EBSCO trial and bundles offer

EBSCO has set up a trial for our members for the databases they are including in their special end of year bundles offer, as well as several others.  Please see below for the bundles offer. The trials login and password is available on our members only page at http://www.califa.org/members_only.php.  If you need your login, let me know.

Introducing EBSCO’s database bundles for Califa libraries.  Please contact Heather Teysko for more information or a quote. 

 

EBSCO’s “Reference Centers” Bundle

(includes Literary Reference Center, History Reference Center, Science Reference Center, Biography Reference Center & Poetry & Short Story Reference Center.

 

EBSCO’s “Do it Yourself” Bundle

(Includes Auto Repair Reference Center, Home Improvement Reference Center, Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center & Small Engine Repair Reference Center

 

EBSCO’s Legal & Small Business” Bundle

(Includes Legal Information Reference Center & Small Business Reference Center)

Databases in Trial (More Info @ http://www.ebscohost.com)

-          MasterFIle Complete

-          Points of View

-          Literary Reference Center Plus

-          Legal Information Reference Center

-          Small Business Reference Center

-          Home Improvement Reference Center

-          Small Engine Repair Reference Center

-          Auto Repair Reference Center

-          Hobbies & Crafts reference Center

-          History Reference Center

-          Science Reference Center

-          Poetry & Short Story Reference Center

-          MAS Ultra –in Student Resource Center interface

-          Novelist Plus

-          Novelist k8 Plus

-          Biography Reference Center

-          Academic Search Complete

-          Business Source Complete

-          eBook subscription for Public Libraries

New Califa Vendor - FilmIdeas

We are happy to be starting work with Film Ideas, a company that produces streaming videos on financial literacy.  A trial is available at our website - califa.org -->members -->internal documents (log in with your Califa login/pw - email me if you need it).  All our current trial information is there.

Here's a description of the product - I look forward to any feedback you might have.  Also, if you want a quote, let me know.

FI Channels is a sister company of Film Ideas, Inc., located in Wheeling, IL.  Film Ideas has been serving education and other non-theatrical markets beyond 30 years with quality content and engaging resources. 

The FI Channels subscription service version 1.0 incorporates the concept of an internet based streaming service aligned to a continuum of market channels.  As a subscriber, you can expect total satisfaction with our content and service. 

Our goal at FI Channels Streaming Service is to offer content that is enlightening, engaging and engrossing, delivered and navigated with just a click of the mouse on your desktop for sharing and projecting. As an additional option, the well focused content is available on chaptered DVD's for enhanced circulation or flexible check-out.

Career Cruising Trial

We are happy to let you know that we're looking at working with Career Cruising, and have a trial available of their product.  Several of you saw them at the Vendor Fair and encouraged us to move forward with them.  Feel free to check out the trial and send me any feedback you might have.

To access the trial, go to the Califa site, then click on Members, then Internal Documents.  You will need to log in at this point - email me if you need your Califa login and password.  All of our trials are there on that Members Only page.

You can read the Library Journal review about them here.

Books 24x7 trial

Some of our libraries have been considering the IT Pro collection from Books 24x7, and  I have set up a trial for all of our members.  Trial login information is on our trials page, which is califa.org --> members --> Internal Documents (at this point you will need to log in with your Califa username/pw - email me if you need it).  All of our trials are listed there.

Facts on File Product Trials

Facts on File has two trials available for their new products.  To get the trial login information, go to califa.org -->Members --> Internal Documents (you will need to log in with your Califa username and pw at this point - email me if you don't have it).  The trials are listed at the top of that members page.

World Geography and Culture:

Facts on File is pleased to offer our award-winning database for trial. The site offers comprehensive geographical and cultural information on more than 200 countires. You can get the background of the current news stories worldwide and a complete overall picture of the country or region making news. The database, launched last spring has received outstanding reviews and will be cited "Reference Source of the Year" April 15 issue of LIbrary Journal.  "an excellent reference source...Highly Recommended" - Library Media Connection, starred review  " ..(an) incredible amount of appropriate and accurate material..user-frriendly and curriculum-aligned... highly recommended" Booklist, starred review

World Almanac Online:

Facts on File is pleased to annouce the launch of the new World Almanac Online. filled with up to the minute news, the latest facts and figures from the best-selling authoritative reference source.

Let me know if you have any questions or would like a quote.

