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Serials appearing on the third edition of the "Basic List of Veterinary Medical Serials" met expanded objective measures of quality and impact as well as subjective perceptions of value by both librarians and veterinary practitioners.

PurposeLibraries spend increasingly large amounts on electronic resources (ERs), but may not have adjusted staffing to support these resources. Assisting users with ER access problems is complex due to the many reasons a resource may be unavailable at a particular time. The objective of this paper is to describe the evolution of a library ER problem‐reporting help desk.Design/methodology/approachA pilot project was undertaken by librarians at the Texas A&M University Libraries to redesign workflows and staffing to provide an efficient, effective help desk service for solving ER access problems.FindingsIncluding librarians with experience in licensing and managing ERs in providing help desk services improved response time, problem resolution, systematic information capture, and service expectations and policies, and also led to the development of an ER HelpDesk database with enhanced functionality.Practical implicationsDelegating ER problems solely to information technology (IT) staff may seem reasonable but assumes technology is the source of most problems; it is just as likely that the user, the resource, or a non‐computer‐related issue is the source. Librarians whose traditional responsibilities include supporting user access were effective in providing expert assistance with access problems. Cooperative efforts of librarians and IT staff are necessary to ensure reliable ER access.Originality/valueThis paper offers practical, experience‐derived advice on establishing and staffing an ER HelpDesk service, including the importance of involving technical services librarians in providing support.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to determine core competencies, for use as a foundation for staffing and training, and necessary to provide effective electronic resource (ER) access support. Design/methodology/approach -The authors analyzed 580 ER access problem reports in a large academic library system to measure the specific skill(s) required for effective problem resolution. Problem reports were drawn equally from two different reporting systems: one using web forms and e-mail and the other featuring real-time user interaction. Findings -Abilities fostered in reference work related to communication with users, staff, and vendors were by far the most crucial and highly used in successful problem solving, followed by the knowledge to make appropriate referrals within the organization. Research limitations/implications -Results reported are from one institution, albeit one which serves a very large user population with diverse information needs which provided a broad range of users and problem types. Practical implications -Staffing for an access support service should draw upon employees whose skill set includes assisting users with more traditional information access, such as reference, as well as employees with expertise in areas such as licensing. Originality/value -Resolving user-reported online access issues is a mission-critical library service function. The paper offers an objective demonstration that the skills leading to success in access support are the same communication skills valued in reference services and that the mechanism used for providing a virtual reference service can also be used for handling user-access problems. Identifying and ranking these skills provides structure and best practice standards for continuous training and staff assessment.

In 2010, after two previous unsuccessful attempts at electronic resources management system (ERMS) implementation, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries set out once again to find an ERMS that would fit its needs. After surveying the field, TAMU Libraries selected the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries-developed, open-source ERMS, CORAL (Centralized Online Resources Acquisitions and Licensing). This article documents the selection, planning, and implementation of CORAL at the Texas A&M University Libraries as well as future plans for the system.Attend any library conference in the last few years and the subject of electronic resource management systems (ERMS) is sure to come up, either in the program or as a topic of conversation. Despite the number of proprietary and open-source options available, these presentations and discussions indicate that finding the Holy Grail might be easier than finding the perfect ERMS. In 2010, after two previous unsuccessful attempts at ERMS implementation, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries set out once again on its quest to find the elusive ERMS that would fit its needs. After surveying the field, TAMU Libraries selected the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries-developed, open-source ERMS: Centralized Online Resources Acquisitions and Licensing (CORAL). This article documents the selection, planning, and implementation of CORAL at the Texas A&M University Libraries, as well as future plans for the system. BACKGROUNDTAMU is a research-intensive institution with more than 50,000 students engaged in over 150 courses of study on its main campus. The University Libraries include five on-campus libraries: Sterling C. Evans Library (the general university library); Cushing 16 Downloaded by [Stony Brook University] at 09:53 20 December 2014 CHARTING A COURSE THROUGH CORAL 17Memorial Library and Archives; Medical Sciences Library (MSL); West Campus Library (business); and Policy Sciences and Economics Library. Altogether, 80 librarians and 175 professional and classified staff are employed in the University Libraries. In FY 2012, the overall University Libraries' budget exceeded $37 million, with more than $12 million of collection expenditure spent on electronic resources. The majority of these expenditures are applied among three types of resources: electronic serials (over 67,000); databases (roughly 1,000); and ebooks (over 100,000).As if sheer size and the resultant financial commitment toward electronic resources were not enough incentive to have a full functioning ERMS, TAMU is also the flagship campus of the Texas A&M University System, a group made up of 14 campuses, 7 state agencies, and 1 health science center. In this capacity, TAMU Libraries negotiates licenses for TAMU System subscriptions, maintains an SFX server that reflects these shared subscriptions, and often acts as the liaison between the campuses and vendors when problems arise. These duties make it imperative that TAMU Libraries have an effective ERMS that records access rights and provides tran...