Digital Library Management: E-Resources, Licensing and Discovery Systems – Dubai, 22–26 Feb 2027

Programme overview

Introduction:

Digital library management has become the main workload of most libraries, yet many still run e-books, e-journals and databases through scattered spreadsheets, renew packages without usage evidence and leave users facing broken links and login barriers. This Core Concept course equips library practitioners to plan an e-library service, license and activate electronic collections, describe them with sound metadata, configure discovery and access, and evaluate value with standard usage reports. Participants work hands-on in library system labs and leave with a Digital Library Service and E-Resources Plan.

Course Objectives:

• Assess the current e-library service, subscription portfolio and user needs to set the scope of a digital library service
• Apply the TERMS lifecycle to manage e-resources from investigation and licensing through renewal, cancellation and preservation
• Create and map bibliographic metadata for electronic collections using MARC 21, Dublin Core and RDA practice
• Configure knowledge base activations, link resolver targets, discovery display and user authentication so licensed content is reachable
• Evaluate e-resource value with COUNTER Release 5.1 reports and cost-per-use evidence to support renewal decisions
• Produce a Digital Library Service and E-Resources Plan covering collections, licences, systems and user services

Target Audience:

• Staff responsible for selecting, acquiring and renewing e-books, e-journals and databases
• Staff who catalogue and maintain metadata for electronic and digitised library collections
• Library systems staff who administer library management systems, discovery layers and access routes
• Staff who deliver reference, research support and information literacy sessions to library users
• Information centre coordinators in government, corporate and research organisations who run a small e-library

Course Outline:

Day 1: Digital Library Service Planning and Current-State Review

• Digital Library Service Models: Print, Hybrid and E-Only Collections
• User Needs Assessment and Information Literacy Service Planning
• Current-State Audit of Subscriptions, Platforms and Access Routes
• E-Resources Budget Mapping: Subscriptions, Perpetual Purchases and Open Access Content
• NASIG Core Competencies for E-Resources Staff: Team Skills Gap Review

Day 2: E-Resource Lifecycle, Metadata Standards and Library Systems Architecture

• TERMS Lifecycle: Investigation, Acquisition, Implementation, Evaluation, Renewal and Preservation
• MARC 21 Bibliographic Records for E-Books and E-Journals
• Dublin Core Elements and the MARC to Dublin Core Crosswalk
• RDA Description and BIBFRAME Linked Data Concepts for Catalogue Records
• Library Services Platforms, Knowledge Bases and NISO KBART Title Lists

Day 3: Collection Development, Licensing and Discovery Configuration

• E-Book and E-Journal Acquisition Models: Big Deals, Title-by-Title, Evidence-Based and Demand-Driven
• Licence Agreement Review: Authorised Users, Walk-In Access, Interlibrary Loan and Text Mining Clauses
• Activating E-Collections in the Knowledge Base and Link Resolver
• Discovery Layer Configuration: Relevance Ranking, Facets and Full-Text Linking
• User Authentication Set-Up: IP Ranges, Proxy Access and Single Sign-On

Day 4: Usage Evaluation, Access Failures and Continuity Risks

• COUNTER Release 5.1 Title, Platform, Database and Item Reports
• Cost-per-Use Analysis for Renewal, Cancellation and Vendor Negotiation
• Access Troubleshooting: Broken Links, Metadata Errors and Entitlement Gaps
• Perpetual Access Rights, Post-Cancellation Terms and Third-Party Archiving Options
• Library Digitisation Projects: Selection Criteria, Copyright Clearance and Collection Metadata

Day 5: Library System Labs and the Digital Library Service Plan

• Lab: Tracing One E-Resource from Signed Licence to Discovery Display
• Lab: Compiling a COUNTER Usage Dashboard for a Renewal Review
• Multi-Sector Case: University, Research Institute and Corporate Information Centre Collections
• Digital Library Service and E-Resources Plan Drafting
• Plan Presentation and Peer Challenge

Skills You Will Gain:

• E-Resource Lifecycle Management
• Licence Negotiation and Review
• Bibliographic Metadata Creation
• Knowledge Base Administration
• Discovery System Configuration
• Remote Access Management
• Usage Statistics Analysis
• Information Literacy Delivery

Why Attend This Course:

• Return with a Digital Library Service and E-Resources Plan that can be applied to a real library or information centre
• Practise activation, discovery and authentication tasks in a library system rather than only reading about them
• Negotiate renewals with evidence by reading COUNTER reports and cost-per-use figures correctly
• Compare e-library practice with peers from universities, research bodies, government and corporate libraries across several countries

Conclusion:

An e-library serves its users only when licensed content is well described, easy to discover, reachable from anywhere and renewed on evidence. The course moves from service planning and the current-state audit, through the TERMS lifecycle, library metadata standards and systems architecture, to acquisition models, licence review, activation, discovery and authentication, and then to usage evaluation, access failures, perpetual access and digitisation choices. The final day's labs and case work turn this into a Digital Library Service and E-Resources Plan for each participant's library.