How to Build a Better Mousetrap

The need for various stakeholders in the library to access licensing information is critical when certain departments are working with electronic resources. For example, liaison librarians receive calls from faculty wondering whether they can put certain items within a virtual learning environment; instruction librarians need to know how many simultaneous users are available for a specific resource, so they know how to plan instruction sessions; and interlibrary loan librarians and reserves staff are sometimes unclear as to whether an item can be lent or added to an e-reserves system. These questions could simply be answered by looking within the licensing module of our ERM, which is Serials Solutions. However, while Electronic Resources librarians and staff find the product simple to use, those who do not work within the Resource Manager interface every day find the informationseeking task somewhat daunting. In an effort to increase transparency and demystify the licensing conundrum, several librarians at the University of Houston Libraries sought a way to make this information easily discoverable.