The 13th annual Electronic Resources and Libraries (ER&L) conference returns to the AT&T Conference Center at the University of Texas at Austin on March 4–7, offering attendees a range of presentations on electronic resources management (ERM) in seven tracks: licensing, collection development, organizational strategies, external relationships, user experience (UX), scholarly communications and library publishing, and emerging technologies and trends.

New this year is an ER&L 101 program, highlighting workshops and presentations in all seven topical tracks that will appeal to attendees who are newer to the profession. These include Trials and Tribulations: Managing Trials Effectively (Mon., Mar. 5, 3–3:45 p.m.), Getting Started with Usage Statistics (Tues., Mar. 6, 10:45–11:30 a.m.), and Communicating Accessibility to Third-Party Vendors (Tues., Mar. 6, 4:30–4:45 p.m.). A Community Conversation brainstorming session regarding the new 101 program will also be held on the final day of the show (Wed., Mar. 7, 8:30–9:15 a.m.).

This year’s featured speakers include Data & Society founder and principal researcher for Microsoft danah boyd, who will present on The Messy Reality of Algorithmic Culture (Tues., Mar. 6, 1–1:45 p.m.), Data & Society researcher Robyn Caplan presenting the opening keynote (Mon., Mar. 5, 9–10 a.m.), and Siva Vaidhyanathan, director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia, presenting the closing keynote on Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects People and Undermines Democracy (Wed., Mar. 7, 10:30–11:30 a.m.).

The fourth annual Designing for Digital (D4D) UX conference will once again be collocated with ER&L March 5–7. D4D will feature keynote addresses from National Public Radio information architect Veronica Erb and Facebook product designer Debashish Paul, as well as UX-focused presentations on organizational strategies, service and physical space design, UX tools and methods, UX in practice, emerging trends, and more.

Optimal budget management is always a key theme. This year presentations include Merging and Meshing Data in Collections: Finding Measures To Demonstrate an Academic Library’s Positive Value (Mon., Mar. 5, 10:45–11:30 a.m.), which will cover a major cost per use project recently completed by the University of Alabama Libraries. Do We Know What We’re Paying For? Assessment of Use of Electronic Resources (Mon., Mar. 5, 3–3:45 p.m.) highlights unique ways to analyze use data from publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, and Wiley to ensure that the library is receiving a good return on investment. And EBA, DDA, ATO, Oh My! Testing Different Acquisitions Models for the Best ROI examines how Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s experimentation with a variety of new acquisitions models has helped lower costs.

However, counterpoint session A Very Bad Idea: Calculating ROI in Libraries (Tues., Mar. 6, 3:15–4 p.m.) cautions, “while it is tempting to follow [the return on investment] model for demonstrating value, it is the first step toward a system where everything will have to have a demonstrated value.”

In addition to a four-hour workshop on Advanced Licensing and Copyright—Juggling Negotiation, Management, and Compliance (Sun., Mar. 4, 1–5 p.m.), deep-dive sessions on current issues in licensing include the aptly named Did We Buy This? Untangling Which Materials Are Licensed with the Help of Modern Technology (Mon., Mar. 5, 10:45–11:30 a.m.), which explores a tool developed by OhioLINK for tracking contracts, licensed materials, and participating libraries in a consortium environment. Best Practices for Licensing Online Video Efficiently and Effectively (Mon., Mar. 5, 4–4:45 p.m.) offers practical tips for managing all aspects of licensing online videos, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in libraries and important to patrons. And Into the Great Wide Open: Licensing, Vendor Relations, and Data Security During “Interesting Times” (Tues., Mar. 6, 4:15–5 p.m.) discusses “the areas of intersection [among] licensing, vendor relations, and the successful resolution of incidents of prohibited use of content and their associated IP blocks.”

A variety of emerging technology sessions are also on tap, including Community Engagement: Using Linked Data To Increase Event Attendance and Circulation (Mon., Mar. 5, 10:45–11:30 a.m.), Cameo Role: Casting the Future of Film in the Library in the Face of Content, Demand, and Technology Change (Tues., Mar. 6, 9:15–10 a.m.), Moving Beyond IP Authentication: The New Frontier in Single Sign On (Tues., Mar. 6, 4:15–5 p.m.), and AI and the Research Ecosystem (Wed., March 7, 9:30–10:15 a.m.).

Interested librarians who can’t make it to Texas can once again check out the conference online. Two channels will stream selected sessions live during the conference each day, and all sessions, with the exception of workshops and lightning talks, will be recorded and made available within 24–48 hours of completion, totaling more than 90 hours of content. ER&L has also announced that it will be closed-captioning all of the recorded content in this year’s program. For more, check out the full schedule at https://erl18.sched.com.—Matt Enis