E-Matrix at the NC State University Libraries

To best address the challenges of serials management, E-Matrix provides functionality in the following areas:

Licensing: The E-Matrix licensing module acts as a centralized repository for all of the Libraries’ electronic resource license agreements. The module uses a mapping process to break each license down to its most important components, providing a staff view that is easier to read and interpret than the license agreement alone. Each mapped license highlights those areas that are most important to librarians, such as permitted uses and restrictions. Additionally, each license within E-Matrix contains a link to a PDF copy of the original document. The resulting repository serves as a more effective alternative to a traditional paper file.

Access: E-Matrix drives some of the Libraries’ most important public access tools. It populates the A to Z journal list, seamlessly integrating holdings data from the Libraries’ catalog and link resolver into a single, easy-to-use format and allowing print and electronic holdings to be displayed side by side. E-Matrix also adds unique functionality to the Libraries’ subject web pages. Staff members can create user-friendly subject classifications based on NC State University’s departments and degree programs and map them to specific resources. They can also create tailored resource descriptions of individual titles and vary them according to the intended audience.

Collection evaluation: The data and statistics stored in E-Matrix enhance the Libraries' evaluative capabilities. E-Matrix holds local data, such as prices, usage statistics, and internal usage codes, and centralizes external measurements, such as impact factors and LJUR data. Any of these data sets can be combined, allowing for advanced analysis on the basis of use, scholarly impact, price, and more. By facilitating the unification and manipulation of diverse evaluative data, E-Matrix allows librarians to examine the Libraries’ holdings on any level – from a single title to the collection as a whole.

Reporting: E-Matrix uses evaluative data, as well as detailed organizational roles, to fuel a powerful reporting system. By manipulating data sets found in the collection evaluation module, librarians can produce many important reports, including analyses of cost per use and cost per citation or publication. The creation of organizational roles within E-Matrix further enhances its reporting capabilities. Each organization associated with a resource is assigned one or more roles, including vendor, publisher, provider, and licensor. Any report produced by E-Matrix can be narrowed by organization and role for greater customization.

Name authority: To be truly useful, the organization names in E-Matrix require standardization. Because the data in E-Matrix has been imported from many sources, organization names in their raw form often include variations, errors, and changes that have not yet been addressed in the system of origin. E-Matrix meets the need for normalization through the inclusion of a unique tool that allows staff members to locally assign authoritative organization names. The name authority is the backbone of an effective reporting system, as it ensures that report specifications are correctly applied to all resources with E-Matrix.

The E-Matrix Committee continues work on enhancements to the product, with an emphasis on the development of a workflow queue and the addition of more sophisticated features to the evaluative and reporting modules.