Electronic resource management (ERM) is the practices and software systems used by libraries to keep track of important information about electronic information resources, especially internet-based resources such as electronic journals, databases, and electronic books. The development of ERM became necessary in the early 2000s as it became clear that traditional library catalogs and integrated library systems were not designed to handle metadata for resources as mutable as many online products are.
Contents |
The idea of developing electronic resource management systems emerged in 2001-2002, growing out of research by Tim Jewell at the University of Washington. The Digital Library Federation and NISO began work in May 2002 to develop standards for ERM data.[1] These standards were published in the 2004 as Electronic Resource Management: Report of the DLF ERM Initiative.[2] Since the publication of the report, several vendors of integrated library systems have released ERM products.
Features of some ERM systems include:[3]
Several library automation companies have developed ERM products, including several with generic-sounding names for specific commercial products. Some open-source ERM systems also exist.