ERIC Task Force Mission Statement and Document Overview

Mission Statement: On December 18, 2003 the USMAI Council of Library Directors appointed the E-resources in catalogusmai (ERIC) Task Force to study feasible options for presenting electronic items in the catalog and drafting a white paper on the options. The CLD will decide on the options and next steps. This web page is designed to collect some of the work of the Task Force and related materials.

Document Overview: The Task Force began meeting in February 2004. The survey of current practices was identified early on as a mechanism for determining how institutions are currently providing access to electronic materials. A copy of the survey and a summary of results is provided on this web site.

The Task Force identified 3 viable options that emerged from the survey results. An introductory Challenge Statement was written and revised, and each Task Force member was asked to take the list of resources identified in the survey and sort them into 3 categories, i.e., everything in the catalog, nothing in the catalog, something in the catalog. For example, no campuses currently catalog databases in order to provide access to them through the OPAC. Most Task Force members indicated that they have, or would like to have, all Ejournals in the catalog (individual titles). And most Task Force members noted that some types of proceedings, standards, government documents, etc., should be in the catalog.

This work led to the production of 3 more documents. The Options document presents the advantages and disadvantages of each of the 3 scenarios. It became clear that the "something" option was the most representative of current practice as well as future plans. This option encompasses the others to some degree by leaving open the option to use them in some cases (e.g., databases).

The discussion of providing access to ejournals through the catalog using SFX brings the issue of single/multiple records back to a high level of importance. The Cataloging Policy Committee of DLM responded by producing a report which describes the issues and the options. In addition, several members of the Task Force worked on a report describing the challenges of this option for database maintenance.

After the ERIC forum the Task Force will draft our White Paper. We will make it available on the web site for comment. This draft will reflect the information collected by the Task Force, ideas and feedback provided at the public forum, and recommendations reached based on the knowledge gained during the past 4 months. Then we will submit our final White Paper to the CLD and make it available on the web site.