[Michlib-l] MeL Database Announcement

Wed Jun 27 15:09:29 EDT 2018

The Library of Michigan is pleased to announce that our most recent procurement process is nearing the finish line and we can announce our intentions to you.  Our MeL Databases RFP process began with 8 listening sessions held in several communities around the state from Canton to Marquette.  Your feedback helped shape the content of the RFP which was issued in January of this year. Several vendors responded to the RFP and 11 vendors were asked to provide trial access and product demonstrations via webinars. More than 200 members of the library community evaluated database resources during the trial period and provided detailed feedback to us via an evaluation survey. The decisions on the final choices were made using your evaluations and the available budget allocated to the Michigan eLibrary program.
The Library of Michigan needs to balance the acquisition of database resources for MeL while continuing to provide services and support for the diverse Michigan library community. Our intent is to build a well-rounded state library that can provide services and support across the state to help libraries enhance their work in their own local communities, whether it be in a municipality, on a campus, or in a school building.  In addition to providing high-quality electronic resources, one of our goals is to maintain and extend other statewide library services such as continuing education stipends, collaborative grants, summer mini-grants, community engagement training with Harwood, Wandoo Reading Program, continuing education to build knowledge and skills of the library community, increased enhancement of early literacy programming, Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Michigan Hub, and potentially other services our community will request in the future.
What Did We Request from Vendors?
In 2017-2018 the Library of Michigan allocated nearly 75% of their statewide library services funding to the Michigan eLibrary that provides both the statewide resource sharing system, MeLCat, as well as electronic resources. When the Library of Michigan crafted the bid document, using input from the library community, we asked for pricing that includes a wide range of possible resources to support many different types of library audiences.  For example, in this RFP we asked for resources that would cover the following topic areas meeting the needs of different library patrons: general interest (such as auto repair and genealogy, etc.), preK-12 educational, academic educational, allied health, business, reference eBooks, test preparations, licensing, certification, career preparation and workforce skills building.
What Are the Results of the Evaluation Process?
Our review team carefully evaluated all the resources offered and made their recommendations.  Based on the best cost, evaluation scores for things like content and user interfaces, and library community input via surveys and product demonstrations, we are currently in the final stages of contracting with a variety of vendors for MeL database resources with access beginning October 1, 2018.  Several resources we currently provide will continue under the new contracts, while others will be replaced with comparable products and new ones will be added to MeL.org and made available to all Michigan residents. For a complete list of databases click here<https://www.michigan.gov/documents/libraryofmichigan/lm_2018_June_Full_List_New_EBSCO_Resources_626401_7.pdf>. The following summary table indicates the overall packages that will be available to MeL users on October 1, 2018.
NEW RESOURCES

CONTINUING RESOURCES

EXPIRING RESOURCES

EBSCO Core Enhanced Package and EBSCO Business Package

Gale Cengage
*         Opposing Viewpoints in Context (OViC)
*         Demographics Now People and Business

Gale Cengage - All except Demographics Now and OViC

AtoZDatabases.com

Encyclopaedia Britannica School

Scholastic BookFlix

World Book
*         Early World of Learning
*         World Book Kids
*         Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos

ProQuest Heritage Quest

Civic Technologies' BusinessDescision

What the Changes Will Bring.
After reviewing library community feedback, pricing and our available budget we made decisions to move to a more comprehensive suite of products from EBSCO that fits within our allocated budget and also provides a number of enhancements to our current product lineup.
There is a substantial list of resources available with EBSCO's package. For a full list of the EBSCO resources to begin this fall click here<https://www.michigan.gov/documents/libraryofmichigan/lm_2018_June_Full_List_New_EBSCO_Resources_626401_7.pdf>. Some of the specific highlights of EBSCO's offering are noted below. These bring the Michigan library community greater access without added cost.

