electronics information resource management

1. Electronics Resources Overview
Unit - 1

2. Concept
• E-resources has revolutionized the whole process
of information production, storage, dissemination
and retrieval. These technologies facilitate simple
search techniques, faster communication and
easy retrieval of information through
network/internet irrespective of place and time.
• Now most of the informational sources in every
field are available in e-form and the same has
been made accessible through networks.

3. Definition
The term e-resource refers to all the products
which a library provides through a computer
network.
The electronic resources are also known as
online information resources covering
bibliographic databases, electronic reference
books, search engines for full text books, and
digital collections of data.

4. Characteristics
It allows remote access.
It can be used by many users simultaneously.
It is interactive and allows interaction between
author/publisher and users.
It provides timely access to documents.
It eliminates printing and postage cost.
It does not require physical processing.
It can easily merge with altering service.
It provides improved access through full text searching.
It can solve the problems of missing issues of journals.
It can be updated more easily
Reduces storage space
It can easily be managed by adding bookmarks and personal
notes to the sites or by downloading into private files or
databases for copying and editing.

5. Benefits
• The reasons for actually embarking on the
purchasing of electronic resources are generally
accepted because of the ease of usability,
readability, affordability and accessibility.
• The following are the advantages of e-resources
Multi-access
A networked product can provide multiple points
of access at multiple pints round the clock and to
multiples simultaneous users

6. • Speed: An electronic resource is lot quicker to
browse or search, to extract information from,
and to integrate that information into other
material and to cross-search or reference
among the different publications.
• Functionality: E- resources will allow the user
to approach the publications to analyze its
content in new ways by clicking of the mouse
on search mode.

7. • Content: The e-resources can contain a vase amount of
information, but more importantly the material can
consist of mixed media i.e. images, video, audio
animation which could not be replaced in print.
• Mobility
• Savings physical Space
• Convenience
• Saving time& money

8. Benefits of the users
Independent of space and time
Interact with other electronic resources
Save user’s time (Ranganathans’ Fourth Law)
Provides value addition such as search ability,
supplements, formats unavailable in print
formats
Accelerated (Speed up) publication
Can be read by multiple users simultaneously
Can’t be mutilated(Damage), stolen, lost etc.

9. Drawbacks
• Now, more and more people prefer e-resources
to traditional ones, because it can save their time
and money.
• The fact that e-resources require special devices
or personal computers can be looked at as a
disadvantage.
• Many e-resources are typically produced to be
compatible (well-matched) with certain software
which in turn may be not easily available

10. • Since e-resources are dependent on other
equipment, certain hardware or software failures
may affect it
• Unless the hardware, Internet connection or
battery power and net work connection that is
required by an e-resource reader is readily
available, otherwise the electronic resources
document is useless. In addition, e-resources
depending on hardware and software and are
more easily damaged than a printed book.

11. • E-resource reading devices are surely more
expensive than printed books
• All devices of e-resources require power. There is
a growing concern that the e-resources at
present may not be accessible or compatible to
the future e-resources software or devices.
• Screen glare and eyestrain are a serious concern
for many potential users of e-resource
technology.

12. • A major worry of reading from an e-resource reader could
hurt the eyes. The display resolution of computer screens
and electronic devices is considerably less than the print
quality produced by a printing press
• Reading from a computer lacks the familiarity and comfort
of reading from a book.
• A paper book can be opened and flipped; through, while
an electronic text is more difficult to navigate.
• E-Resources have an unreliable life span. Paper has a much
longer life span than most digital forms of storage. Because
of the rapid development of new computer systems, it is
difficult to judge whether the software or hardware will
become outdated

13. • A high degree of reliability of the equipment
must be a part of the electronic devices that
handle the replacements for printed books
• Many titles that are available in traditional
print books are not yet available in an
electronic book format.

14. E-Resources life cycle
Discovery
• Discovery of an electronic information resource
is considered an important aspect in the process
of EIRs Management.
• As and when a new electronic information
resource originates, librarians come to know by
various sources from the faculty, from the subject
librarian, from an online advertisement, an e-mail
alert, from the publishers, or from the search for
a substantial resource for a genuine project.

15. Trial
If a resource is identified, the very next step
for a librarian is deciding whether to purchase
a license for it or not.
And for that, he would seek trial access for his
patrons and staff.
Based on the feedbacks he takes decisions.
During this process, a librarian pays
considerable attention to some specific issues

16. Selection:
• Once the trial is over, the immediate action
taken by the librarian is to decide whether to
acquire or purchase the electronic information
resource.
• If it is decided not to purchase, the electronic
information resource must be deactivated
from the library environment.

17. Acquisition
If the electronic information resource is found
to be useful, a decision will be taken to go
forward and subscribe to the same resource.
Librarian carries out an acquisition process.
However, an additional level of detail is
required, such as information about the
license and the availability of the resource to
various populations of users.

18. Access
Accessing resources is an important part of
the cycle of electronic information resources.
Once a library has acquired an e-resource, the
librarians need to ensure that it is well used.
First, they need to make certain that users can
access it easily

19. The decision to renew or Cancel
An e-resource subscription is typically valid for
a defined time period.
When the period ends, the librarian must
either renew the subscription or cancel it.
Unlike the decision at the selection phase, this
decision is based on the information
accumulated in the management system.

20. Thank you