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Subcommittee Charge

Purpose of Committee: (include responsibilities, goals, objectives, scope of work, relationships with other CSUL committees)

The Electronic Resources Subcommittee acquires and manages a shared electronic collection in support of programs at all of the State Universities System (SUS) of Florida, including a collection of electronic resources funded through an annual budget allocation to the Florida Center for Library Automation (FCLA) and journal collections funded by the State University Libraries (SUL’s) under FCLA negotiated licenses.

The ERS is responsible for:

  • Creating and managing a shared electronic collection.
  • Acquiring shared electronic resources through an annual budget allocation to FCLA. All resources acquired with FCLA funding must be available to the entire SUS. Should expenses for the shared collection exceed FCLA database funds, the Libraries may contribute institutional funds to make up the difference or the ERS may reduce spending on databases.
  • Leveraging the collective buying-power and overlapping collection interests of the SULs by coordinating opt-in purchases and subscriptions (also called sub-consortial deals). Participation in opt-in deals is optional. Each participating library contributes funds for the purchase and only the participating libraries have access.
  • Managing journal collections funded by the SUL’s under FCLA negotiated licenses. Work may include: renewals, title reconciliations, title cancellations and swapping, license terms, payment, access issues, and analysis of content and usage data in support of maximizing return on investment
  • Writing, maintaining, and implementing collection development policies and procedures for a shared electronic collection.
  • Systematically evaluating the existing collection and gathering information about potential acquisitions and maintaining unmet needs lists and acquisition priorities.
  • Maintaining and fostering expertise in all aspects of e-resource selection, delivery, and enhancement, including knowledge of content, interfaces, user trends, systems that enhance access and usability (proxy, discovery tool and indexes, Link Resolvers, etc. ), and tools that support acquisitions and analysis (statistics tool, ERMs, etc.)
  • Advising the Collection Planning Committee (CPC), Council of State University Libraries (CSUL), and collection managers about electronic resources issues, trends, and technologies related to e-resources.

The ERS maintains a cooperative relationship with other CSUL committees and has an especially close working relationship with the Collection Planning Committee, FCLA, and five standing subject working groups (Business, Education, Humanities, Science/Health Science, Social Sciences).

  • CPC: All ERS recommendations are forwarded to the CPC. The CPC monitors the workings of the ERS, provides strategic direction, and may assign specific action items. FCLA provides substantial support to the ERS and the SULs in the form of time, expertise, funding, systems, and equipment. FCLA efforts that directly benefit the ERS:
    • The FCLA E-Resource Licensing Specialist serves as an ex-officio member of the ERS. The Specialist and FCLA staff meet with vendors, negotiate licenses on behalf of the SULs, coordinate purchases and renewals of both FCLA-funded and opt-in deals, provide statistical and financial reports, and offers other support as appropriate.
    • FCLA receives and manages the funds for the shared collection.
    • FCLA purchases and runs systems that support and enhance ERS and SUL e-resources. FCLA locally loads purchased data and full text as needed and creates user interfaces to enable access to that content as needed; runs the servers for systems for SFX, MetaLib, Primo Central, MANGO Discovery, and other systems that enhance e-resource access and presentation; and maintains discussion lists and channels of communication used by the ERS and other CSUL committees.
  • The Subject Working Groups make recommendation about resources relevant to their subject areas on an as-needed basis for both the CPC and ERS. The charge and procedures are available as a section of a separate document.

October 2006. Compiled by Monica Metz-Wiseman, University of South Florida on behalf of the Electronic Collections Subcommittee.
December 2010. Revised by Athena Hoeppner and Valerie Boulos
August 2011. Revised by Athena Hoeppner
February 7, 2012. Revised by Athena Hoeppner, Monica Metz-Wiseman, Jane Strudwick. Approved by ERS 2/6/12