Electronic resources are to be reviewed following the policy outlined below.

This policy provides guidelines for the Chester Fritz Library in the selection,
acquisition, provision of access to, and maintenance of electronic resources. For guidelines
to electronic periodicals, see the appropriate section of the Periodicals Policy. 

The following guideline standards should be followed for all electronic resources:

   a. Conventional collection development criteria should be paramount and should be applied
      consistently across formats including digital resources.

   b. Principal considerations include: 
          - establishing a coherent rationale for the acquisition of each resource 
          - meeting faculty and student information needs, providing orderly access and guidance to
            the digital resources, and integrating them into library service programs ensuring 
            that the advantages of the digital resource are significant enough to justify its
            selection in digital format.

   c. Balance must be maintained among: 
          - disciplines 
          - information formats (i.e., printed, audio-visual and electronic media have different but
            equally essential purposes and audiences) 
          - instructional and research tools 
         
   d. Priority should be given to digital format acquisition of those resources which benefit the
          most faculty and students for the best price

   e. Priority should be given to digital resources when they offer significant added value over print
      equivalents in such ways as: 
          - more timely availability 
          - more extensive content 
          - greater functionality such as the ability to invoke linkages to local and/or related resources 
          - greater access because they can be delivered rapidly, remotely, at any time 
          - improved resource sharing due to the prevalence of digital resources 
          - ease of archiving, replacing, preserving.

   f. The Library should retain authority for selecting and deselecting materials (content and
      format) and sound selection decisions should not be compromised by provider-defined
      linkages between print and digital products.

   g. The Library will address objections to linked digital information by following the procedure 
      outlined in the ALA Bill of Rights for "Challenged Material." 


The following guidelines are divided into two tiers:
 	Tier One - provides guidance on the evaluation of free electronic resources such as Web sites
		  to be cataloged or sites to be linked to the Chester Fritz Library homepage;  
 	Tier Two - provides guidance on the evaluation of electronic resources that are be considered
		  for sole acquisition, co-acquistion with another entity, or those resources which
		  have been donated with licensing and/or long-term maintenance considerations.

TIER ONE - Free Electronic Resources

The following criteria should be considered when determining whether or not the Chester Fritz Library
catalogs a Web site onto ODIN, links a Web site to the Library homepage, or in any other way the Library
promotes or provides access to a free electronic resource. Bibliographers shall have the responsibility 
for linking Web sites to resources by subject according to their subject specialities.

CONTENT

     Are the scope and limits clearly stated? Is the title informative? Does the content fit the scope? 
     Are headings clear and descriptive, or do they use jargon unknown to the intended audience? 
     Is text well-written with acceptable grammar and spelling? What is the quality of multimedia files? 
     Is the content organized by the needs of the user? 
     Is it a dead end, or are there links to take you further? 
     Are the content and the links clearly described and suitable to the expected audience?   
     Is the content up-to-date? Are out-of-date links promptly corrected? 
     Is the content amplified over time, or is one visit all it's worth? 
     Is the origin of the content documented? Are facts verifiable and accurate? 
     Is the material on the site covered adequately? 
     Is the information on the site accurate? 
     Who is the author/source? 
     Is it clear who is responsible for the site? Can the author be contacted? 
     What are the author's reputation and qualifications in the subject covered? 
     Is the information presented in an objective, balanced manner? 
     Are biases and opinions clearly identified? Is there any conflict of interest? 
     How does the site compare with other sites on the same subject? 
     Is the content unique, or readily available elsewhere? Has copyright been respected? 
     Is the site appropriate for the intended audience? 
     Is there community interest in the content or the site itself? Are there reviews of the site? 

ACCESS

     Is the site still useable with a standard browser?
     Is it written in standard html, or have proprietary extensions been used? 
     Does it use standard multimedia formats? 
     What software must be installed to use the site? 
     Do parts of it take too long to load? 
     Is the site accessible to persons with disabilities?
     Is it usually possible to reach the site, or is it overloaded? 
     Is it stable, or has the URL changed? 
     Is the URL stated in the text of the webpage? 
     Does the site use the words the average person would try in a search engine? 
     Is it open to everyone on the Internet, or do parts require membership and/or fees? 
     If there is a charge, can the library pay it on a subscription basis for multiple access points? 
     Are any rules for use stated up front? 


DESIGN

     Are the individual Web pages concise, or do you have to scroll forever? 
     Do essential instructions appear before links and interactive portions? 
     Do all the parts work? 
     Is using the site intuitive, or are parts likely to be misunderstood? 
     Can you find your way around and easily locate a particular page from any other page? 
     Is the structure stable, or do features disappear between visits? 
     Does it look and feel friendly? 
     Does it do more than can be done with print? 
     Are interactions secured if they involve private information? 
     Can you use the site with older browsers? 


TIER TWO - Acquisition and/or Licensing of an Electronic Resource

In addition to the above criteria, electronic resources which are fee-based, should be evaluated
against the following guideline standards.

COSTS AND PRICING

   a. Electronic content should be comparable in cost to its print analog, unless there is
      substantial added value (e.g., Britannica Online; or a bibliographic database
      enhanced with full text).

   b. Preferably, the Library should not be required to purchase both print and its digital
      equivalent. 

   c. Content and access costs should be separated. The Library should have flexibility in
      selecting appropriate access mechanisms (including local or remote server, resource
      sharing agreements with other institutions, etc.) and should be able to alter these
      agreements for an existing license, subject only to access and use restrictions in the
      license agreement. The information provider should inform the Library how much of the
      total cost is attributable to: 
	        1. licensing the content 
	        2. providing access
                3. format

   d.  The Library would prefer pricing based either on simultaneous use or by transaction.
       Site license pricing should be tied to FTE student count as opposed to the size of the
       total UND population.

LICENSING

   a. In the event that a licensed database is subsequently canceled or removed, the license should
      include permanent access rights to the content that has been paid for. 

   b. Information providers should employ a standard agreement that describes the rights of
      libraries and their authorized users in terms that are readable and explicit, and they should 
      reflect realistic expectations concerning the Library's ability to monitor use and discover
      abuse. Agreements should contain consistent business and legal provisions, including, for
      example, indemnification against third-party copyright infringement liability and
      permission to use records in personal bibliographic software.

   c. The license agreement should not contain a clause that establishes the laws of any one state 
      to rule. If so, the clause should be changed to the state of North Dakota or worded in such a
      way as to not mention any state.

   d. The licensed content, plus any associated features and capabilities, should be accessible from
      all institutionally-supported computing platforms and networked environments; this
      access must be based on current standards (e.g., Z39.50 compliant) in use by the library community.

   e. Licenses should permit fair use of all information for non-commercial educational,
      instructional and research purposes by authorized users whether local or remote,
      including interlibrary lending, unlimited viewing, downloading and printing. 

   f. Use data should follow the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) standards 
      and be available to the Library as part of contractual provisions for a license and
      the confidentiality of individual users and their searches must be fully protected.

    g. The license should permit access by IP range or other non-password authentication.

    h. Consultation with appropriate legal counsel may be required.

FUNCTIONALITY

   a. Data formats should follow industry standards and must be fully documented. Data should
      be platform-independent and available in a multiplicity of formats (e.g., ASCII, PDF,
      SGML, etc.). 

   b. The information provider must provide a responable response time. 

   c. Interfaces should be easy to master by the intended audience. 

   d. Information providers must keep the Library informed of format and content changes and 
      coordinate their implementation with the systems librarian.

   e. The Library must be able to provide access from convenient workstations connected to a
      network infrastructure that is reasonably fast. System capacity and bandwidth should
      adequately provide reasonable response time.

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