Statewide Database Licensing Project - Spring 2000 Trials
Big Chalk

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(Note from the Washington State Library:  In order to participate in the Spring 2000 Washington State Databases Trial, each vendor was asked to address questions the Statewide Database Licensing Committee felt were most critical in order for library staff to evaluate products and vendors.  Please contact the vendor's representative, listed below, for additional information on this product.)

1. Describe the database product(s). Include information on subject scope, percentage of full-text, dates of coverage, target audience (including age ranges), and how often the contents are updated.  

eLibrary Plus ™

The eLibrary Plus ™ collection is the easiest-to-use general reference tool for high schools and public libraries (ages 14+) today. eLibrary Plus contains everything included in the popular eLibrary Classic alongside 200 additional general interest magazines and 60 additional regional newspapers providing greater depth of coverage in the sciences and social sciences. eLibrary Plus contains more than 900 magazine and newspaper titles – as well as TV, radio and government transcripts, books and reference collections, photographs and images, and maps. eLibrary Plus delivers millions of documents – all 100% full text and updated daily. Researchers will find coverage of most titles back to 1994.

Using eLibrary’s natural language and Boolean searches, users can type in a question, key word, or phrase. They can sort their results by relevance, date, file size, reading level, publication, or source. And they can view, print, or email any document or image in one step.

eLibrary Plus contains the following content (title lists are available upon request):

MEDIA TYPE	QUANTITY	SAMPLE TITLES
Magazines/Journals	726	American Scientist, Booklist, Discover, Forbes, Hispanic Times Magazine, InternetWeek, Journal of World History, Maclean’s, Natural History, Newsweek, The New Republic, Poetry, Saturday Evening Post, Scholastic News, Sports Illustrated, U.S. News & World Report
Newspapers	185	The Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Chicago Sun Times, Christian Science Monitor, Dallas Morning News, Idaho Statesman, Los Angeles Times, Novedades (Mexico), San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Post Intelligencer, USA TODAY
Reference Works	150	The Columbia Encyclopedia, Monarch Notes, Webster’s New World Dictionary, Webster’s New World Thesaurus, World Almanac and Book of Facts The Complete World Fact Book
Maps	1,759/7 collections	GeoSystems, MAGELLAN Maps
Images/Photos	103,947/15 collections	AIMS Multimedia, Index Stock Photography, Reuters
TV, Radio, and Gov’t Transcripts	70 programs	Networks: NPR, CNNfn, ABC, MSNBC, Fox News Top shows: All Things Considered (NPR), Talk of the Nation (NPR), 20/20 (ABC), Nightline (NBC), World News Tonight ABC), CBS Evening News (CBS), 60 Minutes Government: Washington Transcript Service, Capitol Hill Press Releases, Capitol Report, Congressional Testimony

 

eLibrary Classic ™

The eLibrary Plus � collection is the easiest-to-use general reference tool for high schools and public libraries (ages 14+) today. eLibrary Plus contains everything included in the popular eLibrary Classic alongside 200 additional general interest magazines and 60 additional regional newspapers providing greater depth of coverage in the sciences and social sciences. eLibrary Plus contains more than 900 magazine and newspaper titles - as well as TV, radio and government transcripts, books and reference collections, photographs and images, and maps. eLibrary Plus delivers millions of documents - all 100% full text and updated daily. Researchers will find coverage of most titles back to 1994.

Using eLibrary’s natural language and Boolean searches, users can type in a question, key word, or phrase. They can sort their results by relevance, date, file size, reading level, publication, or source. And they can view, print, or email any document or image in one step.

eLibrary Classic contains the following content (title lists are available upon request):