Shmoop trial and feedback requested

Many of you saw Shmoop at CLA/CSLA in November - they offer test-prep courses for SAT/ACT/ and AP courses, as well as study guides. They have been popular with many schools, and public libraries are also now considering them. I know it's hard for anyone to think about anything new right now, but if you think that you would like to be part of a group order for Shmoop, please let me know so I can start working on a contract with them.

I have posted trial information on the trials page on our website at califa.org -->Members --> Internal Documents (at this point you will need to log in to the Califa site - if you need your login information, let me know).

Basically, you're not giving me any commitments at this point - I'm just trying to gauge if there is enough interest in moving forward with them to do a contract and put together some type of group order. Thanks for any feedback you can offer.

Career Cruising trial

We've added a trial of Career Cruising, a career exploration and research tool, to our list of trials on our site. We haven't signed an agreement with this company yet, but would love your feedback to help us determine whether we should. If you look at the trial and think it's something you would be interested in subscribing to, please let me know. Pricing starts at $600/year for the smallest libraries, and goes up from there - I can get a quote if you're interested.

To view the trial, go to the Califa site at califa.org --> members --> internal documents (you'll need to log in at this point - if you need your califa login and password, let me know).

ABC CLIO trial

We are looking at the possibility of working with ABC-CLIO, and all of their databases are now available for trial.  Login information is on the Califa website at califa.org -->Members-->Internal Documents (you will need your Califa site login and password to access the information - let me know if you need it). 

 

I'd love to hear feedback from members on the trials, and whether you'd be interested in ordering any of their products.  The trials are available until January 11.

 

Oxford University Press trials

We have special pricing on several OUP products until the end of the year.  Trial information is on our site under califa.org --> Members --> Internal Documents (you will need your Califa login and pw to view the trials - let me know if you need your library login information).

 

The products we have pricing for are below, with descriptions.  Please let me know if you have any questions, or would like more information.

 

The Oxford African American Studies Center combines the authority of carefully edited reference works with sophisticated technology to create the most comprehensive collection of scholarship available online to focus on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture.

 

Oxford Biblical Studies Online provides unrivaled access to six essential Oxford editions of the Bible alongside commentary and annotations from study Bibles seamlessly combined with reference material and primary texts.

 

Oxford Dictionaries Online is a brand new modern English dictionary and language reference service. Powered by the world's greatest dictionaries, Oxford Dictionaries Online gives users a wealth of lexical resources at the click of a mouse

 

Berg Fashion Library: Informed by prestigious academic and library advisors, and anchored by the forthcoming 10-volumeEncyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion (July 2010),Berg Fashion Library will be the first online resource to provide access to interdisciplinary and integrated text, image, and journal content on world dress and fashion.

 

Social Explorer is an online research tool designed to provide quick and easy access to historical census data and demographic information. It creates fast, intuitive, and appealing maps and reports to help users visually analyze and understand demography and social change throughout history.

Gale Powerspeak offer for small publics

Gale has announced special pricing for PowerSpeak, their language learning product, for small public libraries who order by June 30. If you have fewer than 100,000 population served, and are interested in this product, email me for a quote. To trial, go to califa.org, then Members then Internal Documents. You'll need your Califa login/pw - email me if you don't have it. The trial login info is on that main members-only page.

Powerspeak features the 5 most demanded languages asked for by public libraries: Spanish, German, French, Mandarin Chinese, and ESL for Spanish speakers.

Powerspeak was founded on 30+ years of breakthrough research and has earned the unique distinction of being the leader in accredited online language courses.

Powerspeak works because it uses an arsenal of proven and effective teaching methods, not single-delivery techniques like listen and repeat, or memorization that have been shown to be ineffective. Vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, pronunciation are all covered.

Powerspeak makes learning a language fun with an engaging adventure story and multi-modal interaction like audio, video, rich graphics and music to stimulate all learning types: audible, visual and tactile. The creator of LeapFrog brought his vision to Powerspeak.

Powerspeak makes it easy to learn a new language with the extensive use of the diglot weave, a teaching method that gradually weaves together the language you already know with the language that you want to know.

Powerspeak teaches culture and how to communicate fluently, effectively and appropriately while in another country.

Powerspeak was designed with significant input from an advisory board of public librarians looking to build a more effective language product than has been available until now.

An easy way to sign up for the free deskstats trial

For those of you who haven't heard, Altarama is graciously allowing each Califa member to use DeskStats free for the rest of the calendar year, so till December 31, 2009. To sign up, use this form.

Let us know if you have any questions.

Trial from Facts on File

Facts on File is doing a Spring trial for our members, which will make all their databases available until March 15. Califa members currently receive discounts on all FOF databases. For login information, email hteysko@califa.org.

