[Web4lib] ERAMS vs. URM

[Bonnie Tijerina]

(I am not on code4Lib list.  Please forward if appropriate.)

Karen and all,
Thanks for the feedback about ERAMS.  I'd like to 1. explain what role
Serials Solutions is playing in this discussion and 2. why I personally have
been willing to put time into making this whole erams.org thing happen.

1.
The ERAMS concept was created by Serials Solutions.
At Erams.org on the other hand all the content was written between Jill
Emery (UT-Austin), Elizabeth Winter (GA Tech), Dana Walker (UGA) and I from:
- Jane Burke's excellent presentation <
http://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/13595> at Electronic Resources &
Libraries(ER&L) Conference in February
- Lorcan Dempsey's blog post on ERAMS and the comments:
http://orweblog.oclc.org/archives/001250.html
- presentations and opinions we heard (mainly academic) librarians express
at the ER&L Conference
- our own (possibly somewhat ignorant) understandings of the library world
around us, and how we experience dealing with electronic resources in our
daily jobs.

In regards to the Wikipedia entry, I did not create that though it looks
like its basically the Serials Solutions brochure.  I was planning on going
in this weekend to update it with the content the 4 of us have written on
the website.

2.
My job as e-resources coordinator involves working with just about every
department in my library.  A couple years ago I created the ER&L Conference
with hopes that we can bring together professionals and staff from all areas
of the library dealing with e-resources to understand eachother's
perspectives, see our possibilities, and learn from each other.  Some of the
most interesting and talked-about sessions are those that took attendees out
of their silos and made us think about how we can do things differently and
better.  That has been somewhat successful with a conference of 200-300
people, but I still feel like we're missing a lot of great perspectives.
If you listen to the audio of Jane Burke's presentation (which is available
and preserved in GA Tech's IR) you will hear her say she is giving ERAMS to
librarians to do with it what we need to and that's just what we did.  I see
this as that way to connect more people around these issues than I could
ever do through one small conference.  So, that's my take on it.

Back to erams.org -
Any lack of perspective, opinions, and ideas do not come from a purposeful
non-inclusion of an issue and no commercial entity will drive the content on
the website. The 4 of us just wanted to get the ball rolling with some
questions and see what, if anything, happens.  I'm sure we missed many areas
that will need to be included.  Contributors and commentors will drive the
content, so if anyone wants to correct, add more questions, fix some things
we said, please do.

Karen and anyone else who can't make it to this first discussion - feel free
to send additional questions we should ask and/or send your thoughts on
these questions before the end of next week and I will bring them with me to
this discussion.  Also, hopefully discussions can happen at other upcoming
conferences.  I'm willing to set-up a discussion at the conferences I'm
attending this year(ALA, LITA) and I think Jill, Elizabeth and Dana (and any
other volunteers?) will do this at other conferences.


 - Bonnie


-- 
Bonnie Tijerina
Electronic Resources Coordinator, Collection Development
Georgia Institute of Technology
Library and Information Center
Atlanta, GA 30332-0900
404-385-2044
AIM: bltijerina
bonnie.tijerina at library.gatech.edu