Managing networked information resources more effectively: Candle

This article describes some of the design ideas being developed in the European Commission co‐funded Candle project. Our aim in the project is to design a tool for libraries to manage access to electronic resources, particularly electronic journals. In the article we describe the Candle system, features of which will be: role based access control, single sign on, services to remote users, electronic journal subscription management, detailed usage statistics, scaleable administration of thousands of users. Authentication to web resources will be handled through a proxy. We discuss future development plans based on our study of user requirements. We also examine emergent technology and standards such as certificates, directories, mechanised licences and privacy issues which will govern the development of future versions of systems like Candle.