Global library cooperative OCLC, US, has announced the launch of OCLC WorldShare License Manager, a new service to help libraries meet the increasing challenges and complexities of electronic resource management. The service seeks to
bring together the two key features of electronic resource management — knowledge about licences that govern their purchase and use, and linking technology that connects users to needed content in a single place.
Built on the OCLC WorldShare Platform and WorldCat knowledge base, License Manager helps library staff more effectively manage the selection, purchase and availability of databases and e-resources. This new service consolidates link resolution, subscriptions, licences, vendor information, access and rights management to enable Webscale management, discovery and delivery of licensed and electronic resources.
License Manager is supported as a stand-alone service that integrates with other library management systems or can be integrated with OCLC WorldShare Management Services. It resides on the OCLC WorldShare Platform that allows library staff and others to create applications to enhance current features and bridge information to other systems.
The WorldCat knowledge base holdings that power the License Manager's linking functionality are designed to synchronise automatically with WorldCat. Once a library's local data is present in the WorldCat knowledge base, that information automatically updates appropriate records in WorldCat.
License Manager also includes a globally maintained vendor information centre and provides 'license templates' for global management of public and shared licensing terms by staff at all participating libraries. Cooperative contributions to this resource of vendor information are seen to allow library staff access to a richer repository of vendor data than they normally have at the individual library level.
Customisable workflows included in License Manager accommodate many aspects of electronic resource management, such as negotiation of licenses with content providers; evaluation of trial subscriptions; and registration and configuration of access credentials.
In addition, License Manager will in the future include the analytics that can better inform library management decisions and collection development. The COUNTER-compliant statistics, which are currently available in the OCLC statistics portal at www.stats.oclc.org, will be expanded to include aggregated reports on collections associated with those profiled in License Manager.
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