Books 24x7 Review, New Trial, and Webinar

Over the summer, we announced a trial of Books 24x7, an eBook product with modules covering IT, Business and Wellness. Califa members also did a review of the product, which is now available on our website. Books 24x7 has flexible pricing, and would let us start a shared collection if there is interest.

The trial is active again now, as there was interest at our recent Digital Resources Steering Commitee Meeting. They will also be hosting two more webinars, on November 10th at 2pm and November 12th at 10am. If you would like to attend either of these webinars, please RSVP to califa@califa.org with the time of the webinar you wish to attend, and your name, library name, and email address in the message body.

Please take a look at the trial and review, and let us know if this is something you think we should be pursuing. Please email any feedback or thoughts to califa@califa.org. I can also provide you with ballpark pricing if that will help in your evaluation.

The review is here:http://www.califa.org/books247.php
Please email me for the trial information if you are interested.

Facts on File trials available

An update from Facts on File... email califa@califa.org if you would like a trial.
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Facts On File would like to have the opportunity to set up a trial of our online database collection for your library.

Our collection of award-winning reference databases includes:
Science Online: includes over 960 experiments, 6,300 diagrams, 2,800 biographies, 6,300 essays, timelines, videos, and 32,000 definitions.
History Database Center: a new interface that allows users to search across six history databases
American History Online*
Modern World History Online*
Ancient & Medieval History Online*
American Women's History*
American Indian History Online*
African-American History Online*
*databases can be purchased separately

Ferguson's Career Guidance Center: includes profiles of over 3,300 careers in more than 94 industries as well as information about college programs and scholarships
Curriculum Resource Center: printable, curriculum-related handouts for middle and high school teachers
Curriculum Resource Center Junior Edition: printable curriculum-related handouts for elementary school teachers
World Atlas: more than 200 countries and territories are covered through maps, vital statistics, history overviews, Videos, images, and more.
Bloom's Literary Reference: examines the lives and works of great writers throughout history; searchable by character, author, works, a glossary, and more
Health Reference Center: encyclopedic database with more than 28,500 hyper-linked entries on a variety of health-related concerns and social issues.

Facts On File's parent company, Infobase Publishing, has recently acquired Facts On File News Services. As a result, Facts On File and Facts On File News Services are once again under common ownership, as the two companies were before March 1996. Here are just some of the exciting recent additions to our News Services databases:
Facts on File World News Digest
Issues & Controversies
Issues & Controversies In American History
Today's Science

Natural Standard Trial for Members

Califa is offering member libraries a trial to Natural Standard.

The Natural Standard database is a clinical decision support tool that is designed to help clinicians and consumers on the safety and efficacy of herbs, supplements, vitamins, diets, nutrition, exercise, and complementary practices (e.g., yoga and chiropractic). Natural Standard consists of over 500 internationally world-renowned clinicians and researchers. More than 45 translators translate all foreign language articles for accurate literature capture. The content is first person authored and undergoes blinded multidisciplinary peer review by academics and scientists across the world. Natural Standard does the clinical and patient information for The National Institutes of Health, Harvard Medical School, Yale, MD Anderson, Susan G Komen, and Mayo clinic among many other prestigious clients.

This resource comes at a great time as many of you may have seen that the Pew Internet & American Life Project just released a report estimating “between 75% and 80% of internet users have looked online for health information.” This estimate is “in line with Harris Interactive’s latest data on health information seekers 81% of internet users; 66% of all adults.”

To access your trial, please email califa@califa.org for login information. The trial will expire Sept 30, 2008.

Trial Information for MyiLibrary

Several Califa libraries checked out the MyiLibrary platform about a year ago, but it's worth giving this vendor, Ingram, another look. According to the product reps, this digital collection offers new titles and a well-rounded reference collection.

Califa eBook Steering Committee members would value any input you can contribute to help us decide whether Califa should offer the MyiLibrary platform and content.

Log in at http://www.myilibrary.com
email califa@califa.org for user name and password.
Trial ends December 21, 2007.

Trial Information for TumbleBooks

We are working on our TumbleBooks renewal, which is a very popular product. If you are a TumbleBook library we will be contacting you regarding your renewal.

We are also working with TumbleBooks to introduce their latest product, TumbleReadables, that features high-interest/low vocabulary audiobooks for young adults.

Please take some time to evaluate the trial, which is active until the end of the year and send along any feedback you may have.

www.TumbleReadables.com
username - california
password - login