ERIC and the 21 st Century: Education Research in the Digital Age

1. ERIC and the 21st Century:Education Research in the Digital Age Erwin Flaxman James Lonergan

2. Overview • A Brief History of ERIC • The Current and Proposed Missions of ERIC • The Current and Proposed Structures of ERIC • The Current and Proposed Functions of ERIC • Implications of the Proposal • Responses to the Proposal • Discussion Special Library Association Annual Conference

3. A Brief History of ERIC • To build a comprehensive education database • To provide access to the database to all education audiences • To synthesize the education literature Special Library Association Annual Conference

4. The Current Mission of ERIC • The mission of ERIC is to improve American education by increasing and facilitating the use of educational research and information to improve practice in learning, teaching, educational decision making, and research, wherever and whenever these activities take place. Special Library Association Annual Conference

5. The Current Structure of ERIC • Distributed Structure • Decentralized, Subject Oriented Clearinghouses • Centralized Processing Facility, Document Reproduction Service, Outreach Service • System-wide Special Projects • AskERIC • NPIN Special Library Association Annual Conference

6. The Current Functions of ERIC • Information Collection and Processing • Thesaurus Development • Reference and Other User Services • Knowledge Synthesis • Dissemination Special Library Association Annual Conference

7. The Current Functions of ERIC • Information Collection and Processing • Acquisitions • Processing • RIE (Fugitive Literature) • CIJE (Journal Literature) Special Library Association Annual Conference

8. The Current Functions of ERIC • Thesaurus Development • Vocabulary Review Group with Clearinghouse and library community members Special Library Association Annual Conference

9. The Current Functions of ERIC • Reference and Other User Services • AskERIC and Clearinghouse Question-Answering • Training for Database Searching Special Library Association Annual Conference

10. The Current Functions of ERIC • Knowledge Synthesis • Digests • Monographs • Resource Guides Special Library Association Annual Conference

11. The Current Functions of ERIC • Dissemination • ERIC Database • Clearinghouse Web Sites • Direct Mail • On-Demand • Workshops and Conferences Special Library Association Annual Conference

12. The Proposed Mission of ERIC • The mission of the new ERIC is to provide a comprehensive, easy to use, searchable, Internet-based bibliographic and full text database of education research and information for educators, researchers, and the general public. Special Library Association Annual Conference

13. The Proposed Structure of ERIC • Single Generalist Contractor • Small Consultant Group of Subject Experts (acting as advisors) Special Library Association Annual Conference

14. The Proposed Functions of ERIC • Acquisitions and processing limited to approved journals and document sources • Thesaurus development not proposed • Reference and other user services are optional • Knowledge synthesis is optional Special Library Association Annual Conference

15. The Proposed Functions of ERIC • Dissemination - ERIC Database - U.S. Department of Education/Contractor web site - Training Workshops (optional) Special Library Association Annual Conference

16. Implications of Proposal • Closing of Clearinghouses, Support Components, AskERIC and NPIN • Loss of subject expertise in Clearinghouses and host institutions Special Library Association Annual Conference

17. Implications of Proposal • Information Collection and Dissemination - More rigorous selection criteria • Faster updating • Full-text whenever possible • Improved content coding • Reduced coverage of journal literature from 1,100 journals to an estimated 400 • Reduced coverage of documents and journals to those produced by “approved” contributors Special Library Association Annual Conference

18. Implications of Proposal • Thesaurus Development - Thesaurus to be reviewed, status unclear • Reference and Other User Services • Termination of AskERIC and clearinghouse question-answering and referral services • Knowledge Synthesis • Elimination of ERIC Digests, monographs, and other synthesis publications • Dissemination - Elimination of Clearinghouse web sites Special Library Association Annual Conference

19. Responses to the Proposal • Over 3,000 individuals and organizations have sent comments to the Department of Education, including: • American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education • American Association of Community Colleges • American Association of University Women • American Educational Research Association • American Library Association • Children’s Defense Fund • Council for Exceptional Children • Council of Chief State School Officers • National Association of Elementary School Principals • National Association of School Psychologists • National Association of of Secondary School Principals • National Association of Social Workers • National Black Development Institute • National Education Association • National PTA Special Library Association Annual Conference

20. Summary of Responses • Support for: • More rigorous selection for database additions • Faster updating • More full-text • Improved content coding Special Library Association Annual Conference

21. Summary of Responses • Opposition to: • Closing of 16 ERIC Clearinghouses • Termination of AskERIC and Clearinghouse question-answering and referral services • Elimination of ERIC Digests, monographs, and other synthesis publications • Reduced coverage of journal literature from 1,100 to an estimated 400 • Reduced coverage of documents and journals to those produced by “approved” contributors • Elimination of Clearinghouse web sites Special Library Association Annual Conference

22. ERIC and the 21st Century • Discussion of the impact of proposed changes for librarians Special Library Association Annual Conference