Research libraries have long invested in approval plan services, which offer an economical way to acquire scholarly and scientific publications. Traditional approval plans have evolved and now enable libraries to expand their e-book offerings to better serve researchers. Publishers offer a myriad of e-book purchasing options. These range from individual titles to comprehensive packages allowing libraries to choose publisher-direct (Springer and others) or aggregator (Ebrary, for example) access, but a standard access and pricing model is needed to promote systematic acquisition of e-books. In 2010, Texas A&M University Libraries implemented an e-preferred approval plan. This article will discuss the evaluation process for research libraries migrating to an e-preferred approval plan.pproval plan services have evolved as technological advances influence user expectations; approval vendors now include digital content in their offerings. These expanded services support a variety of access models for monographs that accentuate shifting collection development initiatives in research libraries. Libraries have the option of incorporating e-books in approval plans by adopting hybrid profiles accommodating both print and digital content. Research libraries have long suspected that print collections are little used, as hypothesized in a 1979 study assessing the University of Pittsburgh's print collection.

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In 2010, after two previous unsuccessful attempts at electronic resources management system (ERMS) implementation, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries set out once again to find an ERMS that would fit its needs. After surveying the field, TAMU Libraries selected the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries-developed, open-source ERMS, CORAL (Centralized Online Resources Acquisitions and Licensing). This article documents the selection, planning, and implementation of CORAL at the Texas A&M University Libraries as well as future plans for the system.Attend any library conference in the last few years and the subject of electronic resource management systems (ERMS) is sure to come up, either in the program or as a topic of conversation. Despite the number of proprietary and open-source options available, these presentations and discussions indicate that finding the Holy Grail might be easier than finding the perfect ERMS. In 2010, after two previous unsuccessful attempts at ERMS implementation, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries set out once again on its quest to find the elusive ERMS that would fit its needs. After surveying the field, TAMU Libraries selected the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries-developed, open-source ERMS: Centralized Online Resources Acquisitions and Licensing (CORAL). This article documents the selection, planning, and implementation of CORAL at the Texas A&M University Libraries, as well as future plans for the system. BACKGROUNDTAMU is a research-intensive institution with more than 50,000 students engaged in over 150 courses of study on its main campus. The University Libraries include five on-campus libraries: Sterling C. Evans Library (the general university library); Cushing 16 Downloaded by [Stony Brook University] at 09:53 20 December 2014 CHARTING A COURSE THROUGH CORAL 17Memorial Library and Archives; Medical Sciences Library (MSL); West Campus Library (business); and Policy Sciences and Economics Library. Altogether, 80 librarians and 175 professional and classified staff are employed in the University Libraries. In FY 2012, the overall University Libraries' budget exceeded $37 million, with more than $12 million of collection expenditure spent on electronic resources. The majority of these expenditures are applied among three types of resources: electronic serials (over 67,000); databases (roughly 1,000); and ebooks (over 100,000).As if sheer size and the resultant financial commitment toward electronic resources were not enough incentive to have a full functioning ERMS, TAMU is also the flagship campus of the Texas A&M University System, a group made up of 14 campuses, 7 state agencies, and 1 health science center. In this capacity, TAMU Libraries negotiates licenses for TAMU System subscriptions, maintains an SFX server that reflects these shared subscriptions, and often acts as the liaison between the campuses and vendors when problems arise. These duties make it imperative that TAMU Libraries have an effective ERMS that records access rights and provides tran...

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