A Journey into E-Resource Administration Hell
by
Louise Cole
Abstract
The author discusses the administrative problems which can still occur when looking
after a large and complex portfolio of electronic resources, and focuses on some of the
recurring ‘nightmares’ involving e-journals in particular. Amongst the subjects discussed
are lost archives, activation codes which change without anyone being told, unreasonable
expiry dates, poor service, wandering URLs, lack of publicity, failure to keep licensing
conditions, and title changes. The article ends with a look at some emerging examples of
excellent practice to do with e-journal management, proving all parties involved can
work together to ensure a smooth and efficient service.
About the author:
Louise Cole is the Electronic Resources Team Leader in the Health Sciences Library,
University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom. E-mail address:
l.cole@leeds.ac.uk. She has been involved in electronic resource administration at the
University of Leeds since 1999; she also has responsibility for licences and wider
copyright issues.
1
The author would like to thank Pam Stuart, Electronic Resources Assistant at Leeds, for
her suggestions and examples for inclusion in this article.
A Journey into E-Resource Administration Hell
Introduction
An alternative title for this paper may well be ‘the librarian’s revenge’. Those of you
who choose to read on and share this journey with me will rejoice to hear that many of
your administrative frustrations will appear here in print.
In the next few pages we’ll be looking at some of the real horrors facing the manager of
those demons of publishing, electronic resources. Without naming names, we’ll bring the
most annoying practices of our friends the publishers to the fore. I can see you’re smiling
already if you’re a librarian. If you’re a subscription agent, well, you’ll probably
recognise much of what is included in this article. And if you’re a publisher, pay special
attenti