Peggy Johnson states that the goal of her latest book, Developing and Managing Electronic Collections, is “to offer practical guidance in navigating the complex issues associated with managing electronic resources in libraries of all types and sizes”. Her earlier book, Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management (2009, now in a 2014 2nd edition), focused more on collection development in larger academic libraries. This book provides useful information on many aspects of electronic resource management (ERM) that can be applied in a variety of different library environments.
The book consists of eight chapters followed by a glossary and index. Suggested readings at the end of chapters supplement the content of the book. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the development and rapid growth of electronic resources, new technologies and evolving business models. There is also a brief discussion of streaming media, which is timely given the increasing demand for streaming media to support online teaching. Chapter 2 addresses criteria for evaluating electronic resources to support purchase and retention decisions. While many criteria also apply to evaluation of print resources, additional criteria, such as licensing terms and functionality of the user interface, must be considered when applied to electronic resources.
Chapters 3 through 5 discuss selecting and ordering, licensing of electronic content and conducting business with information providers. Johnson states that the section on licensing “is an introduction to this complex topic” and provides discussion of licensing terminology, key elements to look for in a license and best practices to assist libraries in efficiently navigating the licensing process.
Chapter 6 discusses the need to work across more traditional organizational lines to effectively manage the life cycle of electronic resources. Legacy library organizations and library management systems were designed to manage print but not electronic collections. This chapter also discusses new technologies, such OpenURL linking and ERM systems, that have been developed to enhance access and management of resources. Chapter 7 discusses the basics of budgeting and the need for careful planning and monitoring of budgets, given the budgetary constraints that many libraries have experienced. Chapter 8 concludes the book, focusing on trends that may affect libraries in the next three to five years. Some older models, such as the Big Deal, will disappear as new alternatives are implemented. Johnson predicts that patron-driven acquisition will become the primary method of acquiring e-content. This final chapter is brief but thought provoking.
Developing and Managing Electronic Collections achieves its goal of providing an excellent introduction to the essentials of electronic resource collection development and management. As previously noted, the extensive list of suggested readings adds value to this book. The work is recommended for library science collections, as a supporting text for courses and workshops and for librarians and library staff new to electronic resource collection development and management.