  *   MyHeritage, EBSCO's genealogy resource (replacing HeritageQuest)
  *   NoveList upgrade to include both Novelist K-8 Plus and NoveList Plus (One of the most requested resources.)
  *   LearningExpress Library upgrade to the full suite of resources.
     *   Job and Career Accelerator
     *   Computer Skills Tutorials
o    PrepSTEP Bundle

  *   A 30,000+ collection of eBooks covering everything from K-8 to Business.
     *   eBook Academic Collection
     *   eBook Business Collection
     *   eBook K-8 Collection
     *   eBook High School Collection
     *   eBook Public Library Collection
     *   Additional eBooks can be found in LearningExpress Library, Literary Reference Center, MasterFILE, Poetry & Short Story Reference Center, and Science Reference Center
  *   A substantial business collection with the following resources:
     *   Business Book Summaries
     *   eBook Business Collection
     *   Entrepreneurial Studies Source
     *   Regional Business News
     *   Small Business Reference Center

We also heard from the library community about a need for a business resource that fit better with the needs of public libraries wanting to provide access to detailed business and residential listings for their patrons. Our new resource, AtoZDatabases.com, fits this need and our budget.
It is our goal to support and maintain a comprehensive collection of electronic resources for our K-12 community.  The decision to not renew Scholastic's BookFlix resource was difficult and given the cost of this resource, it would be a challenge to provide other types of educational resources that were requested by the K-12 community. While we have secured a robust collection of electronic resources for the Michigan Library community, we are continuing to investigate options to supplement our current early literacy resources.

EBSCO's K-12 offering includes their K-8 eBook collection, MasterFILE Complete, Biography Reference Center, Middle Search Plus (for middle school libraries), Primary Search (for elementary libraries), History Reference Center, and Literary Reference Center which contains many full text classics. Additionally, we are maintaining our subscriptions to Gale's Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Britannica's Encyclopaedia Britannica School, and World Book's Early World of Learning, World Book Kids and their Spanish language resource Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos.
What Happens Next?
Once the contracts are finalized later this summer, more detail about these resources will be available, and work will begin to configure the subscription access to the new package of EBSCO resources as well as to AtoZDatabases.com.  MeL team members will also be working with vendors to develop more enhanced training and support that will help you learn how to use the new e-resources most effectively.  Be on the lookout for upcoming training sessions to learn more about the resources in the summer and fall.
Also on October 1, we will be excited to debut a new MeL site.  Our goal is to create an easier to use portal for all things MeL and will also focus on providing additional database training and support resources.  We look forward to feedback from the library community and sharing our progress as we move through the re-design process.
What Should You Do?
It is important that you, your public service and technology staff stay abreast of the MeL changes and training opportunities for our new resources that will be announced in the coming months.  You can stay up-to-date by subscribing to the following lists or visiting the Library of Michigan website:
*         Michlib-L Listserv<http://mail2.mcls.org/mailman/listinfo>
*         MeL Databases List<http://mail2.mcls.org/mailman/listinfo>
*         LM's Michigan eLibrary page<https://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan/0,2351,7-160-18668_39174---,00.html>
You should also begin planning to make any necessary changes to your website, printed materials, and statistical collection methods.
The MeL team would like to extend its thanks to the many members from the Michigan library community that took time to participate in the product demonstrations and provide evaluations of the resources through the survey. Additionally, thanks to the staff from the Library of Michigan and the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services for doing the work behind the scenes to enable the Michigan eLibrary program to serve our libraries and patrons across Michigan.
Questions?
For questions about the 2018 RFP please contact Liz Breed, Michigan eLibrary Coordinator, via email at breedl at michigan.gov<mailto:breedl at michigan.gov> or fill out our web form<https://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan/0,2351,7-160-18668_39174-471706--,00.html>.
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services<https://www.imls.gov/>. Additional funding is provided by the State of Michigan and the Library of Michigan Foundation<http://www.libraryofmichiganfoundation.org/>.

Liz Breed
Michigan eLibrary Coordinator
Library of Michigan
Michigan Department of Education
517-373-4466
breedl at michigan.gov<mailto:breedl at michigan.gov>
www.mel.org<http://www.mel.org>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail3.mcls.org/pipermail/michlib-l/attachments/20180627/ffa6ec8f/attachment.html>