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Using ERIC

 

Using My ERIC

 

Changes in the ERIC Program Since 2004

  1. How many documents from legacy ERIC are available online? Will they always be available?
  2. Now that ERIC is digitizing microfiche and releasing documents online, our library would like to weed the ERIC microfiche collection. What fiche should we discard?
  3. What download performance of legacy ERIC full-text files can be expected?
  4. Are there any plans to digitize documents not currently available?
  5. Will the bibliographic records for materials that cannot be digitized remain in the database?
  6. When did the addition of new materials begin?
  7. Will ERIC continue to contain Department of Education documents? Will ERIC contain education-related materials from other government agencies?
  8. Does ERIC index only free, full-text materials?
  9. Has the structure of the record in the ERIC database changed?
  10. What costs are associated with ERIC? Is microfiche available for purchase?
  11. How often is ERIC updated?
  12. Will ERIC resume publication of the ERIC Digests?
  13. Will the former AskERIC be resumed? How can I get subject search assistance?

1. How many documents from legacy ERIC are available online? Will they always be available?
More than 200,000 ERIC documents, produced in microfiche during the period November 1966 - July 2004 [ED010000 - ED483046], are available electronically. ERIC will continue to provide access to legacy materials.

 

2. Now that ERIC is digitizing microfiche and releasing documents online, our library would like to weed the ERIC microfiche collection. What fiche should we discard?
As ERIC makes further progress with digitizing materials from microfiche, libraries may choose to weed their collection of microfiche documents that are now available online. ERIC provides the following information to support your microfiche management efforts:

  • Lists of ERIC record numbers for documents now available online, which may be used for weeding the collection. Lists are compatible with most spreadsheet software. Please note that although it is a rare occurrence to reverse a permissions decision, copyright-holders do have the right to withdraw permission for online dissemination
    • Documents produced in microfiche and authorized for electronic dissemination in the years 1993-2004:
      1993 1994 1995 1996
      1997 1998 1999 2000
      2001 2002 2003 2004
    • Documents produced in microfiche 1966-1992 and newly authorized for electronic dissemination as part of the ERIC Digitization Project. ERIC will continue adding lists of newly digitized documents until the end of the Digitization Project in March 2009:
      Digitization Release # Documents Released
      June - November 200744,455
      December 200719,608
      January 200831,531
      February 200810,987
      March 20083,600
      April 2008205
  • List of ERIC record numbers for "placeholder" microfiche (referred to in the legacy system as Level 3 documents) issued 1989-2004. Placeholders provide the bibliographic record and abstract of indexed documents that do not include full text. These microfiche are no longer needed, as the records are available online
  • List of ERIC Documents on microfiche, including ERIC record number range, number of documents and number of microfiche cards, by issue year, for the years 1966-2004

 

3. What download performance of legacy ERIC full-text files can be expected?
Download performance is dictated by the bandwidth of the connection and the size of the item being downloaded. All users must have Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher installed. Legacy ERIC PDF documents, scanned from microfiche produced 1966-2004, are image files that have been compressed. Despite the compression, some of these files are still very large and may require a long period of time to download (particularly on dialup connections). To gauge download time, users should always look at the file size prior to downloading. In summary, when using the ERIC Web site, expect to see improvements in overall file download performance due to the reduced file sizes and more optimized Internet route, and less variation in overall performance due to the increased bandwidth available to the ERIC Web site.

 

4. Are there any plans to digitize documents not currently available?
ERIC is in the process of converting documents issued in microfiche 1966-1992, and is actively seeking copyright holder permission for online dissemination. ERIC will make available online only those ERIC documents for which permission is received. For more information, see ERIC Microfiche Digitization Project

 

5. Will the bibliographic records for materials that cannot be digitized remain in the database?
Yes, the full ERIC database of bibliographic records will continue to be available for searching, regardless of content availability.

 

6. When did the addition of new materials begin?
In December 2004, following a brief hiatus in the acquisition of database materials while ERIC underwent redesign, ERIC began a retrospective acquisitions program for journal and non-journal materials published January 2004 forward. On June 26, 2005, ERIC issued the first database update since the beginning of the enhanced system. Acquisition of materials for inclusion in the ERIC database is, and will continue to be, an ongoing activity

 

7. Will ERIC continue to contain Department of Education documents? Will ERIC contain education-related materials from other government agencies?
Yes. ERIC will continue to acquire Department of Education documents and will maintain its historical cooperation with the Federal Depository Library Program and the US Government Printing Office. ERIC will additionally continue to acquire education-related materials from other federal, state, and local government agencies.

 

8. Does ERIC index only free, full-text materials?
No. If ERIC cannot obtain publisher permission to provide free online access, the materials will still be indexed. Publishers have the option to provide ERIC with a link to an external source. The link, generally to the publisher's site, is displayed in the Full-Text Availability section of the Search Results and Results Details pages.

 

9. Has the structure of the record in the ERIC database changed?
Yes. ERIC has added the quality indicator, "Peer Reviewed," for journal articles and U.S. Department of Education documents; and includes this information in the Search Results display. At this time, ERIC does not anticipate a retrospective update of records indexed through July 2004 to add the new data.

 

10. What costs are associated with ERIC? Is microfiche available for purchase?
There are no costs for searching the ERIC database on this Web site, or for registering to use the My ERIC personalization features. Materials added to ERIC will be free whenever possible. However, much of the journal literature and a portion of the non-journal literature is not free because of copyright restrictions established by the contributor. Microfiche is no longer produced by the ERIC program.

 

11. How often is ERIC updated?
Indexed content is updated twice weekly on the ERIC Web site, including bibliographic records, full-text materials, and links to external sources of full-text articles and non-journal materials. ERIC provides monthly updates to commercial vendors and local institutions (e.g., a university mounting the database locally). Update frequency from these organizations may vary, depending on their individual production schedules. Within a month of their acquisition, materials will be placed in ERIC.

 

12. Will ERIC resume publication of the ERIC Digests?
There are currently no plans to resume the ERIC Digests. The ERIC program is focusing on modernization to substantially improve the searchability of the ERIC database, make ERIC operations electronic to the maximum extent possible, and provide access to free full-text information to the greatest extent possible.

 

13. Will the former AskERIC service be resumed? How can I get subject search assistance?
There are currently no plans to resume the AskERIC service. However, you are welcome to call the National Library of Education's (NLE) toll-free number (800-424-1616) or email NLE at library@ed.gov for assistance with your inquiries. NLE handles inquiries somewhat differently than AskERIC, but NLE librarians are extremely knowledgeable about education resources and topics and are committed to providing excellent service. The NLE's response may include ERIC materials as well as other information, such as related organizations or Web sites.

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