MEDIA TYPE	QUANTITY	SAMPLE TITLES
Magazines/Journals	520	Discover, Forbes, Maclean’s, Natural History, Newsweek, The New Republic, Saturday Evening Post, Sports Illustrated, U.S. News & World Report
Newspapers	125	The Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Christian Science Monitor, Dallas Morning News, Los Angeles Times, Novedades (Mexico), USA TODAY
Reference Works	150	The Columbia Encyclopedia, Monarch Notes, Webster’s New World Dictionary, Webster’s New World Thesaurus, World Almanac and Book of Facts The Complete World Fact Book
Maps	1,759/7 collections	GeoSystems, MAGELLAN Maps
Images/Photos	103,947/15 collections	AIMS Multimedia, Index Stock Photography, Reuters
TV, Radio, and Gov’t Transcripts	70 programs	Networks: NPR, CNNfn, ABC, MSNBC, Fox News Top shows: All Things Considered (NPR), Talk of the Nation (NPR), 20/20 (ABC), Nightline (NBC), World News Tonight (ABC), CBS Evening News (CBS), 60 Minutes Government: Washington Transcript Service, Capitol Hill Press Releases, Capitol Report, Congressional Testimony

eLibrary Elementary ™

The eLibrary Elementary ™ collection is easy to use, learn and teach! ELibrary Elementary, designed specifically for the need of younger researchers (ages 8+), has tailored content and an engaging, easy-to-use interface. eLibrary Elementary contains more than 40 magazine and newspaper titles – as well as TV and radio transcripts, books and reference collections, photographs and images, and maps. The entire collection is appropriate to elementary studies and is delivered in 100% full text, updated daily. Users will find coverage of most titles back to 1994.

Using eLibrary’s natural language searches, young researchers can just type and question and begin. They can sort their results by relevance, date, file size, reading level, publication, or source. And they can view, print, or email any document or image in one step.

eLibrary Elementary contains the following content (title lists are available upon request):  

MEDIA TYPE	QUANTITY	SAMPLE TITLES
Magazines/Journals	30	Jack & Jill, Highlights for Children, Humpty Dumpty’s Magazine, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Time for Kids, U.S. Kids
Newspapers	9	Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Dallas Morning News, Denver Rocky Mountain News, Los Angeles Times, USA TODAY
Reference Works	49	Countries of the World, World Almanac Series, New York Public Library Science Desk Reference, Webster’s New World Dictionary, The Columbia Encyclopedia
Maps	1,759/7 collections	GeoSystems, MAGELLAN Maps
Images/Photos	103,947/9 collections	AIMS Multimedia, Index Stock Photography, Reuters
TV, Radio, and Gov’t Transcripts	10 programs	ABC (Good Morning America, Primetime Live, World News Saturday/Sunday), CBS (Evening News, This Morning), FOX (Fox News Sunday)

 

eLibrary News ™  

The eLibrary News ™ collection is the easiest-to-use reference tool that delivers 100% full-text newspaper coverage from around the world. eLibrary News provides schools and libraries (ages 11+) millions of articles that cover current events, politics, finance, arts and entertainment, commentary, and more. eLibrary News contains 186 newspaper titles from 37 states and 19 countries. The entire collection is delivered in 100% full text, updated daily. Users will find a four-year average cumulative backfile for most titles – with selected titles available in full text back to 1981.

Using eLibrary’s natural language and Boolean searches, users can type in a question, key word, or phrase. They can sort their results by relevance, date, file size, reading level, publication, or source. And they can view, print, or email any document or image in one step.

eLibrary News contains the following content (title lists are available upon request):

MEDIA TYPE	QUANTITY	SAMPLE TITLES
National Newspapers	4	Christian Science Monitor, Knight-Ridder Business News, USA TODAY, USA Weekend
Regional/State Newspapers	86	Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Boston Herald, Chicago Sun Times, Dallas Morning News, Denver Rocky Mountain News, Detroit News, Florida Times Union, Hartford Courant, Indianapolis Star, Kansas City Star, Los Angeles Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Newsday, San Francisco Examiner, Seattle Post, St. Louis Dispatch, Tampa Tribune, Tennessean, Washington Post
International and Multicultural Newspapers	57	Asia Pulse, Diario Las Americas, Infolatino, Hong Kong Standard, Independent (UK), Jerusalem Post, Kyodo World News (Japan), Panorama, Saskatchewan Sage, Sunday Star Times (New Zealand), Calgary Sun, Jakarta Post (Indonesia), London Free Press, Korea Times, Toronto Star
Foreign Language Newspapers	1	La Prensa (Panama)
National Newswires	22	Associated Press Online, Business Wire, Gannett News Service, Newsbytes News Network, Reuters, United Press International, US Newswire
International Newswires	16	Africa News Service, AsiaInfo Services, Compass Middle East News Servcie, HimoNews, InterPress English News Wire, ITAR-TASS, M2 PressWIRE, Xinhua News Agency

