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Electronic Resources Australia and school libraries

Electronic Resources Australia (ERA) is a service to all libraries in Australia which is working towards national licensing so that all Australians may have access to more databases and electronic information resources.

ERA started in 2007 and in 2009 there are 646 schools across Australia participating, as well as public and special libraries, tertiary institutions and state libraries. The subscription amount for each electronic resource or database is determined by the number of subscribers/libraries who participate in the poll each year.

Schools participating in 2009

ACT	12

NSW	213

NT	3

QLD	76

SA	83

Tas	6

WA	76

VIC	177

After the inaugural year, additional information resources have been included for 2009 as well as changes to subscription periods. Libraries now have the ability to subscribe for a calendar year, which allows schools to work more easily within their budget periods. The 2009 poll results for schools show that school libraries are providing a broad range of electronic resources for their students and staff. Of the 25 databases available, school libraries have selected the following 17.

2009 school library poll results

Australia & New Zealand Newsstand
Academic Research Library
Britannica Online
eLibrary® Australasia
Macquarie Dictionary & Thesaurus Online
MacquarieNet
World Book Online Reference Center
Health & Wellness Resource Center
Bloom’s Literary Reference Online – Facts on File
Global Issues in Context
Good Reading Magazine Online
Literature Resource Center
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
ProQuest Science Journals
Science Online – Facts on File
Science Resource Center
Today’s Science – Facts on File

What does this mean for schools?

ERA aims to provide the most competitive subscription price for all libraries, which in real terms means an individual school would be unable to afford to subscribe to any of the databases due to the cost of an ERA subscription. ERA is, and will continue to be, the best value for money subscription service to the selected databases and any further databases that may be included in the future. While the poll is the mechanism to determine the cost of each database for the following year, it is possible to subscribe through ERA without having participated in the poll. The greater the participation in each polling period – which usually opens in March and closes in April of each year – the greater the possibility of reductions in subscription fees.

Why should schools subscribe through ERA?

The databases selected by ERA have gone through a rigorous selection process and, as has been shown by the 2009 poll results, many of the databases are especially relevant to both primary and secondary schools. For example, Britannica, World Book Online Reference Center and MacquarieNet are excellent resources for primary schools as well as secondary schools.

The greater the number of school libraries subscribing to ERA, the better the subscription cost for all Australian school libraries. Reducing the cost of subscription fees for all schools will mean more equitable access for all.

If you have not checked out ERA yet, investigate the databases available and the current subscription costs at http://era.nla.gov.au.

More information

Libraries interested in keeping up to date on ERA developments can subscribe to the ERA eNewsletter and the ERAlibraries discussion list at http://era.nla.gov.au/for_libraries/. Alternatively, for more information, including answers to frequently asked questions, visit the ERA website at http://era.nla.gov.au/, or telephone 1800 182 937 (toll free within Australia), or email era@nla.gov.au.

June Wall
School libraries sector representative
Australian School Library Association
www.asla.org.au

ERA For Libraries webpage