With content divided into seven distinct tracks—Managing e-Resources & Licensing, Collection Development & Assessment, Organizational Strategies, External Relationships, User Experience & Promotion, Scholarly Communications & Library Publishing, and Emerging Technologies & Trends—the annual ER&L conference in Austin, TX, offers attendees deep-dive presentations, case studies, and panel discussions on every aspect of electronic resource management (ERM).

This year, ER&L and the Designing for Digital (D4D) UX (user experience) conference are once again collocated, but unlike 2016, when the shows were held consecutively, this year the events are sharing an overlapping, concurrent schedule April 3–5. D4D will include keynote presentations from Google’s VR/UX designer Manuel Clément and Cyd Harrell of 18F and also the Center for Civic Design. For attendees who want to see it all, sessions for both conferences will be recorded (with the exception of workshops and luncheons) and will be available through an online archive post­conference. And, once again, ER&L will be offering an online version of the meeting for remote attendees.

WORKSHOPS & assessment

The show kicks off with a series of in-depth preconference workshops (all Sun., Apr. 2, 1–5 p.m.), including The License & Copyright Jigsaw Puzzle: Making the Pieces Fit; EZproxy for Everyone: A Basic Overview (of the Most Valuable Product in Library History!); Teach Your Staff To Troubleshoot E-Resources: Practical Processes for Creating Effective Troubleshooting Training; and Agile-Inspired Project Management for Library Staff (or, Simple and Practical Methods To Keep Calm and Get Stuff Done).

Strained budgets are an unfortunate reality for most academic libraries, and many of the sessions in the Collection Development & Assessment track offer case studies in how libraries are continuing to provide access to content while coping with cuts. Forecasting Use: Using ILL Data To Try and Predict the Impact of Unbundling Two Publisher Packages (Mon., Apr. 3, 3:45–4 p.m.) discusses how ILL data and COUNTER reports were used to forecast the impact that breaking apart multiple publisher “Big Deals” would have on ILL at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Cooperative Collection Management Between Universities: Exploring the Possibilities and Potential Pitfalls (Mon., Apr. 3, 4:30–5:15 p.m.) examines how two peer institutions, the University of Akron and Cleveland State University, collaborated on data analysis to make cancellations and reallocate funds to areas of need. And Open Access and Database Coverage Overlaps: Determining the Real Cost-Per-Use Using J5 COUNTER Reports (Tues. Apr. 4, 8:30–8:45 a.m.) explores how core journal titles exhibiting coverage overlap may not justify cost per use compared with using ILL for current articles.

In with the New

The Emerging Technologies & Trends track covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from Filmmaking Instruction in Libraries, Teaching the 60 Second Documentary Format (Tues., Apr. 4, 2:45–3 p.m.) to Beginning the Conversation: Discussing Research Data Services and Support at an Academic Library (Tues., Apr. 4, 1:15–2 p.m.). But discovery and enhanced access to content is a theme connecting several early sessions in this track. The panel Reveal Your Library’s Collections: Understanding Linked Data for Academic Libraries (Mon., Apr. 3, 10–10:45 a.m.) discusses how transforming MARC records into Linked Data can help surface library collections on the open web. Exploring Academic Library and Publisher Collaboration: Using Publisher APIs for IR Access to Articles by University Authors (Mon., Apr. 3, 1:15–2 p.m.) will examine a collaboration between the University of Florida (UFL) and Elsevier to feed journal platform data and links automatically to UFL’s institutional repository through free APIs to expand access to university-authored content. Three local librarians from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin will “introduce a new perspective and options for digital exhibits” in Global Studies in Illuminating Hidden Collections with Omeka (Mon., Apr. 3, 5–5:15 p.m.)

NISO Speaks

Four Monday sessions spanning multiple tracks will offer updates regarding the National Information Standards Organization’s (NISO) recommended practices. KBART All Around You: What’s Next for Your Old Friend (Mon., Apr. 3, 11–11:15 a.m.) discusses the implications of KBART (KnowledgeBases and Related Tools) becoming automated and able to transmit data about a library’s entitlements. The Transfer Code of Practice: Overview & Updates (Mon., Apr. 3, 11:15–11:30 a.m.) will cover current activities of the Transfer working group, recent changes, and how to use the Transfer Alerting Service. Standards in Motion: The NISO Altmetric Initiative (Mon., Apr. 3, 11:30–11:45 a.m.) will discuss Outputs of the NISO Alternative Assessment Project, published in September 2016, and will examine the next steps that might be taken in the standardization of Altmetrics. On the Up and Up: Community Improvement of Ebook and E-Content Metadata and Delivery (Mon., Apr. 3, 4:30–5:15 p.m.) will explore and gather feedback on two new NISO projects, E-Book Metadata Requirements in the Supply Chain and the NISO API Framework for E-Content in Libraries.