2. What are the hardware and software requirements for using all the features of the product?

eLibrary databases can display documents in a variety of formats. Formats containing graphic elements require greater computing power than text-only formats. The hardware and software requirements for displaying article text only and graphics for eLibrary follow.

 

	Article Text Only (Recommended)	Article Text Only (Minimum)	Graphics (Recommended)	Graphics (Minimum)
CPU (IBM Compatible)	Pentium 16 MB ram 1 MB video ram mouse	486/66 MHz 16 MB ram 1 MB video ram mouse	Pentium 16 MB ram 2 MB video ram mouse	486/66 MHz 16 MB ram 1 MB video ram mouse
Display	17" SVGA	VGA	17" SVGA	VGA
Software	MS-DOS 5.0 or greater Microsoft Windows 3.11, 95, or NT WinSock 1.1 or greater (if connecting through the Internet)	MS-DOS 5.0 or greater Microsoft Windows 3.1, 95, or NT WinSock 1.1 or greater (if connecting through the Internet)	MS-DOS 5.0 or greater Microsoft Windows 3.11, 95, or NT WinSock 1.1 or greater (if connecting through the Internet)	MS-DOS 5.0 or greater Microsoft Windows 3.1, 95, or NT WinSock 1.1 or greater (if connecting through the Internet)
Modem	33.6 kbps	28.8 kbps	33.6 kbps	28.8 kbps
Printer	Laser Printer 300 DPI 1 MB printer RAM	any Microsoft Windows printer	Laser Printer 600 DPI 4 MB printer RAM	Laser Printer 300 DPI 2 MB printer RAM
WWW Browser	Your choice: Netscape 4.0 or greater Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater (Windows 95 and NT versions only)	Your choice: Netscape 3.0 or greater Internet Explorer 3.0 or greater (Windows 95 and NT versions only)	Your choice: Netscape 4.0 or greater Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater (Windows 95 and NT versions only)	Your choice: Netscape 3.0 or greater Internet Explorer 3.0 or greater (Windows 95 and NT versions only)

 To access eLibrary via Macintosh, you need only a Macintosh running a browser. For terminal access, Electric Library is available through the Lynx text browser.

3. Is remote access included for the subscription price?  If there are additional charges or requirements in order to offer remote access, please describe.   What methods of remote access are supported?

Yes. Both home and unlimited access are included in the pricing for a site license. The only requirements for home access are the same as the suggested hardware and software configurations for eLibrary.

The subscription price covers authorized users, defined as the currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff of the institution that has subscribed to the database. Visiting users and public patrons are considered authorized users when on the site. Registered students who are enrolled in distant learning courses may be authorized users, so long as the distance learning site is not actually a separate site which should be paying for its own subscription.

Authentication for access to eLibrary is typically provided by one of two methods (or both). The most common method used for web access is via IP domain. Another common method of authentication, for dial-up connections, is the use of usernames and passwords. It's the library's responsibility to ensure that only authorized users off-site have access to the data using, for example, a proxy server. Authentication can be via the library's password protected system, (social security number, library patron card number, etc.).

4. Please discuss any methods or assistance you offer regarding remote access patron verification and authentication.

For home users, you can choose any or all of the following methods.

• Distribute ID/password combinations.
• Request that the Internet service provider(s) (ISPs) set aside a fixed range of IP addresses (allowing IP verification).
• Locally authenticate users via the Web/library home page. eLibrary will allow free remote access from a secure portion of the library's World Wide Web page via referring secure URL. A user clicking on this link is asked for authentication information (for example, social security number, library patron card number, etc). The user then enters the requested information. The authentication information is automatically submitted to eLibrary along with imbedded access information. (Depending on your preferences, this imbedded information could be an ID/password combination or an IP address.) Upon validation, the user is given access to eLibrary.

