Aggravating or Aggregating? Providing Effective Access to Contents of Aggregator Databases: A Reference/Collection Development Librarian's Perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Based on his experience, the author summarizes what reference/collection development librarians and library users want and expect from aggregator databases, and what's needed from database vendors and from librarians to meet these expectations. Particularly important are content quality, reliability, modularity, and affordability, interface simplicity and flexibility, and reliable congruence between and integration of print and electronic editions. From vendors, librarians should demand more and better content guarantees, purchase options, communication of content details and changes, full-text searching, and persistent URLs for individual titles. Librarians should provide analyzed cataloging and holdings for all titles in aggregator databases, keep these records current, fully integrate them with records for print and other electronic editions, and incorporate them into web catalogs, in addition to providing other web access tools such as browsable title lists.