Electronic Records Management at a Federally Funded Research and Development Center

This chapter provides an overview of the electronic records management initiatives by the Records and Engineering Document Services Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center managed by the California Institute of Technology for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Records and Engineering Document Services Group’s activities included the investigation of add-on records management applications to existing information technology systems, as well as follow-on work using a “Records Management-IT Compliance Checklist” to measure the records management capabilities of IT systems in development.

ERMS Druthers

In an effort to find an online-automated electronic resource management system that provides licensing, acquisitions, and statistical information easily, Columbia College of South Carolina journeyed into the world of open source and vender-based applications. During this journey, dead ends and roadblocks paved the way. To encompass all the identified requirements of the online-automated system, a new system needed to be designed.

Choosing and Implementing an Open Source ERMS

The Rohrbach Library of Kutztown University manages its electronic resources using a disconnected array of resources including spreadsheets, paper files, email files, and a Google Docs account. Clearly, a more streamlined and unified approach would be beneficial. In this case, the authors investigate various Electronic Resource Management System (ERMS) options and whether they are a fit for the library. They then examine the decision to implement an open source option. Finally, the case describes the process of implementing and populating the open source ERMS, in addition to challenges experienced along the way.

A Case of Redeemer’s University Adoption of Institutional Repository Using the Principles of Electronic Information Management Systems

This case is about the influence of the Internet on scholarly communication and the emergence of various access-to-knowledge initiatives. Major emphasis was placed on Institutional Repositories (IRs) using a practical example of its evolution at the Redeemer’s University (RUN), Nigeria. RUN was established in 2005 by the Redeemed Christian Church of God with the mission to develop into a global university that is able to contribute to the amelioration of the problems facing Nigeria, Africa, and the world. To achieve its mission, RUN created a development hexagon, which resulted in the need to deploy its RUN Institutional Repository (RUNIR). Consequently, RUNIR deployment, which began in 2008, formed the major theme of the case reported in this chapter. As a result of the advantages provided by the institutional repository, Redeemer’s University is in a strong position to meet its mission goals and objectives.

Managing Vendor Records for Monographic E-Collections at a Medium-Sized Academic Library

The rapid growth of electronic resources continues to challenge traditional methods of cataloging library collections, forcing a cataloging department to reevaluate its policies and procedures and implement changes. This chapter presents a case study of integrating vendor-supplied bibliographic records into a library catalog in order to provide timely and accurate catalog access to the library digital collections. The chapter discusses the benefits, issues, and challenges of batch manipulating and loading large record sets for these e-resources supplied by their vendors. It also describes the strategies and tools the bibliographic services staff has employed to solve the identified problems and improve the process. Further, it examines the effectiveness of the current e-record management policies and procedures. The chapter concludes with recommendation of solutions and a quest for future best practices in managing vendor-supplied records for e-resources.

Access to Scholarly Information across Disciplines, Languages, and Alphabets

The global conglomerate enterprise called libraries has spent over a century providing access to specialized trans-language and trans-alphabet information by converting non-Latin alphabets to Latin through transliteration. This endeavor has recently been challenged by efficiencies of scale provided by machine translation. A collective case study of United States national library practices shows that transliteration is still a priority for access to monographic materials at a bibliographic level, although the intended end-users are often confused by such practices and rely more on access through translation. It appears that well-established systems can co-exist in isolation from preferred systems even when both are needed. The result of such a case study shows that separate silos exist in the world of bibliographic access systems for monographic materials with the possibility that the future morphing of electronic materials including books and serials may clarify and possibly resolve this core access issue.

Transitioning from Print to Online-Only Resources

The Pacific Health Organization’s Medical Library transitioned from its holdings being entirely in print to entirely online in an extremely short time span—the bulk of the process happened in less than six months. Leadership interests and support drove this transition, as did cost concerns and the interest in providing equal access to a geographically dispersed staff. Flexible staff that was able to adapt to new roles and a robust interlibrary loan system made the change possible. There were initial costs, but on the whole, there were mostly benefits to the change, financial and otherwise. Patron reception was more negative among those with less comfort in the digital environment, but most adjusted well. Ongoing challenges include marketing and maintaining patron awareness without a physical space, meeting user expectations for quick and easy access and information, and keeping up to date with emerging technologies, such as applications for mobile devices.

Building a Digital Repository for Accreditation through Courseware

This chapter highlights how a graduate program in library science structured a university’s course management system to address the data gathering and document demands of accreditation. While examples in the literature revealed creative uses of content and course management systems, none specifically demonstrated ways to build a digital repository of accreditation materials. Design features of the course management system were found similar to content management systems but with distinct advantages. While both types of programs could address document storage without having to create separate Websites and to acquire dedicated Web servers, the course management system offers a way to communicate with colleagues, presents a mechanism to integrate specialized surveys within selected courses, and provides a way to compile and to save results from any survey or assessment technique. Faculty note ongoing challenges stemming from the use of a course management system but acknowledge viable solutions.

Construction of a Culture-Rich Database System for Indigenous Documentary Records

The digitized collections and their associated metadata records are one of the most important electronic resources that require constant and ongoing management. Construction of an easy-to-use database system is a key and necessary part of this management effort. Due to the lack of a local classification scheme for a thematic collection, constructing a database system that is searchable by browsing through a layered knowledge map is challenging. In this chapter, the authors first summarize some useful theories and principles for constructing a user-friendly database system, then point out some database system goals, i.e., functions that are useful for such a database system. Finally, using the database system for video and photograph resources on Taiwan’s indigenous people as an example, they present the solutions for achieving the goals. The purpose of this case is to demonstrate how to construct an ideal database system for the electronic resources born from digitization projects.

Guidelines for the Creation of the Electronic Protocol Register in an Electronic Records Management System

In the last twenty years, the organization of the administrative divisions of the Italian state has been deeply modified to improve the provision of services to citizens and companies. The process of computerization of the Italian public administration, called e-government, changed the ways and tools for the management of records. Paper records have been increasingly replaced by electronic ones, and tools for records management are electronic systems. Citizens and firms can write from their computer to the government and receive answers directly at their homes. In addition, the protocol register, one of the vital records of the government, which certifies the acquisition and production of records, has become a database connected with the records management system. The protocol register plays the important role of certification and identification of records in a digital environment. It is a reliable tool, which controls all the records and preserves the institutional memory, public or private. The aim of this chapter is to identify the elements that compose the electronic protocol register in an Electronic Records Management System (ERMS) that must be kept unaltered over time.