5. What end user delivery options, such as printing, emailing or faxing results, are available beyond just viewing results on the computer monitor?

Contents can be printed or emailed as ASCII text. Images are emailed as a .jpg attachment. There is an option to view and print a "printable copy" which removes all Electric Library page graphics, and condenses the text in order to save paper and toner or ink. The browser controls all other print functions.

6. What customer training is provided, and at what cost?

TRAINING METHODOLOGY

Due to the fact that all purchases are individual building level decisions, we will not be offering free onsite training. Onsite training is available at an additional fee from bigchalk.com. Please contact your sales representative for further details.

Available options are described following.

Introduction
bigchalk.com offers a comprehensive range of training solutions for K-12 schools and public libraries. While all our reference databases are intuitively designed and can be easily navigated without training, we take pride in designing products that offer special features for special needs. To derive maximum value and benefit from a subscription, we believe that training is important for library, media center and even administrative and teaching staff. Our professional training staff works with librarians, educators and media professionals, and understands K-12 as well as public library needs. As a result, many school districts utilize our training sessions as a professional development opportunity for their staff.

Recommended Facilities 
Adequate facilities are critical to the success of any technology training program. A lab environment (including individual Internet workstations for each participant and a projection device such as a data projector) is highly recommended. This setting enables visual learners to follow the product demonstration on an overhead projector, auditory learners to hear instructions, and kinesthetic learners to benefit from individual hands-on searching.

Research on teaching methods has shown that adult learners absorb or retain: 

• 10% of what we read 
• 20% of what we hear 
• 30% of what we read and hear 
• 50% of what we hear and see 
• 70% of what we say ourselves 
• 90% of what we do ourselves

We will work with you to identify appropriate training facilities so that our product training programs provide an opportunity for maximum retention of information.

Introductory Product Training 
Each of our introductory training sessions follows a basic model outlined below. We modify sessions based on input from the client to ensure that training meets the needs of each user population. If you want users to receive training on more than one product, a full training session should be scheduled for each to ensure that training will be adequate and effective.

Please review the following chart to review the session outline.

PLATFORM COMPONENTS	eLibrary (2 hours)
Introductions / Learning Objectives	15 min
Database Content	15 min
Guided Hands-on Demonstration	30 min
Break	15 min
Hands-on Search Assignment & Discussion (1)	20-35 min
Curriculum Integration Discussion (optional)	15 min
Follow-Up Resources & Conclusions	10 min
Prerequisits	None

 (1) The shorter Hands-on Searching time will apply when the optional Curriculum Integration component is selected. If Curriculum Integration is not selected, the longer Hands-on Searching time will be available.

Ongoing Training 
In her article "The Importance of Technology Training" (Wisconsin Ideas in Media, 1996), Helen Adams, President of the Wisconsin Educational Media Association, notes that effective training should be ongoing, "not delivered in a single vaccination." In keeping with this philosophy, regional supplemental product training is available. This training, available at an additional cost, may be scheduled in conjunction with state library conventions, or at other times as arranged through your sales representative.

Future training has positive outcomes for both the client and bigchalk.com. It offers an opportunity for resolving questions following several months of use; enables user groups to share with one another useful applications of the product, provides a forum for users to directly pass along product enhancement opportunities; and enables both the client and bigchalk.com to gauge the effectiveness of the program in all settings.

Our three-pronged approach to training provides the foundation for a successful implementation of bigchalk.com products in schools and libraries. For a list of references, please contact Tonya Heyboer at (800) 521-0600 ext. 2102.

Additionally, our K-12 editorial department creates learning exercises, topical essays and study guides that correspond to prevalent research areas in schools. These and other training tools are available free of charge at our Web site, http://www.education.elibrary.com/resources/ .

The Educator's Resource Kit Web Site: In an effort to promote research-based learning in the classroom, and across the curriculum, Electric Library provides a web site called The Educator's Resource Kit.

