University of Lincoln

What prompted the Library to move to FOLIO ERM?

We have explored a number of different ERM systems over the years, including ERM Essentials and some of the KB+ functionality, and finding neither really flexible enough for our processes have always reverted back to using increasingly large and cumbersome spreadsheets. At the point at which FOLIO ERM was offered to us, we were working remotely and starting to make more use of Teams and online workspaces so were looking for a way to share and easily access what seemed to be a massive amount of subscription information. We worked out we were storing our contacts, subscription, licence and access information in about ten different locations, and were on the look-out for a system which could consolidate at least some of these. FOLIO does offer this, and our focus for this project has very much been to bring together information, to allow us space to review our processes, and to make sharing and reporting more streamlined.

Can you comment on your experience with implementation of the FOLIO ERM service? How long did it take to implement the service?

We had a dedicated implementation team at EBSCO who supported us online throughout the set-up process, including data mapping and migration. They took us through step-by-step so that we thoroughly understood how each part of the ERM functioned, and they kept us on track with weekly project meetings and tasks to complete to move the implementation along. They were incredibly supportive and helpful, and the process never felt overwhelming, even though we were aiming to complete it alongside our standard workload.

The supported set-up process took about eight to ten weeks, and I believe you could have an active and working ERM set-up in this time. We made the decision to extend this set-up time to allow for some data cleaning and manual entry for some of the datasets we weren't able to automate, which took us about six months from starting the process to the point where the ERM was fully part of our workflows.

Have you managed to use FOLIO to support your workflows that were previously supported by KB+? Are there any things that FOLIO ERM does differently to other means you have used? Has the EBSCO Knowledgebase been accurate in this process?

FOLIO definitely allows us to continue with workflows we had in place previously. We previously used another tool to store or link to licences and one of the big advantages of FOLIO for us has been the licence module, allowing us to report on standard licence terms such as easily seeing which of our content packages allow inter-library loans, or offer alumni access for example. Using FOLIO has meant we're using the same terminology and way of managing all resources, whether it's a single title from a small publisher to a large package order through a consortia deal. One of the big advantages has been the link between FOLIO and EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS), meaning we're only ever having to update our holdings once, and we've found the Knowledgebase to be up to date in this regard.

Now that FOLIO ERM is part of the library's workflow, are there things that you’d like to do with the existing service that you’ve not done yet?

We're still using our LMS for invoices and finance processing so ultimately I'd like to look at using FOLIO in this process so we're using it to evaluate spend on our packages alongside usage. Following some rearrangement of tasks internally, we're now in a position to start a full review of our subscription processes from purchase to access, and I'm expecting FOLIO to form part of this and hoping we can make better use of the in-built workflows to streamline how we communicate any updates and changes.

What would you say to a library that has used other means of managing licenses and now finds themselves without a way of managing their electronic resources effectively?

Spreadsheets are fine, and I don't think we'll be entirely without them any time soon, but having a dedicated ERM system has allowed us to review what we have access to through content, licenses and post-cancellation access effectively; it's centralised all of our contacts and admin logins, and it's allowing us to improve how we share information with other departments. I can also see ways that we can start to integrate it into our workflows for usage and auditing so that everything is in a single place and we're less reliant on those big spreadsheets. FOLIO ERM for us has definitely replaced our prior system so I'd say it's very worth considering if a dedicated system could help beyond that with time and process improvements.