NOVELNY 2009/10 Databases FAQ
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NOVELNY 2009/10 Databases FAQ

FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE TRANSITION WILL BE POSTED HERE AS AVAILABLE

This page is available as a PDF.

Jump to items added on February 23, 2009

Jump to items added on February 25, 2009

1. When will the current set of databases offered through NOVELNY change?

NOVELNY's existing product offerings will continue through March 31, 2009.

2. What databases will be provided through NOVELNY in 2009/10?

Beginning April 1, 2009 the following products only will be offered through NOVELNY:

EBSCO Primary Search (with the Searchasaurus/Kid’s Search interfaces) Primary Search includes Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, the Encyclopedia of Animals and the American Heritage® Children’s Dictionary*, 3rd Edition from Houghton Mifflin
Gale Business and Company Resource Center, including Business ASAP
Gale Newspapers (InfoTrac Custom Newspapers, National Newspaper Index, and New York Custom Newspapers),
Gale Health and Wellness Resource Center, with Alternative Health
Grolier Encyclopedia Americana
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia
New Book of Knowledge (Grolier)
ProQuest Platinum
Twayne’s Authors Series

Not included after April 1, 2009:

All GVRL titles
Informé
InfoTrac Junior
MasterFile Select
TopicSearch
Health Reference Center Academic
Nursing and Allied Health Collection
General Science Collection
Science Reference Center

3. How were the databases selected?

 A subcommittee of the NOVELNY Steering Committee works closely with the staff of the New York State Library to advise on database content. Periodic electronic surveys, posted on the NOVEL-DB e-mail list, on NYLINE and on the novelnewyork.org site, gather input from all over the State.

The latest survey was conducted in June and July of 2008. The results of that survey demonstrated high interest in a general encyclopedia, newspapers, general periodical/reference, health and business.

The subcommittee members also had information from the library systems they represent: academic/special, public and school.  The group determined that providing an encyclopedia was more highly valued than providing a health database.  The availability of high quality, free health information on the Internet and health coverage in general databases could provide some substitution.  Quotes were solicited from a wide variety of vendors.

Working within the funding available to NOVELNY, databases meeting these priorities were selected. We are confident that these products represent quality information sources addressing the stated priorities of New York’s library community. The Gale Health and Wellness Resource Center is remaining part of NOVEL because the vendor offered to continue that content attached to the primary license agreement.

Following items added on February 23, 2009:

4. What instructional materials are available online now?

5. What training is available now, especially for the new databases?

The following tutorials and webinars are available now or in the near future. Additional webinars, both generic and NOVELNY-specific, will be available after April 1. Onsite training will also be scheduled.

6. Where can I find title lists for the NOVELny databases?

Following items added on February 25, 2009:

7. What credits are available for current customers?

The vendors have given us the following information regarding current customers and subscriptions. If you have additional questions please contact your vendor representative.

  • EBSCO: If you would like information about continuing access to MasterFile Select, Science Reference Center, General Science Collection and TopicSearch (formerly provided by NOVELNY), please contact Nelson Ubaldo at nubaldo@ebscohost.com or 800-653-2726 Ext. 2202
  • Gale: Libraries who wish to purchase the package of Gale Virtual Reference Library titles no longer available from NOVELNY may contact their Gale representative for a quote at 1-800-877-4253.
  • Grolier: Any school or public library that currently subscribes to Encyclopedia Americana, Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, or The New Book of Knowledge will receive a credit for the unused portion of their subscription. This credit may be applied (only) towards the purchase of any Scholastic online program: La Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre, Amazing Animals of the World, The New Book of Popular Science, America the Beautiful, Lands and Peoples, BookFlix, or Expert Space.
    For credit information you may contact the following at 1-800-387-1437:
    Public Libraries – Myra Berman mberman@scholastic.com
    K-12 Schools – Jean Johnson jjohnson3@scholastic.com
    Additional Grolier Online databases may be purchased at discount pricing.
  • ProQuest: For any existing ProQuest customers who would like to discuss their current holdings and options for added modules, please contact your ProQuest sales rep directly for additional information. You can find your ProQuest representative at this link (divided by market):
    http://www.proquest.com/acctreps/results.jsp?locParentId=11&countyStateProvince=45&libType=-1