The goal of this new resource for teachers is to provide the educational rationale, the research strategies, and the teacher tools, that will motivate and assist teachers to include more research-based activities for students in their lesson plans. This is particularly important to new teachers and to teachers who have not been involved in the traditional research activities that are conducted in most schools using the school library.

A Teacher's Guide to the Mini-Research Process Report: With new knowledge doubling every 5 years or so, and many times obsoleting existing knowledge, it is no longer adequate provide textbook-only learning. A Teacher's Guide to the Mini-Research Process is a free 25-page report, available on our Teacher's Resource Kit web site, or in hard copy format. It is written and published by our curriculum specialists and is designed to help teachers create motivated student research, how to evaluate mini-research activities, and much more.

As more schools are connected to the Internet and more classrooms are equipped with web-connected computers, it is essential that teachers have the support to use these tools to increase student learning and to improve their critical thinking skills - growing a new curriculum in the process. Well-structured research activities, using multi-million dollar investments in new classroom technology, will create a powerful force to help students achieve the new Illinois learning standards. A Teacher's Guide will help support that process of change for teachers.

A Teacher's Guide also provides some helpful timesaving tools for teachers including: 

• A Teacher's Evaluative Criteria Work Sheet 
• A Teacher's Mini-Research Planning Work Sheet

7. What customer and technical support is provided, including hours of operation.

We maintain a toll-free number and e-mail support available Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM EST. After hours support is also available via the 800 number with beeper service and e-mail.

In order to best service our customers, we endeavor to answer calls in real time. The goal of the Technical Support team is to resolve customer issues immediately during the call.

We answer over 98% of our calls live when support staff are available. If a customer does leave a message, our goal is to return the call within twenty minutes. E-mail responses occur daily, 24 hours per day.

In addition to the support services previously mentioned, we are in the process of creating an eLibrary and bigchalk.com mailing list to which any staff member is welcome to subscribe. We will use the mailing lists to distribute product announcements, respond to questions, etc.

8. Describe the statistics you provide, and discuss whether your statistical reporting complies with guidelines developed by the International Coalition of Library Consortia which may be found at www.library.yale.edu/consortia/webstats.html .

Reports detailing usage by building and cumulative usage by group or region are available. Usage Reports can be supplied monthly or quarterly.

Currently, the state or regional sales representative supplies usage reports. Access to usage statistics via the World Wide Web is currently under development dependent on the username of the account. For security reasons, to access any usage report a username and password will be required.

Statistic Definitions:
The following are short definitions for each of the statistical terms used in a returned usage report. These usage terms consist of total queries, total retrievals, and hours connected. The following definitions are compliant with the definitions set by The International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC).

Queries: A query or search is defined as each time a search form is sent to the server (each time the search button is clicked). Browsing through retrievals from a single search do not represent additional searches. If a query is refined by altering the query phrase or placing additional search parameters on the search form, an additional query is registered.

Retrievals: A retrieval is recorded each time the user clicks or opens a document on the result list. Additional functions of printing, saving, or e-mailing the document are not recorded as additional retrievals.

Hours: "Hours Connected" is defined as the amount of time an account is logged on to Electric Library. This number is recorded in hours and is rounded to the nearest whole hour. This number does not represent individual sessions, but instead a cumulative account of access to eLibrary for a single username.

9. Describe your pricing structure or formula for the product. If there are additional costs for retrieving full text, describe the pricing for this service. 

K12 SCHOOLS 

Schools can purchase either one simultaneous user or a building wide license which will give students and faculty the right to home access.

 

Product	Single Workstation	Site License
eLibrary Elementary	not available	$449
eLibrary Classic for middle and junior high schools	$695	$1,795
eLibrary Classic for high schools	$895	$2,995

PUBLIC LIBRARIES 

Public libraries are priced according to the population they serve. Additionally, libraries can purchase either a single work station license or building wide licenses.

