l make version and rights visible where users decide;
l enforce identifiers at the article level;
l automate the volatile parts, but keep humans in control.
Ixchel Faniel, said: “Users do look for open versions, but they will not find them reliably unless identifiers and rights travel consistently across systems.””.
The C-level concern These excerpts are from The invisible infrastructure: why metadata is now a C level strategic asset. It highlights why these discovery issues are becoming a higher priority for institutional leaders: “OA growth, hybrid models, and AI generated or self published content are accelerating complexity at a time when budgets remain flat. Metadata has be- come essential strategic infrastructure for libraries, because failures in the supply chain undermine reliable access and the trust signals users rely on, including ver- sion clarity, stable identifiers, peer review context where available, and reuse terms. They also weaken the integrity of insti- tutional reporting used to demonstrate value, guide investment, and support governance.
“Higher education libraries face a paradox. Digital collections dominate spend, yet students and researchers still encounter broken links, duplicate results, and version confusion. Sometimes the right version is not available through the library’s pathways. In other cases, the ver- sion is there but it is not clearly labelled at the point of discovery and access. Rights and reuse cues can also be unclear, leav- ing users unsure what they can do with what they find. The cause is rarely a sys- tem glitch. It is a metadata supply chain that has not kept pace with OA forward, hybrid collections and rapidly changing platforms.
“This is why metadata has become an executive concern. It directly affects measurable value and ROI, risk and compliance around entitlements, and the credibility of the evidence senior lead- ers use to make funding and platform decisions.”
“Rather than being a background detail, metadata now functions as the connec- tive system that underpins every stage of e-resource management. It brings together persistent identifiers, a shared knowledge base of holdings, license information, and enrichment workflows that allow discovery, access, and analytics to operate consistently across platforms. This shared layer is what enables libraries to keep pace with rising complexity and ensure that users, systems, and leader- ship dashboards all work from the same reliable signals.” “When that chain is incomplete or inconsistent, users experience friction
17
access operate from one backbone, you stop firefighting links and start delivering outcomes.”
For libraries that want to reduce friction quickly and make progress visible to leadership, the article suggests a short, practical five-step sequence:
l Start with one source of truth;
l make version and reuse cues visible where users choose; l set a minimum PID standard;
l turn on assisted enrichment, then review exceptions; l use evidence to prioritise the next fix.
John McCullough.
in the form of missing open or accessi- ble versions, unclear version labelling, ambiguous credibility cues, and dead links. Leaders experience it differently. When holdings are not current and versions are not linked, usage and cost per use report- ing can misattribute demand and hide OA uptake. That distorts the evidence used to justify spend and demonstrate ROI.” “The report proposes an operating pat- tern that reduces day to day firefighting without adding yet another layer of tools.” John McCullough, Executive Director,
Library Management Services, OCLC, said: “When metadata, licensing, and
Read the report
For an in-depth look at the points raised here and the implications for libraries, download our new report Unlocking the future of e-resource management https://
connect.oclc.org/cilip-eresources-OA. To learn more about findings from the OA Discovery project, download the OCLC Research Report Improving open access discovery for academic library users at
https://oc.lc/oa-discovery. BG
l
https://connect.oclc.org/cilip-eresources-OA l
https://oc.lc/oa-discovery.
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