Internal and External Relationships

The Organizational Strategies track will offer several insights for attendees interested in staff management and work flow issues, such as Distribution of Electronic Resources Management Responsibilities Among US Academic Librarians (Mon., Apr. 3, 3:30–4:15 p.m.), Structuring for Innovation: Perspectives on Managing Technical Services (Tues., Apr. 4, 3:15–4 p.m.), and Build a Cross-departmental Team To Effectively Support e-Resources Access and Troubleshooting (Wed., Apr. 5, 8:30–9:15 a.m.). External Relationships sessions will cover a wide range of topics including collaborations with consortia, faculty, nonprofits, vendors, and even Open Education Resources for University Based Retirement Communities (Tues., Apr. 4, 4:15–5 p.m.).

Management of institutional repositories and open access materials are two natural themes throughout the Scholarly Communication & Library Publishing track. But sessions also include A Tool for Librarians To Select Metrics Across the Research Lifecycle (Tues., Apr. 4, 11:15–11:30 a.m.), which discusses Librarian Quick Reference Cards for Research Impact Metrics, Copyright Management of MOOC Resources in a Health Sciences Library (Tues., Apr. 4, 3:15–3:30 p.m.), Designing Information Systems To Enhance Scholarly Identity and Reputation (Tues., Apr. 4, 3:15–4 p.m.), The Digital Potential: Making Digital Objects More Than a TIFF Image and a MODS Record (Tues., Apr. 4, 3:45–4 p.m.), and Local Digitization Case Studies: Making Local Collections Global (Wed., Apr. 5, 8:30–9:15 a.m.).

ER&L’s User Experience & Promotion track is separate from the D4D UX conference, with sessions on topics including marketing, outreach, UX, discovery, and accessibility. Highlights are Marketing Your Library’s Digital Resources (Mon., Apr. 3, 10–10:45 a.m.), a walkthrough of the outline, goals, and objectives of an actionable marketing plan; APPlatform for Discovery: Building a Unique Experience through Discovery Apps (Tues., Apr. 4, 8–8:45 a.m.), and Resource Access and the User Experience: Exploring Ways To Improve Security and Authentication for Services and Content (Tues., Apr. 4, 10–10:45 a.m.).

Licensing and Access

In addition to a couple of the NISO sessions mentioned above, the Managing e-Resources & Licensing track covers the topic from a variety of angles. There are Techniques for Electronic Resource Management 2.0 Discussion (Mon., Apr. 3, 11–11:45 a.m.), Tracking E-journal Perpetual Rights: A Library Case Study (Mon., Apr. 3, 1:15–2 p.m.), and Why Don’t I Have Access? A Look at How One Library Is Dealing with Alumnus and Retiree Access to Electronic Resources (Mon., Apr. 3, 1:15–2 p.m.). Other highlights include Looking for Trouble (Tickets): Developing a Standard Vocabulary To Support Data-Driven Communication About E-Resource Access Problems (Mon., Apr. 3, 4:30–5:15 p.m.); Securing Your Library’s License Legacy: Working Toward Best Practices for Record Retention (Tues., Apr. 4, 9–9:45 a.m.); Licensed To ILL (Tues., Apr. 4, 2:15–3 p.m.), a Beastie Boys–themed presentation about how the UT at Arlington transformed “years of sloppily preserved licenses into an intuitive, searchable, easy-to-use system”; Availability of Freely Available Articles from Gold, Green, Rogue, and Pirated Sources: How Do Library Knowledge Bases Stack Up? (Tues., Apr. 4, 3:15–4 p.m.); and Regaining Control During Platform Changes (Tues., Apr. 4, 4:15–5 p.m.).

ER&L concludes on Wednesday, April 5, with a postconference workshop Creating an Institutional Repository—Elements for Success! (1–5 p.m.), which will guide participants through multiple aspects of IR management including promotion and marketing strategies, business plan and scope, team-building and support services, processing and publishing, networking and building advocacy, and continuity and sustained development.