Population	License	eLibrary Classic	eLibrary Plus	eLibrary News
1-9,999	Single license Site license	$750 $1,000	$1,000 $2,250	$1,000 $2,000
10,000-39,999	Single license Site license	$750 $2,000	$1,000 $3,750	$1,000 $3,000
40,000-79,999	Single license Site license	$750 $2,500	$1,250 $5,250	$1,000 $3,500
80,000-199,999	Single license Site license	$900 $5,000	$1,500 $7,500	$1,000 $5,000
200,000-499,999	Single license Site license	$1,200 $15,000	$1,800 $21,750	$1,000 $12,000
500,000-999,999	Single license Site license	$1,500 $30,000	$1,800 $43,500	$1,000 $20,000
1,000,000+	Single license Site license	$1,500 $45,000	$1,800 $65,000	$1,000 $35,000

FOUR YEAR ACADEMIC AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES 

Pricing for e-library at these institutions is handled by Bell & Howell Information and Learning. Please refer to their trial information for pricing.

HOSPITAL/MEDICAL LIBRARIES 

Hospital and Medical libraries can purchase either single simultaneous user licenses which can be shared within the building or a building wide site license which will give all physicians, nurses, and staff unlimited access as well as home access.

Product	Single User License	Site License
eLibrary Classic	$500	$1,000
eLibrary Plus	$900	$2,000
eLibrary News	$750	$1,500

 

HYPOTHETICAL LIBRARY PRICING 

(Note from State Library staff: Six hypothetical libraries were offered to all vendors as one way to explain their prices.

• Library A: A high school library with 750 students in grades 9-12 
• Library B: A public library that serves a population of 100,000 and has two branches 
• Library C: A public library that serves a population of 20,000 and has only one building, no branches 
• Library D: A community college library serving 5,000 full-time equivalent students 
• Library E: A four-year academic library serving 5,000 full-time equivalent students 
• Library F: A hospital library serving a hospital that employees 1,000 staff plus has 200 doctors attached to the hospital)

Listed below are site wide prices for the six hypothetical libraries you had presented:

Library A: A high school library with 750 students in grades 9-12
    eLibrary classic - $2,995/site license

Library B: A public library that serves a population of 100,000 and has two branches 
    eLibrary classic - $4,400/site license
    e-library plus - $6,400/site license
    e-library news - $4,400/site license

Library C: A public library that serves a population of 20,000 and has only one building, no branches:
    eLibrary classic - $1,600/site license
    eLibrary plus - $3,000/site license
    eLibrary new - $2,400/site license

Library D: A community college library serving 5,000 full-time equivalent students 
    Please refer to Bell & Howell Information and Learning

Library E: A four-year academic library serving 5,000 full-time equivalent students 
    Please refer to Bell & Howell Information and Learning

Library F: A hospital that employees 1,000 staff plus has 200 doctors attached to the hospital 
    eLibrary classic - $1,000/site license

10. What is the minimum participation level (however you care to define it) that would be needed to allow participating libraries to receive a discount? What is the minimum discount for a group buy? Please clarify how you would treat existing library customers with regard to a group buy.

11.  Please indicate whether libraries from Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and/or Hawaii would be eligible to participate in the group buying process.

eLibrary currently does business in most of these states and has established pricing models that meet the needs of those states' member libraries. As such we are hesitant to add additional pricing structures that would hamper their ability to successfully implement their models.

12.  Please provide name and contact information (toll-free telephone number, e-mail address, hours, etc.) should libraries wish to make further inquires.

For sales inquires please contact:

Public Libraries
Benito D'Azzo 
Phone: 727-736-8639, Toll-free: 800-860-9228 
[email protected]  
727-736-8639 [fax] 

K-12 Schools 
Tamara Chilla 
Phone: 503-557-8929, Toll-free: 800-521-0600 x3180 
[email protected]  
503-577-5893 [fax]

We maintain a toll-free number and e-mail support available Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM EST. After hours support is also available via the 800 number with beeper service and e-mail.

For customer service or technical support issues please contact:

Customer Service
Toll-free: 800-304-3542 
[email protected] 
 
Technical Support
Toll-free: 800-247-7198 
[email protected] 

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