Status Line

• Reference Services
• Oct. 07
• Issue: 216

NISO’s Shared E-Resource Understanding (SERU) Initiative

Do you know about SERU? If you’ve ever been frustrated by the process of negotiating a license for electronic resources, you are not alone. Publishers and librarians recognize the need for an alternative model to “customer-by-customer, bi-laterally negotiated formal legal contracts,” especially for small sets of resources on the “long tail,” and are collaborating on one with the Shared E-Resource Understanding initiative. There is a draft posted on the NISO web site and the program is in its first trial phase. Publishers who are willing to accept SERU, and libraries who are interested in using it, should register at the NISO web site. BioOne and Duke University Press are two of the publishers currently registered, and the University of Buffalo libraries represent New York on the list. To find out more about SERU: Download a brief summary: http://nylink.org/reference/pdf/SERUpostcard.pdf. Find out more about this project: http://www.niso.org/committees/SERU/.

Cooperative Services Contact Information

Please contact Tatiana Sahm (sahmt@nylink.org) or Jen Stelling (stellingj@nylink.org) at Nylink with your questions. They are available via email or phone (800-342-3353 / 518-443-5444).