat's background as a vendor representative with insights to share from both sides of the library-vendor partnership. Public librarians should note that this title's emphasis is decidedly on ERM in larger academic libraries. VERDICT A reader-friendly deep plunge into library eresources management. Optimal for beginners and grizzled veterans of ERM alike.—Michael Rodriguez, Univ. of Connecticut
