FAQ on TexShare Database Purchase
for Next Subscription Year
(July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007)

FAQ Date: March 23, 2006

1. What databases will TexShare provide for my library next subscription year (July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007)?

A. TexShare will continue its (almost) twenty-year tradition of providing quality electronic resources to Texas libraries with an excellent slate of databases available for the upcoming fiscal year. TexShare members participated in a survey last October to indicate what types of databases they would like to see TexShare offer. Based on the results of this survey, http://www.texshare.edu/surveys/archive/electronic/coreDBsurvey_2005.html, the TexShare Electronic Information Working Group recommended we issue a Request for Offer document for databases for TexShare members in these areas:

• General content periodicals
• Business
• Consumer health, clinical health
• Literary criticism
• Literature
• Encyclopedia
• Bibliographic tools
• Genealogy/local history

Because funding is limited, we may not be able to afford to purchase databases in all of these content areas, but we will work with the Electronic Information Working Group to provide as much quality content as possible.

While we will continue to provide a wide variety of electronic resources for TexShare members, our colleagues in public school libraries will only be partnering with TexShare in the purchase of one general content periodicals database. For more information on TexShare databases for public school libraries, see our Web site at www.texshare.edu/k12.

2. How are TexShare databases selected?

A. Using the results of the member survey, we generated a Request for Offer document to ask database vendors to provide information about the database products they have to offer. A subcommittee of the Electronic Information Working Group is reviewing the qualified offers to evaluate the content, interface, delivery, and special features of each proposed database.

In addition to this review, the Electronic Information Working Group and all interested TexShare members are participating in a statewide trial of the databases that have been offered. The statewide trials provide an opportunity to evaluate database performance in real and simulated situations, and to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the database content and interface. The Electronic Information Working Group will use its own experiences and input from TexShare members throughout the state as an important part of the selection process.

Finally, vendors whose offers include a general contents periodicals database, a health database, and a business database will be invited to demonstrate their products to members of the Electronic Information Working Group, allowing the group to ask the vendors questions and make detailed comparisons of these products.

Based on what they learn from the vendor offer package, the statewide trials, and the vendor demonstrations, the RFO subcommittee of the Electronic Information Working Group will recommend a prioritized list of databases for purchase. Once negotiations with vendors are completed, we will put together a core collection of quality information resources, which reflect the best value to the state while staying within the budget available to us.

3. How can I have a say the database selection?

Vendor trials will continue through April 2, 2006. Please participate in the trials and send comments via the “comments” feature on the trial database page. If you need the login for the trial, please contact us at databases@tsl.state.tx.us. All comments we receive will be shared with members of the Electronic Information Working Group.

4. When will I know what the TexShare core collection will be?

A. We will ask the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to approve recommended contracts for databases at their meeting at TLA in Houston on April 26, 2006 at 12:00 noon. We hope to gain approval for the contracts and let you know the results of that meeting at the TLA program “Fired Up For TexShare” on Thursday, April 27 at 2:00 pm. Once database contracts are executed, we will make an announcement of the contracts that have been awarded.

5. When will the database subscriptions start?

A. Database subscriptions for TexShare members begin July 1, 2006. We understand that there is a problem with this start date for some public school libraries. For more information on the public school library purchase, see the FAQ at http://www.texshare.edu/k12/k12march2006update.pdf.

6. How much will my TexShare fee be (invoiced in August 2006)?

A. The 79th Legislature appropriated additional funds for TexShare databases last year, allowing us to expand the database program. Consequently, we will be able to provide TexShare members with some new database content without raising TexShare fees. While member fees may vary a little from year-to-year, you should find that the amount on your August 2006 invoice is very close to that which you were assessed in August 2005. For more information on how your TexShare fees are calculated, please see http://www.texshare.edu/programs/academicdb/fees/index.html.