Resource Updates 2021-2023

Resource Updates

 

Return on Investment

This year NC LIVE is proud to provide member libraries with a thirteenfold return on investment, surpassing the twelevefold ROI of our last resource cycle. This means that for every one dollar that NC LIVE spends, North Carolina communities get access to thirteen dollars of resources.
 
3.5 million spent; 47.8 million gained for NC libraries

Selection Criteria

All resource selection decisions are made by the Librarians' Council, based on recommendations of the Resource Advisory Committee.

All selections were based on the following key criteria:

Value across COIs
Cost per use
Accessibility
Quantity of content for $
User experience
Change cost to community
Quality of content for $
 
  

Process and Timeline

In order to ensure the best possible suite of resources for our communities, we selected resources based on community input and expert assessment. We solicited recommendations in a survey open to every library staff person at every member institution across the state. Every recommendation was considered and assessed by the Resource Advisory Committee (RAC), which consists of three representatives from each of NC LIVE’s four Communities of Interest (COIs). Recommendations from the RAC were then reviewed and approved by the Librarians’ Council (LC), which consists of COI representatives, committee chairs, and the State Librarian of NC. You can read more about the selection process and timeline at nclive.org/about/projects/resource-selection.
Process and timeline

Content

RESOURCE DESCRIPTION REPLACES
EBSCO Learning Express / PrepStep Suite of highly-acclaimed eLearning solutions which provide interactive tutorials, practice tests, e-books, flashcards and articles for academic skill-building, standardized test preparation, career development and more. Testing and Education Reference Center (TERC)
Films on Demand: Just for Kids Streaming video collection which provides a thoroughly kid-safe, advertisement-free media platform.  Includes the educational videos children want to watch—Sesame Street, The Electric Company, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, The Berenstain Bears, Franklin, and thousands more.  
Gale in Context: Biography A biography database which merges Gale’s authoritative reference content, including Lives & Perspectives, with periodicals and multimedia. Includes more than 600,000 biographical entries covering international figures from all time periods and areas of study. EBSCO Biography Reference Center
Transparent Language Provides a fun, effective, and engaging experience for learners of all levels looking to build their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in a foreign language.  With over 110 languages to choose from, including English for speakers of over 30 languages, there is something for every learner. Transparent Language Online combines robust courses, supplemental vocabulary, extensive grammar resources, and mobile apps for a complete language-learning experience. Mango Languages

RESOURCE DESCRIPTION
Biblioboard eBook Platform E-book platform used to host NC LIVE’s HomeGrown eBooks Collection. BiblioBoard delivers all media types, works across desktop and mobile platforms, and offers a modern user experience.
CQ Researcher Reports on issues shaping our world, with in-depth coverage of political and social issues, such as health, education, the environment, technology, and the U.S. economy.
Credo Reference Premier virtual reference collection including encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, images, audio files, and videos in a wide expanse of subject areas.
Cypress Resume Easy-to-use résumé building tool with a built-in writing process and automatic formatting.
EBSCO CINAHL Plus with Full Text Premier database of nursing and allied health journals with additional materials that include nursing dissertations, conference proceedings, evidence-based care sheets, audiovisuals, and continuing education modules.
EBSCO MasterFILE with Consumer Reports Popular collection of product reviews and recommendations for cars, appliances, electronics, personal finance, and health information.
EBSCO Novelist Plus Readers’ advisory resource covering fiction, nonfiction, and audiobook recommendations.
Ferguson’s Career Guidance Career database that enables users to explore industries and careers, plan their education, and research best practices for résumés, cover letters, interviewing, networking, and salaries/benefits. Includes articles, career advice blogs, and streaming video. 
Films on Demand Thousands of high quality videos on business & economics, health & medicine, humanities & social sciences, and science & mathematics, as well as travel and fitness programming, home and how-to videos, indie films, and popular music performances. Includes Oscar, Emmy and Peabody award winning documentaries, interviews, instructional and vocational training videos, historical speeches and newsreels. 
Gale Literature Resource Center An extensive literature resource collection with articles, critical essays, topic overviews, full-text works, and biographies covering authors, their works, and literary movements.
Historic NC Digital Newspapers 3.5 million digitized pages of historic newspaper content from the North Carolina Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Morningstar Investment research center that includes research and independent opinions on thousands of mutual funds, stocks, and hundreds of ETFs. 
ProQuest Custom Collection (extended to Dec 2026) Our current ProQuest aggregated collection, which covers general reference, education, entrepreneurship, global regions, library science, natural sciences, news, and numerous health and social science fields. For a complete list of included resources, see below.
ProQuest Summon (extended to Dec 2026) Discovery service to increase usage of library resources by offering patrons a contemporary search interface.
ReferenceUSA Reference and research tool providing instant, real-time access to accurate, in-depth information on 24 million U.S. businesses and 235 million U.S. residents. ReferenceUSA makes it faster and easier to find new business opportunities, research executives and companies, find news articles, conduct job searches, research papers, locate addresses and phone numbers, conduct market research and much more.

RESOURCE DESCRIPTION REPLACED BY RATIONALE
CQ Magazine News and analysis on how legislation is shaped. Weekly coverage of bills, votes, amendments, committees, and more.   Low usage
EBSCO Auto Repair Reference database with authoritative and up-to-date auto repair and service information on more than 38,000 vehicles.   Low usage
EBSCO Biography Reference A comprehensive collection of full-text biographies on popular and heavily-researched figures. Gale in Context: Biography Replaced by Gale in Context: Biography
Gale in Context: Science Reference content plus magazines, journals, news sources, experiments, and more. Covering earth science, life science, space, technology, mathematics, science history, and biography.   Low usage
Gale Teaching and Education Reference Center Testing and education preparation resource. Includes in-depth information on college, graduate, and professional programs, professional training, scholarships, and entrance tests alongside practice tests for entrance exams, certifications, and licensing exams.  EBSCO LearningExpress Replaced by LearningExpress
Mango Languages Language learning software with courses in over 70 languages, including English.  Transparent Language Replaced by Transparent Language
SimplyAnalytics Web-based mapping application that lets you create professional-quality maps and reports using demographic, business, and marketing data.   High cost-per-use