Meet the team: Emma Wilson-Shaw, e-resource manager
On this month’s meet the team, we meet Emma Wilson-Shaw, e-resource manager at OpenAthens. Find out about her role, her hobbies and her thoughts on the future of the industry!
Tell us a little about your role at OpenAthens
My role is a key strategic one that focuses on building relationships with digital content vendors, acting as a liaison for the global library community.
I’m a librarian, having worked in UK HE libraries for more than 20 years, so I’m really enjoying looking at e-resource management, identity and access management from a whole new perspective. I’m looking to build relationships with both our library and publisher communities to help us work together to break down those barriers to knowledge.
I joined the company during lockdown so it’s been a very different experience to any other job change! It’s all been very positive, for OpenAthens, it’s business as usual and it’s been surprisingly easy to get to know the company, our products and our customers.
What are your hobbies and interests?
Travel is one of my biggest interests, and I’m fortunate that my role allows me to visit our customers and explore new places. This year, I had the opportunity to visit Austin, Texas, for the first time.
When I’m not working, you’ll usually find me with a good book, wandering around galleries, getting stuck into something creative or out for a run.
What are the most common challenges you help libraries or publishers solve?
One of the biggest challenges is making sure everyone understands their role in achieving the shared goals of both the library and the publisher. My role is to bridge that gap, bringing people together to find practical solutions. For example, that might mean working collaboratively to create a sign-in experience that gives library users seamless access to publisher content, ideally so smooth that they don’t even have to think about it.
What’s your favourite part of the working week?
Any time I get to connect with our customers, whether online or in person. It’s always rewarding to learn more about them and the goals they’re working towards.
What’s changing most in how organisations manage access to digital resources?
In recent years, the rise of AI has started to change how users discover and engage with information. As those journeys evolve, organisations are having to rethink how access to subscription resources works.
It’s going to be really interesting to see how this develops, especially as discovery increasingly happens away from the traditional institutional ‘front door’, with AI tools and summaries becoming new pathways into trusted content.
What do you think the future of the industry looks like?
Even though we’ve come a long way, in the 15+ years I’ve been working in the e-resource/access management space, the industry still needs to look at how and where our users need to access information and make things easier. Whether that be providing easier access routes to subscription resources, or surfacing open access content. I think the current situation, with many universities and companies working remotely, is actually helping to focus on this goal.
How can we help?
Get in touch to find out how OpenAthens can support you and your users