Where is ERIC …. and where is ERIC going?

Information Outlook, June, 2004 by Kate Corby

So far there is little indication that the department will respond positively to our offers to help. Deputy Secretary Eugene Hickok, spoke at Michigan State University in February. In response to my question about ERIC, which was then four months past the expected contract award date, he noted that the department is undergoing a "culture change" and progress on many projects has slowed. This may mean that they will eventually ask for input, but it seems equally likely they will decide they are too busy for such time-consuming activities.

As I write this, it has been nearly a month since the contract award and more than four months since the dissolution of the clearinghouses. The clearinghouse directors, who were supposed to be consulted for recommendations on membership for the new ERIC steering committee and the content experts (selection decisions), have scattered to new jobs and interests. The department no longer has any way to compel their participation. These groups are now being formulated, with no publicly announced outside input.

Some former clearinghouse employees have come forward to express concerns about the contractor. They claim that despite the decentralized character of the clearinghouse model, it was the central processing facility (in other words the very organization that has now secured the contract), which caused delays in database production.

One source told me, "While the clearinghouses would process documents/journal article citations within 3-4 weeks,... [the facility] would often sit on the work for six to seven months (or they were that far behind) ..." (8) The E*Subscribe database, while responsive to user concerns, also has a poor reputation, this time for reliability. Many subscribers report frequent problems with accessing and downloading ERIC documents.

So the future of ERIC is unclear. Look to the Web pages at http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/advocacy/ERICUpdate/ERICUpdate.cfm and http://www.lib.msu.edu/corby/education/doe.htm for updated information. There may also be calls on the education librarian discussion boards for action to make federal officials aware of library related concerns. I hope members of SLA will heed these calls.

Kate Corby is the education and psychology reference librarian and bibliographer at Michigan State University Libraries. She started the ERIC Reauthorization News website at http://www.lib.msu.edu/corby/education/doe.htm and now maintains it with help from the Ad Hoc Committee on Access to Government Sponsored Education Research (Association of College and Research Libraries/Education and Behavioral Sciences Section) which she chairs. Readers can contact her at corby@mail.lib.msu.edu.

(1) For more complete information about ERIC see ERIC: Overview by Paula McMillen at http://www.lib.msu.edu/corby/ebss/ericoverview.htm Viewed April 19, 2004.

(2) Draft Statement of Work available from http://www.eps.gov/EPSData/ED/Synopses/3286/Reference-Number-ERIC2003/ERICDraftSOW.doc. Viewed April 19, 2004.