NEWS FRO M E R I C  

SubmiHed by 
Nancy R. Preston 

ERIC Clearinghouse Competition 

Contracts were awarded in June for the operation of the 16 ERIC 
clearinghouses, ending a competetive process begun in Novem­
ber 1992. The five-year contracts all went to the groups previ­
ously operating the clearinghouses. Two clearinghouses moved 
to new universities, and several changed names as a result of the 
recompetition. New names include: 

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• 

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Counseling and Student Services (was Counseling and 
Personnel Services); 
Disabilities and Gifted Education (was Handicapped and 
Gifted Education); 
Community Colleges (was Junior Colleges) 
Reading, English, and Communication (was Reading and 
Communication Skills); 
Teaching and Teacher Education (was Teacher Educa­
tion); 
Assessment and Evaluation (was Tests, Measurement, 
and Evaluation). 
Information & Technology (was Information Resources) . 

The Counseling and Student Services clearinghouse moved from 
the University of Michigan to the University of North Carolina at 
Greensboro. The other clearinghouse to move was Assessment 
and Evaluation, which was sponsored by the American Institutes 
for Research and is now at Catholic University of America. 

New Contracts Bring Improvements 

Under the new ERIC contracts, all clearinghouses will establish 
toll-free telephone numbers for better access by the education 
community. No t all ofthe new 800 numbers are in place as ofthis 
writing. At any time, however, a current list of clearinghouses, 
with phone numbers, fax numbers, and Internet addresses, can be 
obtained from ACCESS ERIC, 1 -800-LET-ERIC (538-3742). 

Another system improvement initiated with the new clearinghouse 
contracts is the processing of the best education-related books for 
the ERIC database. While it was previously possible for com­
mercially published books to be entered into ERIC as documents 
(that is, announced in the Resources in Education index), the 
practice was limited because copyright holders were usually 
unwilling to allow any type of reproduction by the ERIC system. 

Surveys of l ibrarians and other users showed, however, that 
people want to see education-related books in ERIC, even though 
access to them cannot be guaranteed. So, as of mid-1993, users 
should begin to see a marked increase in the number of commer-

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dally published books indexed and abstracted in Resources in 
Education. 

ERIC Video Announced 

ERIC: In Action is a 15-minute video offering viewers a broad 
perspective on ERIC as their premier source for education 
information. Appropriate for students, librarians, and trainers, 
the video covers the basics of ERIC and provides an excellent 
lead- in to further discussion on the ERIC database, the subject­
related clearinghouses, and ACCESS ERIC, the reference and 
referral arm. The video also highlights the Internet-based 
AskERIC service and the role of ERIC in national and interna­
tional information networks . 

The video was produced by the Clearinghouse on Information & 
Technology, and can be ordered from either of these sources : 

Information Resources Publications, ERIC/IT, 4-194 Center for 
Science and Technology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 
13244-4100 ($17, shipping included) 

ACCESS ERIC, 1600 Research Boulevard, Rockville MD 20850-
3172, 1-800-538-3742 ($17, shipping included). 

Nancy R. Preston is Assistant Director, ERIC Clearinghouse on Infor­
mation & Technology, 4-1 94 Center for Science and Technology, 
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 1 3244-41 00; (31 5) 443-3640; 800-
464-9107; nprestor@ericir.syr.edu. 

Education Llbrarl .. • Vcl 17, No.3