From Electronic Resources Management to Library Services Platforms

Libraries have long been proponents of automation, but one area that remains a challenge is support for electronic resource management. With each step in the long history of library automation, expectations are that the next generation of technology will allow libraries to do work that has always been done, only faster. This chapter discusses how this expectation may in fact have been the reason behind the unrealized potential of electronic resource management system (ERMS), and may further challenge the success of libraries in moving to new library services platforms (LSPs). As libraries contemplate this next migration, library professionals must reflect on how new technologies, particularly in the area of cloud hosted services, may provide an opportunity to redefine the library’s purpose and mission in a truly new way. Taking that opportunity will mean reclaiming the library’s relevance with respect to its parent organization, rethinking and rebranding the services provided to library users, and most importantly ensuring that the services libraries provide to their communities are understood to be something needed and valued by that community.