ER&L Tracks

The Electronic Resources and Libraries Conference tracks are maintained by our Program Planning Committee.

The 2026 program will include these tracks and subtopics and related areas of interest to our community.

1. E-Resources Management & Licensing

Managing electronic resources is a challenge, whether you’re new to it or have been engaged in the endeavor for years. Which systems and tools can be used to manage electronic resources more effectively? How are we successfully handling new content formats? What can we achieve through more thoughtful and assertive licensing? How can standards and best practices assist our efforts? How do we best accommodate the rapidly changing authentication and access landscape?

Managing multiple formats (including digital and streaming audio/video)
New acquisitions models
E-resources workflows and troubleshooting
License negotiation and management
Content retention (including perpetual access, archival access, and digital preservation)
Text and data mining (copyright issues, licensing, pricing, etc.)
Data security, breaches, prevention and resolution: responsibilities of libraries, publishers, vendors; data ethics, patron data privacy (PII)
Data storage, description, and access
Evolving library management systems and ERM applications
Metadata (article and chapter-level) and content delivery (KBART, etc.)
Standards and best practices
Access, authentication, and authorization models, challenges, developments
Consortial collaboration
Platform migrations
Documentation and training
Impact of AI in utilizing eresources and related licensing restrictions

2. Collection Development & Assessment

How do we demonstrate value to our larger organizations? Are our collection analysis processes efficient and effective enough? How can collecting and using data be made easier? How can we best assess our online collections?

Employing new business models for targeted collection growth
Extracting and analyzing electronic resource data
Creating value for the customer
Using analytics/data mining
Calculating ROI and showing value to funding bodies (including development of nontraditional metrics)
Deselection and its impact on e-resources collections strategies
Incorporating free and open access resources into library collections
Impact of AI written content

3. Organizational Strategies & Promotion

Our organizations are quite dynamic. They routinely evolve due to changes in leadership and strategic vision, budget constraints, research interests, and user needs. All of these factors impact the way we acquire and manage e-resources. How can leadership support our efforts to keep up with rapid change? What type of leadership has helped create positive change? What are some examples of beneficial organizational shifts and improved communication? Where are there opportunities for internal collaboration, as well as external collaboration? Where do we still need to improve the way we work?

Preparing personnel for change
Fostering staff morale and engagement
Staffing needs and skills
Training and reskilling stories (good and not so good)
Collaborative internal relationships for e-resources support
Leadership and team-building
Communication at all levels of the organization
Building and maintaining inter-departmental partnerships
Organizational structures that get the work done effectively
Remote and hybrid work environments
Navigating organizational culture and challenges
Marketing and promoting e-resources to your users

4. External Relationships

In the digital world, libraries don’t stand alone. They work closely with consortia, vendors, other libraries, and intermediaries. How are these relationships working? Are we getting the most out of our partnerships with other organizations and groups? How can we improve our external relationships?

Relationships/issues between librarians, vendors, publishers
Working with subscription agents, knowledge base providers, and other intermediaries
Working with faculty, departments, and community groups
Consortial relationships
Collaborative relationships in e-resource delivery

5. User Experience & Online Presence

Libraries exist in large part to support our users. How can we better serve our user populations? What kinds of communications will help us reach them when so much is competing for their attention? What tools, activities, or methods can help libraries better understand and track user needs? How can we demonstrate to users the value of libraries and create a better user experience? How do we integrate library content and services into online spaces users already inhabit?

Marketing/promoting e-resources to your users
User experience
Discovery systems and applications
Accessibility
Serendipity
Student/patron advisory boards
Social media
Tools and methods
Web or online presence

6. Scholarly Communications & Library Publishing

How do we deal with new models of scholarship that are emerging? How do we accommodate new forms of content? What can we do to facilitate knowledge sharing and access? What role can the library play in the creation and distribution of the products of scholarship and creativity?

Digital rights management and copyright
Rights metadata
Open access publications and data
Data curation
Institutional and disciplinary repositories, locally digitized materials
Altmetrics
Read & publish / transformative agreements
Library publishing and university press partnerships
Open educational resources (OERs)
Open science and digital humanities
Research workflows and automation