Statewide Database Licensing Project - Fall 2000 Trials
bigchalk.com

| Main Menu |

(Note from the Washington State Library:  In order to participate in the Fall 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

eLibrary Plus � 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, social sciences, and current events. 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):

eLibrary Classic

eLibrary Classic � (formerly Electric Library�) is the easiest-to-use general reference tool for middle schools, high schools, and public libraries (ages 11+) today. eLibrary Classic contains more than 600 magazine and newspaper titles - as well as TV, radio and government transcripts, books and reference collections, photographs and images, and maps. eLibrary Classic 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):

eLibrary News

eLibrary News � 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):

ProQuest Professional Education

ProQuest Professional Education � offers a comprehensive reference collection for K-12 professional development and continuing education. Professional Education provides a collection of 336 magazine and journal titles addressing all aspects of K-12 education. The collection features nearly 100%, front-to-back, full text coverage - with only 36 of the titles available in abstract and index format only. In addition, full-page image and Text+Graphics� formats reproduce the charts, graphs, and diagrams as they appeared in the original articles. Coverage is provided in citation/abstract, ASCII full text, and image formats for the majority of publications, with an average of 5+ years of full-text archive backfile.

The wealth of sources included in Professional Education supports teachers and administrators alike - whether they are studying for advanced degrees, using the database for professional in-service, researching material for classroom application, or using the database for self-guided study and refreshers. The database includes publications covering every area of education, including administrative, core and supplemental curricula disciplines, information technology, library sciences, and more.

The sophisticated ProQuest search engine allows power searchers to use up to 21 indexed search fields to construct targeted searches, while beginners employ easy-to-use search wizards to create advanced searches of their own. Researchers at any level of expertise can also search by key word, subject, or publication. Users may save, print, or email documents directly from the database.

Title lists for ProQuest Professional Education are available upon request.

bigchalk Retriever

bigchalk Retriever � helps researchers of all ages quickly search across library catalogs, online databases, and web sites, in a single step. Retriever makes it easy for researchers to find information across multiple sources and helps libraries make the full variety of information their library provides directly accessible to researchers - all through a single search interface.

Users can search all the resources provided by a library through Retriever, or they can limit their search to one or more library catalog, online database, or web resource. Users can enter a key word, or use advanced search to narrow their search by publication, online resource, title, author, and more. Retriever simultaneously searches the requested resources, and then displays results in a format that is easy to read and navigate, quickly linking users to a variety of targeted sources.

Plus, by using Z39.50 and http protocols Retriever maintains the functionality and structure of what it searches. Users can email, print, save, reserve, and even launch a new search on a resource delivered via Retriever without leaving the program.

Retriever is also fully customizable to the needs of the library through easy-to-use administrative tools. Administrators can indicate resources to search, create individual and/or combined resource usage reports, and more. Administrators can also configure Retriever differently across specific and multiple workstations, enabling librarians to deliver different content appropriate to the expected workstation end-user, such as in a Youth Room or Teacher's Lounge.

Retriever Select

Bigchalk.com is proud to present Retriever Select. It is an outstanding bundle with one search interface that allows searching across The Wall street Journal and / OR the New York Times along with eLibrary Plus and/OR elibrary news The Wall Street Journal has a back file of 13 years and the New York Times has a 90 day back file. The Retriever select bundles ( including the newspapers) are 100% full text. Retriever select is different than Bigchalk Retriever.  It is not configurable and it does not support library catalogs. However, Retriever select does allow you to search across different bigchalk.com products at the same time. Libraries will have a choice of adding the New York Times, Wall street Journal, e Library or News. Libraries DO NOT have to have any of our other products to purchase Retriever Select and they will have a choice of one or both newspapers.  

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

eLibrary and ProQuest databases can display documents in a variety of formats. Formats containing graphic elements require greater computing power than text-only formats. bigchalk Retriever will require institutions to locally load a program application. The hardware and software requirements for displaying article text only and graphics for bigchalk products is as follows:

To access any bigchalk.com products via Macintosh, you need only a Macintosh running a browser. For terminal access, eLibrary and ProQuest are available through the Lynx text browser. Resources delivered via bigchalk Retriever do not have to be Z30.50 compliant.

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.

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 bigchalk.com products 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. bigchalk.com allows 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 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 their licensed bigchalk.com product.

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

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

Delivery options functionality in Retriever is dependent on the native programs Retriever is searching. The browser controls all other print functions.

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

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	ProQuest (3 hours)	eLibrary (2 hours)
Introductions/Learning Objectives	15 min	15 min
Database Content	15 min	15 min
Guided Hands-on Demonstration	60 min	30 min
Break	15 min	15 min
Hands-on Searching Assignment & Discussion[1]	40-60 min	20-35 min
Curriculum Integration Discussion (optional)	20 min	15 min
Follow-Up Resources & Conclusions	15 min	10 min
Prerequisites	None	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 Sam Joseph at (800) 860-9228 ext. 3027.

