New Electronic Resources Management System for the ANKOS Consortium

Abstract

The Anatolian University Libraries Consortium (ANKOS), which was originally established to coordinate university libraries' electronic serials purchases, today plays an active role in selecting, providing access to, managing and evaluating electronic information resources in Turkey. A substantial volume of subscriptions and purchases of e-journal, e-book and e-reference resources is conducted through ANKOS. In order to measure the usage rate of these resources, to conduct cost analyses and to use the findings in strategic planning cycles of both the institutions and the consortium, a New Electronic Resources Management System (ERM) has been developed by ANKOS. In this study, the authors explain how the new system was developed, its technical features, data entry and collection, the system's contribution to the collection of institution and usage statistics, and its impact on strategic planning. Available statistical facts are also provided to illustrate the development and the impact of the new ERM system. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.