Additionally, for ProQuest we provide a laminated flipchart designed to stand next to the ProQuest workstation. The full color flipchart provides instructions, examples, and keys to on-screen data. The ProQuest Web page (http://www.bellhowell.infolearning.com/) includes both a ProQuest Quick Start Guide and Guided Tour.

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, eLibrary 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 help create a powerful force to help students achieve 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

Online ProQuest Training In response to customer requests, ProQuest subscribers now have access to a new online training solution, the ProQuest Training Resource Center. The Training Resource Center, free to ProQuest subscribers, is a Web-based resource that provides online tutorials and materials to those who will administer ProQuest, use it, and teach others to use it.

The Training Resource Center makes searching easy, and provides instruction at the skill appropriate for the user. It allows new users to get up and running on ProQuest almost immediately.

Together, the complete training program provides the equivalent of a three-hour on-site training visit. The Center directs administrators to system controls and technical resources, provides librarians the means to teach ProQuest to end users, and allows end users to answer most questions on their own.

Training programs include: 

• An overview of ProQuest and what it can do for you 
• An overview of administrative features and tools 
• Step-by-step lessons for searchers at all levels, with demonstrations, practice questions and sample searches 
• In-depth explanations of the most popular ProQuest features
• Downloadable class materials, documentation, exercises, and other teaching aids to help you teach others what you've learned
• A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section

You can sequence ProQuest lessons to suit your needs, and revisit them as often as you like. There's even a module that allows you to record your reactions and make suggestions for improvement. Some segments of the Training Resource Center are secure. (For example, the segments you use to customize ProQuest locally are available only to authorized users with a password.) Other segments are accessible to end users. Some sections even include Spanish and French language translations for non-English speakers.

Additionally, we make a number of Feature Tips documents available under the ProQuest support section of the Web page. These pieces are designed for staff and/or administrator use, and describe ProQuest functionality such as IP Address-Based Access, Library Holdings Administration, and Multi-user Accounts.

There is no charge for these materials.

  

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 a bigchalk.com mailing lists 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.

We offer a unique reporting solution for libraries through the use of bigchalk Retriever. Institutions using bigchalk Retriever can generate reports for all resources searched through the system, including library catalogs and third-party databases. These reports can provide lists detailing number of sessions, queries, hours, and retrievals broken down by resource. This provides a one-stop resource for collecting and detailing overall library usage. Consolidated reporting saves libraries time and provides a quick method for reviewing multiple database and resource usage.

Additionally, each research database offers individualized reporting functionality:

eLibrary can provide reports monthly detailing number of queries, number of retrievals, and time connected to our service for each institution. Additionally, for each institution, reports showing the most accessed publications can be provided on a monthly basis. Please note that those institutions using IP addresses for authentication to eLibrary would be unable to obtain reports of individual user activity (institutions authenticating via Username/Password would be able to retrieve this information, however).

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.

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.

Reports are available, both electronically and on paper, on a monthly basis for eLibrary. Users can visit http://reports.elibrary.com  to retrieve reports. Users will need to enter their eLibrary username and password. Reports can be pulled to determine number of queries per month, number of retrievals per month, and number of hours logged on per month for each account.

ProQuest provides monthly reports that allow libraries to review their ProQuest activity. These usage statements provide statistical information about the number of articles (from each database to which the library subscribes, and by each title in that database) delivered electronically to users for viewing or e-mailing. You can represent individual libraries, or group them (for example, by county) in whatever fashion, and to whatever level of detail, you like.

ProQuest is working to develop these reports in accordance with guidelines developed by the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC). Compliance with these guidelines is underway.

Currently, ProQuest provides the following compliant functionality. 

• usage reports available online with an administrator's account (similar to the way our customers currently access the Library Holdings function) 
• reports available on demand (with information updated monthly) 
• summary reports delivered in HTML 
• detailed reports e-mailed in ASCII delimited text 
• reports expanded to include information on searches 
• cumulative reports (for example, quarterly, annually) 
• inclusion of full journal title vs. abbreviated version 
• ISSN added 
• daily updates to usage statistics (month-to-date)

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. 

For pricing information, contact Patty Ayala at the Washington State library, or a vendor representative.

10.  If a library subscribes to any of your products as a result of this trial, will their future subscription rates continue to reflect any savings or discount they may receive today?

Library's subscribing to bigchalk.com products as a result of this trial should expect their future subscription rates to continue to reflect currently published Washionton State Database Trial pricing, plus an average of an annual 5-10% price increase.

11. 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.

bigchalk.com does offer discounted packages for schools interested in purchasing multiple products from the above selections; and for school districts and library systems buying as a whole. Please contact your K-12 sales representative and inquire about the bigchalk Student Interactive Series. Or please contact you K-12 or public library sales representative for multiple site purchasing prices.

There is no minimum participation level.

Existing accounts should contact their sales representative to discuss the options available for their library.

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

bigchalk.com 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.

13.  Please provide name and contact information should libraries wish to make further inquires.

For sales inquires please contact: 

Public Libraries Jen Dooling Phone: 800-860-9228 x5135 [email protected] 800-806-4336 [fax]

K-12 Schools Anita Bell Phone: 800-860-9228 x 3005 [email protected] 800-209-1132 [fax]